Mystery Babylon the Great

Noah was a preacher of righteousness, and as his name means ‘rest’, he rested on God his saviour.  He and his three sons, Shem, Japeth and Ham, with their wives were saved from the terrible flood, which destroyed the earth on account of the wickedness of men.  However Noah had a profane son in Ham (Gen 9:20-27).  Ham had several sons, one of which was Cush who in turn begat Nimrod, a name which means ‘rebellion’ in English.  Scripture says: “And Cush begat Nimrod, he began to be a mighty one in the earth”.

Nimrod founded the city of Babylon – the Greek version of the original Hebrew name Babel – and was its first king.  Ancient history records how Nimrod was the first to learn the arts of war and was a mighty warrior and hunter.  However he was also noted for the use of sorcery and fire in gaining his victories.  Nimrod is also attributed with introducing the worship of the sun.  This included in its rites the worship of fire, since fire was considered to be the early representation of the sun. The sun god was worshipped from the earliest times under the name of “Baal”.  Thus, Nimrod led a great rebellion against God.

All the religions derived from Babylon have common themes.  One of the central features is the death of the mighty warrior god.  This gives a clue that Nimrod fell to a violent and most untimely death.  The legends all involve the body being divided into pieces and dispersed.

The violent death of Nimrod lead to a suppression of the false religion.  However, it was revived in secret by his wife Semiramis.  She claimed that Nimrod was not a god in the form of the sun, of which his earthly representation was fire.  She later gave birth to a child, who was supposedly the reincarnation of the hero Nimrod, now the sun god.  The child is known under various names, of one of the important names is “Tammuz”.  The false claim was made that this was the promised seed of the woman.  However, in reality it was an imposture of the Devil, as Semiramis was effectively an harlot and a most evil woman.

Even Nimrod’s father, Cush, was worshipped under various names and became a model for Babylonish gods.  An example is the god called “Hermes” whose name, when deciphered from the ancient languages of the Mysteries, signifies in English “son of Ham”.

It may appear very strange how anyone can believe that the sun can also be a child.  However millions are deceived into believing this sort of absurdity.  One only has to consider how many professed Christians believe that a piece of bread becomes Jesus Christ in the Mass.

The secret about Nimrod as the sun god and saviour of man was only revealed at first to a selected few, to those who had been initiated.  These religious rites became known as “The Mysteries” in which the secrets of the sun god Nimrod were revealed, and in which he was worshipped.  However, the Mysteries spread rapidly through the ancient world and formed the basis for the heathen religions of Rome, Greece, Egypt, Assyria, India and many other nations.  They are also the basis for most religions today, even for that which is called Christian.

The Mysteries involved deep symbolism; they also appear to have involved acting out some form of play to re-enact the death, resurrection and deification of Nimrod, under the guise of various names.  The worship of the devotees involved weeping for Nimrod following his violent death, followed by rejoicing at his resurrection.  The worship also involved fire, which represented the sun, the giver of light.  Therefore the deified Nimrod was worshipped as the giver of light to mankind (aka Prometheus) – he enlightened them so as to show them good and evil.  Hence, came the name Lucifer, the light giver or enlightener.  Even the serpent was worshipped as a sacred symbol in the Mysteries.

However, the book of Genesis clearly shows that the claim that Nimrod is the seed, the saviour of mankind, the light-giver Lucifer, is none other than the doctrine of the Devil.  Thus the Apostle Paul says: “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light”.  In reality, the worship of Nimrod is the worship of the Devil.

Semiramis Deified as the Queen of Heaven

The religion developed such that Semiramis was also deified as the Queen of Heaven, gradually taking on the honour bestowed on Nimrod.  The general form of worship showed Nimrod as the sun and his wife as the moon, with stars surrounding her head.  Thus we see the origin of the worship of the sun, moon and stars.

As with Nimrod, there were many pagan representations of Semiramis as the Queen of Heaven or the mother goddess.  She was usually depicted with the child (i.e. Nimrod) who was the incarnate sun god.  This has been copied by the Church of Rome,  who worship Mary with the child Jesus.  However in reality it is the worship of Semiramis and her child born of fornication hiding under a façade of Christianity.

Just as the lives of Nimrod and Semiramis were abominable, so their worship in the Mysteries also involved vile and unmentionable forms of immorality.  These activities were hidden behind a façade of outward holiness.  Therefore it Is most fitting that the Bible likens idol worship to fornication and spiritual adultery.

Initiation Ceremonies of the Mysteries

The Mysteries, as we have mentioned, were celebrated in secret.  The open religious ceremonies involved symbolism, so as to ensure that the full meaning of the worship was only revealed to those who had been initiated into the Mysteries.  The precise details of these initiation rites are not known, but from snippets of information historians have been able to piece together some of the main features.  Further clues are provided by the secret rites of religious groups today, such as the Freemasons and other occult societies, who claim to be descended from the Mysteries.  It is interesting to note that the word ‘occult’ comes from the Latin ‘occultus’ which means ‘hidden’ or ‘concealed’ in English.  Any candidate for initiation had to swear terrible oaths not to reveal the secrets of the Mysteries, which if broken meant that the candidate would be killed.  Similar oaths are sworn today by Freemasons.

Freemasonic and occultic writers have also provided some spine-chilling insight into what feats a candidate for initiation had to perform.  In some rites it was required that “he cross an unbridged chasm in the temple floor.  In other words, if unable by magic to sustain himself in the air without visible support, he fell headlong into a volcanic crevice, there to die of heat and suffocation.”  In other rites “the candidate seeking admission to the inner sanctuary was required to pass through a closed door by dematerialisation.”  Although it is recognised that there was much trickery involved in the Mysteries, let no one doubt that there was also a real and demonic force at work.

The Roman Emperors

Ancient history records that the city of Rome was founded by Romulus and his brother Remus.  However, Hislop shows in his classic book “The Two Babylons” that before the founding of the city of Rome, there stood on the Capitoline hill (one of the seven hills of Rome) a place called “Saturnia” or the “City of Saturn”.  This was a place where the great Babylonian god Saturn was worshipped.  The Latin name “Saturn” is rendered in the Chaldee “Satur”.  It was by this name that Nimrod was known as the god of the Chaldean Mysteries.   Now “Satur” means in English the “god of Mystery” or the “hidden god”.  The word “Satur” is also very similar to the Hebrew word “Sethur” which means “mystery”.  As we shall see later in the book, both the Chaldee word “Satur” and the Hebrew word “Sethur” also mean in English the number “666” which is the fatal number of the Beast in the Book of Revelation.

In the early days  of the city of Rome this Babylonian worship was suppressed.  However, a colony of Etruscans later settled in the neighbourhood of Rome; these Etruscans were earnestly attached to Babylonian idolatry.  Even before the Etruscans were incorporated into the growing Roman state, they exercised a powerful influence over the religious worship of the Romans.  This led to the formation of a college of Pontiffs, with a Sovereign Pontiff presiding over the college; this was modelled on the Babylonian pattern.  The Capitoline hill, the original site of Saturnia, became the great high place of the worship of ancient Rome.

Even the name “Latin” which was the language of Rome, carried with it a special meaning and confirms the Babylonian origins of Rome.  The word comes from the Latin word “lateo” which means “lie hid”.  “Lateo” in turn comes from the Chaldee word “lat”, which also means “lie hid”.  In fact the names “Lat” and “Saturn” are synonymous and both represent the great god of the Mysteries.

Although Chaldee was the language of the Mysteries of Babylon, the Latin language has a special connection with the Mysteries.  For Latin is the “mystery” or “hidden” language.  How remarkable it is then to find that the Latin language became central to the worship of the Church of Rome.

Pergamos – Satan’s Seat

There is yet a further and more direct connection between the Mysteries of Babylon and ancient Rome.  However, it is necessary first to explain what happened to the original Babylonian position of Sovereign Pontiff of the Mysteries after the death of Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon.

The true legitimate representative of the god of the Mysteries, the deified Nimrod, was the King of Babylon as Sovereign Pontiff. The Bible records in the Book of Daniel how the kings of Babylon had around them astrologers, soothsayers and magicians.  Following the death and overthrow of Belshazzar by the Medo-Persian empire under Darius (Daniel 5:30-31).  Daniel was preserved by the grace of God.  However, history records that the Chaldean sorcerers and priests were expelled from Babylon and fled to Pergamos, in what is now part of Western Turkey.

It was at Pergamos that the Chaldean priests found asylum after the fall of Babylon, and there fixed their central college.  The kings of Pergamos, who were regarded as gods, were put into the vacant seat left by Belshazzar and his predecessors.  They were hailed as the legitimate representatives of the Babylonian god of the Mysteries.  It was at Pergamos where the god Aesculapius was worshipped under the form of a serpent.

The name “Aesculapius” meant in Greek “instructing snake,” but the serpent also symbolised the enlightening of the souls of men by the sun.  Thus we see the sun god being worshipped in the form of a serpent, supposedly enlightening mankind as “Lucifer” the shining one.  However, the Bible shows the serpent to be the Devil or Satan, who first tempted man to sin against God.  It is therefore not surprising for the Lord to refer to Pergamos as “Satan’s seat”.  Let us also notice the striking similarity between the name of the god of the Mysteries “Satur” or “Saturn” with that of the Hebrew name for the Devil, which is “Satan.”

As the power or Rome expanded into many parts of Greece, Attalus the last king of Pergamos died in 133 BC and left in his will all the dominions of Pergamos to the Roman people.  Thus the kingdom of Pergamos was merged into the dominions of Rome.  However, for some years there was no one who could openly lay claim to all the dignity and powers inherent in the title of the kings of Pergamos, namely that of Sovereign Pontiff.  The powers of the Roman Pontiffs were therefore somewhat restricted, but this situation changed dramatically with the arrival of Julius Caesar.

The Caesars Reign as Sovereign Pontiff

Almost all history books record the great conquests of Julius Caesar in France, his two invasions of Britain in 55 and 54 BC, his assumption of the position of Life Dictator over the Roman dominions in 44 BC and his assassinations in the Roman Senate.  After a period of strife, Augustus, who was a relative of Julius Caesar, became Emperor in 27 BC.  His rule effectively ended the Roman Republic.  It was from Julius Caesar’s name that the Roman Emperors took their title of “Caesar”.  However, few are taught that the Caesars held the position of “Pontifex Maximus,” that is “Supreme” or “Sovereign Pontiff.”.  This is a very significant fact of history, but it is also very inconvenient to the Church of Rome, for it indicates the origin of the papacy.

Julius Caesar was elected to the position of Pontifex Maximus in 63 BC.  He subsequently assumed the position of supreme ruler of the Roman state.  Thus he had vested in him all the powers and functions of the Babylonian Pontiff, and he was the true legitimate successor to Belshazzar.  Not satisfied with this, he was declared to be Jupiter’s incarnation on 25th December 48 BC in the temple of Jupiter in Alexandria.  The Encyclopaedia Britannica also says about Julius Caesar: “There are signs that in the last six months of his life he aspired not only to a monarchy in name as well as in fact, but also to a divinity which Romans should acknowledge as well as Greeks, Orientals, and barbarians.”  Julius Caesar, by laying claim to be divine, followed the pattern of the kings of Pergamos.  The Roman Emperors that followed Julius Caesar were commonly regarded as gods.

Tupper Saussy explains that following the assassination of Julius Caesar and the ensuing period of civil war, many looked for and prophesied a new golden age.  The Latin poet Virgil wrote of an imminent “Novus Ordo Seclorum,” which in English means “New World Order.”  It was predicted that a pagan “son of god” would rule as the “prince of peace”.  We can see in this Satan’s pagan imitation of the true Messiah, Jesus Christ.  These predictions were viewed as being fulfilled by the emperor Augustus Caesar, the adopted son of Julius Caesar. However the momentous phrase “New World Order” is one which we shall come back to in later chapters.

Woodrow gives us an illustration of a coin showing the head of Augustus Caesar, who reigned from 27 BC to 14 AD, with the inscription “Caesar Pont Max,” which of course was short for “Caesar Pontifex Maximus.”  Coins like this would have been used in the days of the Lord Jesus.  We read that when the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus regarding the payment of taxes or tribute to the Romans, Jesus said them, “Shew me the tribute money.  And they brought unto him a penny.  And he saith unto them, whose is this image and superscription?  They said unto him, Caesar’s.” (Matthew 22:19-21)

The Keys

Janus was worshipped in Rome as the god of doors and hinges, and was called “the opener and shutter”.  Hislop (The Two Babylons) explains what appears at first sight to be a rather strange belief about Janus.  This had a blasphemous meaning for he was worshipped at Rome as the grand mediator.  Whatever important business was in hand, whatever deity was to be invoked, an invocation first of all must be addressed to Janus, who was recognised as the “god of gods,” in which mysterious divinity the characters of father and son were combined, and without that no prayer could be heard – the “door of heaven” could not be opened.”  Therefore Janus was represented with a head with two faces, one old and one young, and holding a key in his hand.  In like fashion the goddess Cybele also carried a key.

Hislop points that the worship of Janus prevailed in Asia Minor at the same time as the Lord commanded the apostle John to write to the seven churches.  Thus we read in the book of Revelation, “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth, and, shutteth, and no man openeth.” (Revelations 3:7).  Here the Lord confirms that he is the one true God, who alone opens and shuts the door of heaven.

As the great head of the Mysteries in Rome, the Sovereign Pontiff or “Pontifex Maximus” held the key of Janus and the key of Cybele, which were tokens of his position as their earthly representative.  The keys became the symbols of the authority of the Pontifex Maximus.  He was known by the Latin title “Pater Patrum” which means in English “father of fathers”.  He was also addressed by the title “Your Holiness.”

The Interpreter of the Mysteries

The Pontifex Maximus had one more title that we must consider here.  This is a mysterious one, variations of which were used by heads of the Mysteries in other parts of the ancient world.  The priest or Pontiff who explained the Mysteries to the initiated was known as the “Interpreter”, which is in Chaldee (the real language of the Mysteries) “Peter”.  Hislop explains about the Peter the Interpreter as follows: “As the revealer of that which was hidden, nothing was more natural than that, while opening up the esoteric (i.e. intended only for the initiated) doctrine of the Mysteries, he should be decorated with the keys of the two divinities whose mysteries he unfolded.  Thus we may see how the keys of Janus and Cybele would come to be known as the keys of Peter, the “interpreter” of the Mysteries.

The god of the Mysteries was also known by the title “Peter-Roma” which is Chaldee for the “Grand Interpreter” In the next chapter we will see how “Peter-Roma” the Grand Interpreter of the Mysteries, was transformed by the papacy into the Apostle “Peter of Rome.” Behold, the mystery of iniquity!

Martin Luther made a very perceptive statement when he wrote, “I know that the papacy is none other than the kingdom of Babylon, and the violence of Nimrod the mighty hunter.  The papacy is a vigorous chase led by the Roman bishop, to catch and destroy souls.”

The Last Pope – Petrus Romanus – Peter of Rome

The Prophecy of the Popes, attributed to Saint Malachy, is a list of 112 short phrases in Latin. They purport to describe each of the Roman Catholic popes (along with a few anti-popes), beginning with Pope Celestine II (elected in 1143) and concluding with the successor of the current pope Benedict XVI, a pope described in the prophecy as “Peter the Roman”, or “Petrus Romanus” whose pontificate will end in the destruction of the city of Rome.  The prophecy was first published in 1595 by Arnold de Wyon, a Benedictine historian, as part of his book Lignum Vitæ. Wyon attributed the list to Saint Malachy, the 12th-century bishop of Armagh in Ireland. According to the traditional account, in 1139, Malachy was summoned to Rome by Pope Innocent II. While in Rome, Malachy purportedly experienced a vision of future popes, which he recorded as a sequence of cryptic phrases. This manuscript was then deposited in the Roman Archive, and thereafter forgotten about until its rediscovery in 1590. [Wikipedia]

Excerpts from Blog “A Reluctant Sinner”

Whether we should take such things as the Prophecy of the Popes seriously or not, here is what “Malachy” wrote concerning the last Roman Pontiff, the man who, according to him, will reign after the current Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI:

Peter the Roman,
who will nourish the sheep in many tribulations;
when they are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed,
and the dreadful judge will judge his people.
The end.

In the vast majority of cases, the Latin titles used in the Prophecy of the Popes link the one who is predicted pontiff to his own birthplace or to his personal name before election to the Papacy. An example of this being Innocent XII, whom Malachy called “Rastrum in porta” (Rake in the door), and whose family surname was Rastrello (“rake” in Italian).

What of “Petrus Romanus” (Peter the Roman)?

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone is currently ’s second name is Pietro (Peter), and he was born in Romano (the Roman) Canavese in Piedmont. If we are to take the Prophecy of the Popes seriously, then – which I don’t think we should – could it be that Bertone is Peter the Roman, the man who will reign over the Church’s most terrifying persecution and whose pontificate will herald the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ?

The document also suggests that Romeo believes Pope Benedict XVI is well aware of Cardinal Bertone’s apparent thirst for power, as well as his alleged unsuitability to sit on the Throne of St Peter. In fact, according to this leaked file, which is meant to be an eye-witness account of Cardinal Romeo’s words to the Italian and Chinese businessmen in Beijing, it is the Archbishop of Palermo’s impression that the Pope would prefer to remove Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone from his post as de facto prime minister of the Holy See.

The Persecution of The Early Church

As the Roman Emperors held the office of head of the Mysteries, Satan’s system of worship, it should come as no surprise that the early Christians were bitterly persecuted by the Romans.  All manner of religions were tolerated within the Roman Empire, but these pagan religions were tolerated within the Roman Empire, but these pagan religions were all branches from the same evil tree, the Mysteries of Babylon.  Therefore, the pagans respected and tolerated each other, being spiritual brethren of Satan.  However, they hated the true Messiah Jesus Christ and the Christian Church.

What was particularly galling to the Roman Emperors, was that Jesus taught, “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14.6)  Christians utterly denied all the pagan gods of the ancient world, believing them to be false and devilish delusions.

As we showed in the previous chapter, the Roman Emperors claimed to hold the keys to the door of heaven, to be the interpreters of the Mysteries and to be regarded as gods themselves in their position as Pontifex Maximus.  However, the Gospel of Jesus Christ showed them to be imposters, who took the place of Jesus Christ as the mediator between God and man.  Their pride was sorely hurt by the Christians, because they would not worship them as gods nor recognise their own pagan religion.

Nero

The first Emperor to lead the great persecution of the Church was Nero, before whom the Apostle Paul was called to give testimony and to die (2 Tim 4).  Nero was a most evil and cruel man.  His persecution was noted for its terrible cruelty to men, women and children.

Alberto Rivera [more details about Alberto Rivera will follow in a later section] who testifies to have been trained as a Jesuit, writes of the methods Nero employed to uncover and capture Christians,.  Rivera claims that when infiltrating Protestant churches in the 1960s, he was instructed by the Jesuits to study the methods of penetration, infiltration and extermination employed against the church by the Emperor Nero and others.  This information was to be a model for destruction of Protestants.  Rivera claims to have had access to the secret files in the Vatican; and after his conversion he spoke about what he found.

Nero’s methods were very sophisticated and involved the formation of imitation Christian churches.  These were organised to trap true believers.  Rivera also makes startling claims about the origin of so-called Christian symbols, such as the fish.  Originally, Christians identified themselves by a mutual knowledge of the scriptures.  However this made it difficult for Nero’s spies to infiltrate the Church.  Therefore, spies deeply planted within the Church introduced the pattern of using “Christian” symbols as an alternative means of identification.  These symbols, such as the fish or dove, were also pagan symbols.  Thus, Nero started to introduce paganism into the early church, via a system of counterfeit churches.

The account by Rivera is consistent with the reference made by the Apostle Paul to the danger from false brethren.  “In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren.” (2 Cor 11:26)

Further corroboration is given by the 18th century historian Gibbon, who observes about the early Christians; “By imitating the awful secrecy which reigned in the Eleusinian mysteries, the Christians had flattered themselves that they should render their sacred institutions more respectable in the eyes of the Pagan world.  But the event, as it often happens to the operations of subtile policy, deceived their wishes and their expectations.”

Gnostic Heresy

In the early church one of the most notable errors was the Gnostic heresy.  The term Gnostic covered a range of doctrines, but there were certain features in common.  Robertson states, “Gnosticism is in truth not to be regarded as a corruption of Christianity, but as an adoption of some Christian elements into a system of different origin.”  It was a mixture of various elements of the Babylonish religions of the East with that of Christian teaching.  The city of Alexandria in Egypt became the centre of Gnostic teaching.

The Gnostics believed that all religions had in them something divine, with no single religion possessing a full and complete revelation.  Thus they took elements from all manner of religions.  Since all the major religions, except Christianity and Judaism, were derived from Babylon, there was some basis for the Gnostic belief.  However, we should note that this error, namely that all religions have an element of truth in them, is fundamental to the modern Ecumenical movement, as well as Freemasonry and the New Age movement.  Truly, “there is no new thing under the sun.” (Ecc 1:9)

The connection between the Gnostic heresy and the Babylonian Mysteries also emerge, when we consider the origin of the word “Gnostic.”  It comes from the Greek word “gnosis” which means “knowledge”.  However, this was a special knowledge held only by a few and denied to the common believers.  The Concise Oxford Dictionary states that it was a “knowledge of spiritual mysteries” and that it was for the initiated.

The Mysteries taught in various ways that the sun god Nimrod was born as a child. However, the child Nimrod never had a fleshly body or humanity like other men. Thus, copying the Babylonish religions, the Gnostics generally believed that Jesus Christ was only a spirit and not a real man.  The Apostle John spoke against this: “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.  This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”  The false messiah Nimrod was being dressed up by these deceivers under the name of the true Messiah Jesus.  Gill, commenting on 2 John 7 says, “antichrist does not design any one particular individual person, but a set of men, that are contrary to Christ, and opposers of him.”  Furthermore, Gills states that the antichrist spoken of by John (2 John 7 and 1 John 2:18) were the forerunners of the Popes.  We shall shortly see how the papacy became the heir to the Mysteries, whilst at the same time purporting to be the head of the Church of Jesus Christ.

Constantine

Despite the heresies that assailed the early church, outward purity of doctrine was for the most part preserved in the first 200 years of its history.  It was in the latter part of the 3rd century that the first signs of apostasy, led by the Bishop of Rome, became manifest.  This coincided with the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire.

All through the first centuries of the Church, the Roman Emperor often persecuted Christians.  Then an apparent change in this situation occurred with the granting of toleration.  However, appearances can be deceptive we will uncover the awful significance of the events of the 4th century AD.

The coming to power of Constantine the Great as Emperor in 312 AD was an event of great significance.  Popular belief would ascribe to Constantine not only the honour of granting toleration to Christians, but also of establishing Christianity as the dominant religion of the Empire.  However, closer examination reveals that Constantine’s Christianity was at best nominal.

Constantine’s favourable stance towards Christians was balanced with an observance of pagan rites.  Woodrow states, “The Christianity of Constantine was a mixture.  Though he had his statue removed from pagan temples and renounced the offering of sacrifices to himself, yet people continued to speak of the divinity of the emperor,  As Pontifex Maximum he continued to watch over the heathen worship and protect its rights.  In dedicated Constantinople in 330 a ceremonial that was half pagan and half Christian was used.  This religious mixture is also referred to by Robertson.  The Christianity of Constantine was but of a very doubtful kind, the Pagans seeing nothing in it to hinder but that when he died, he should be enrolled among their gods.”

The policy of Constantine is considered by many to have been one of expediency.  Persecution of Christians had only served to strengthen their faith and resolve.  Persecution also served as a major cause of division in the Empire.  Therefore, by mixing paganism and Christianity, Constantine sought to unite his dominions.  He bestowed a number of favours on the church, treating bishops as his political aides.  However his policy towards the Church was the means of introducing error and corruption.  It was from this period that the wrath and worldliness of the churches increased.  They forgot the words of Jesus, “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36)

It was during the reign of Constantine that a godly man named Leo, who was a companion of Sylvester Bishop of Rome, separated from the Church of Rome.  This was on account of the greed of Sylvester and “the excessive enrichment of the Church by the donations of the Emperor.”  Leo drew to him those who desired to follow Jesus Christ in truth, these true Christians were later persecuted by the Church of Rome.  It is from them that the Waldensian Church in the Alps was descended, which bore a faithful witness to the truth right up to the Reformation.

Rivera, who claimed to have had access to secret Vatican files, goes beyond what historians have generally recorded.  He states that Constantine really worshipped the sun god “Sol”.  This is independently confirmed by Gillis, who says “Constantine probably brought this cult [the worship of Sol] into the emerging state church.  Coins show him as Soli Invicto Comiti, the “Colleague of the Invincible Sun.”  Rivera further claims that Constantine’s professed Christianity was in fact a lie, which was used to further the counterfeit churches with their twisted concept of Christianity, that had originated from Nero. It was these false churches that Constantine gave toleration to and showered favours upon.  The true Christians knew that he was an enemy of Christ.  This is consistent with what is known of Constantine’s personal life, which was one of atrocity and cruelty towards members of his own family.  Gibbon also says of Constantine, “we may contemplate a hero, who had so long inspired his subjects with love and his enemies with terror, degenerating into a cruel and dissolute monarch, corrupted by his fortune.

In previous generations, bishops had been called to suffer for the name of Jesus Christ.  However, from the era of Constantine the Great, the Bishops of Rome were no longer called to the martyr’s stake, or the confessor’s dungeon, but raised to high rank, and possessing great opulence, in the imperial city, and very naturally beginning to show some tokens of that worldliness, luxury and ambition, which would be the natural temptations of their position.”

The Supposed Disappearance of Paganism

Despite the strength of Paganism at Rome in 378 AD, less than fifty years later Paganism was, to all outward appearances, no longer professed.  However, the Roman church was very different in the early 5th century to that at the beginning of the 4th century.  It now had all manner of superstitious rites and ceremonies, new and strange doctrines were introduced.  In fact, as we shall show in the following chapters, the Church of Rome adopted the pagan rites, symbols and doctrines, covering them with a façade of Christianity.  It was this, and not an outpouring of the Spirit, that brought multitudes of pagan worshippers into the Church of Rome.  These errors also spread to other parts of the professed Christian world.

It was immediately after the time of Damasus that the words of warning given by the Apostle Paul to Timothy were fulfilled.  “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.” (1 Tim 4:1-3)  Celibacy, compulsory fasting, idolatry and baptismal regeneration became the accepted doctrines of the Church.

The Pope

In keeping with the pagan titles given to the Roman Emperors, the Bishop of Rome as Pontifex Maximus, became known by the title “Father” and “Your Holiness”.  The word “Pope” is simply an English version of “Papa” which means “Father”.  This title given to the Bishop of Rome is in total contradiction of the commandment of Jesus Christ, when speaking of religious leaders: “And call no man your father upon the earth, for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” (Matthew 23:9)

Not only did the Bishop of Rome take the pagan titles, but he also took the pagan symbols and insignia of the Pontifex Maximus.  By wresting a few scriptures out of their context, they were dressed up as Christian symbols.  “Peter-Roma”, the Grand Interpreter of the Mysteries, became “Saint Peter of Rome”, the Apostle of Our Lord.  The keys of Janus and Cybele, which were held by the Pontifex Maximus, were proclaimed in 431 AD to be the keys of Peter entrusted to his successor the Pope.  In fact the accounts of Peter even visiting Rome are of a very dubious nature.  The Bible speaks of Paul preaching the Gospel in Rome as the Apostle of the Gentiles, but it is silent about Peter going to Rome.  There is archaeological evidence that Peter was buried in Jerusalem.

Another extraordinary fact is that the mitre worn by the Pope and other bishops is copied from the pagan mitre of the Pontifex Maximus, which represents the fish head of Dagon.  Similar mitres to that worn by the Pontifex Maximums were also worn by other leaders of eastern religions derived from Babylon.  The mitre and cloak made the wearer appear in the form of Dagon.  Woodrow gives startling illustrations of Dagon (of whom Janus was a version) depicted in Mesopotamian sculptures looking just like a present day bishop with his cloak and mitre!  Just as the Pope has taken the key of Janus, he has also taken the fish-head mitre of Dagon.

Woodrow shows another most striking pair of illustrations.  One is a photograph of Pope Paul VI being carried in procession, the other is a picture from ancient Egypt of a priest-king being carried in procession.  One is clearly a copy of the other!

The Jesuits

According to Alberto Rivera, he was brought into a seminary in 1942 when he was 7. Two years later, as his mother was dying, she saw “ugly creatures” coming at her deathbed, and faced a “Christless eternity” because of her faith. When visiting his mother’s grave, Rivera vowed to find answers to “the truth”. After education at a Catholic seminary, he was sent to destroy various Protestant organizations and discredit Protestant leaders, but became disillusioned upon finding that the Vatican was behind “Freemasonry” and that its reverence of the “Mary, the mother of Jesus” the Virgin Mary was contradicted by the Bible. In 1965, at an Ecumenical Conference in a Guatemalan stadium, he denounced the Catholic Church to an audience of 50,000 people. The Jesuits then sent him to a top-secret “Psychiatric hospital” or sanatorium in Spain to make him recant his faith. Here he was tortured and given poison until he nearly died, eventually being put into an “Iron lung” because his lungs had broken down from the abuse. Nearly at death, he asked Jesus to forgive him and was miraculously healed. A senior Jesuit attempted to persuade Rivera to return to Catholicism, but instead was himself persuaded to give Rivera the passport and papers he needed to escape Spain. Afterwards he flew to London and saved his sister María, a nun, after she nearly died in a convent. [Wikipedia]

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The authenticity of the testimony of the late Alberto Rivera has been questioned.  However, charges that Rivera was never a Jesuit are also vigorously denied .  Since Rivera’s death, his ministry has been continued by his widow. The controversy about Rivera is often a bitter and spiritually unprofitable one.  Some professed Christians have even attempted to discredit anyone who so much as quotes from the Alberto Series.  However the present author has persistently found most of the claims in the Alberto Series about Rome and the Jesuits to be independently supported.  Therefore, it is concluded that his testimony is genuine and substantially accurate.

It should be noted that many of the references made in this book to the Alberto Series are to referenced historical information or photographs about the Papacy, which in no way depend upon the truth or otherwise of Rivera’s personal testimony.  Nevertheless, it is recognised that there is a division amongst the Lord’s people over Rivera.  Therefore any references to Rivera are clearly indicated, and in this edition further independent supporting references have been added.  It is noteworthy that one of the sober criticisms of Rivera states “most of what he said about Rome was true.”

Symbolism of the Church of Rome

After the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, the apostles openly preached salvation through the one sacrifice made by Christ upon the cross.  It was to be received by faith, wrought to the believer by the Holy Spirit.  However, the New Testament speaks of little outward symbolism in the Church, other than the two ordinances of the Lord’s Supper and Baptism.  Therefore, the symbolism that abounds in the Church of Rome, and currently in many Protestant churches, is not based upon any scriptural commandments.  Although it is claimed that these so-called Christian symbols have been handed down by tradition from the early church, this symbolism is from a more ancient source, namely the Babylonian Mysteries.

The Deceptive Symbolism of the Mysteries

The Mysteries of Babylon were not only copied (with variations) by the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, but they have found their way into 20th century culture and religion, including what is called Christianity.  As we continue in later chapters, further examination of the worship of Babylon will show much that passes for respectable religion today is none other than the worship of the Devil in the form of the false messiah Nimrod and his goddess wife Semiramis.  The deep symbolism deceives the unsuspecting minority of people today.  Most members of the Church of Rome or Freemasons would be horrified if they knew the truth about their religious systems.  It is the cunning of the Devil which keeps these things hidden from their eyes.

The key to understanding much of the symbolism and the varied names of the many gods and goddesses is the original language of the Mysteries, which is the Babylonian language Chaldee.  This language is closely related to Hebrew.  The names of the false gods and goddesses can then be deciphered and their origin shown.

However this presents us with a feature of the Babylonian religions which people initially find hard to grasp.  This is the enormous number of names under which Nimrod and his wife have been known and worshipped around the world.  R. Woodrow in his book “Babylon Mystery Religion” estimates that the total number is about 5000.  Some of these names would have been titles claimed by Nimrod and his wife during their lifetime.  One example is “Nimrod He-Roe” which is Chaldee for “Nimrod the Shepherd”.  It is from this that we get the word “hero’, the profane world is always indulging in so-called hero worship, in which a man is idolised.  The word “Pharoah” is simply a variation on the Chaldee “He-Roe” meaning “The Shepherd”.  Other names were given after their death, when they were worshipped in various forms as gods and goddesses.  Variations in names naturally arose, because many nations with different languages and cultures adapted and modified the original Babylonian pattern of worship.

A further reason for the large number of names and symbols is a much more sinister one, which we have already touched upon, namely the secret worship and doctrines of the Mysteries were only to be revealed to the initiated.  Therefore a cunning system of names and symbols with double meanings has arisen.  To the uninitiated, these are confusing, it is not obvious to us today that there are hidden meanings.  In this book we uncover some of those secrets, starting with the forms of Babylonish worship that are spoken of and condemned in the Bible.

The Fish

In the Egyptian version of the Mysteries a fish god called “Latus” was worshipped, which is clearly just another version of Dagon.  In the early Church, the symbol of the fish was commonly used to identify Christians during times of persecution.  However, as mentioned previously in the section about Nero, this was not built upon any commandment of the Lord or the apostles recorded in the scriptures.  As we noted in Chapter 5, there is testimony from Rivera that the sign of the fish (as well as other symbols) was introduced by infiltrators in the Church, so that it would be easier for the Emperor’s spies to enter the Church without suspicion, and with less likelihood that they would be converted to Christianity.  Gibbon also observed that symbols from the Mysteries were used in the early Church.  As we shall now see, the fish is a symbol from the Babylonish religions.

Nevertheless, in the early church many true believers took the symbol of the fish to mean “Jesus Christ God’s Son Saviour” for in Greek the first letters of these five words spelt “Ichthys” which means “fish” in English.  However, the name of the Babylonish god Dagon also means “fish”, and was represented by an image that was half fish and half man.  The God Janus, on whom the Papacy was modelled, was also a version of Dagon; the ceremonial robes and mitre made the wearer appear in the form of the fish god.  Therefore it is hardly surprising to read the following statement from Hislop: “about the very time when the Bishop of Rome was invested with the Pagan title of Pontifex, the Saviour began to be called “Ichthys,” or “The Fish” thereby identifying him with Dagon, or the Fish-god; and that, ever since, advancing step by step, as circumstances would permit, what has gone under the name of the worship of Christ, has just been the worship of that same Babylonian divinity, with all its rites and pomps and ceremonies, precisely as in ancient Babylon.”

Therefore we see that a seemingly innocent symbol of the fish to identify Christians is then used blasphemously to represent Christ himself.  How careful Christians must be use only those forms and symbols set forth in the word of God!

Further evidence of the link between Nimrod, Satan and the fish symbol is provided by Bacchus, who was the abominable god of wine and all manner of uncleanness that was widely worshipped in Rome.  Hislop states that the name “Bacchus” comes from the Chaldee word “bakhah,” which means in English “to weep or lament.”  Thus Bacchus was “The Lamented One,” identifying him with Tammuz, for whom the women wept in Jerusalem.  Both Cooper and Gill identify the name Bacchus with the Chaldee “Bar-Cush,” which means “Son of Cush,” or in other words Nimrod.  Bacchus also had the title “Eleleus,” which comes from “Helel,” the Hebrew word translated “Lucifer” in Isaiah 14:12.  Finally let us note that another title of Bacchus was “Ichthys,” or “The Fish”!

Candles

In an earlier chapter it was noted that fire was an earthly representation of the sun god Nimrod, as we have seen, the name Tammuz, under which Nimrod was worshipped, means “the perfecting fire”.  Consequently fire has always played an important part in the worship of the Mysteries.  One of the most common manifestations of this was the abundant use of wax candles, which is a feature of many religions from around the world.

In a similar manner, services in the Church of Rome (and sadly in most of the Church of England today) require the lighting of candles on the table or altar before worship commences.  Where the consecrated “host” is reserved by the altar for later administration, a light or candle is kept burning beside it.  The practice of burning candles by day was copied from the pagan mystery religions; it became part of Church practice at the same time Paganism and the Church of Rome merged in the 4th century.

In the worship of the Old Testament Tabernacle and Temple the use of lamps and candlewicks is described.  However, these did not burn wax, as in the Mysteries or in the Church of Rome, but they were supplied with sacred olive oil.  This is seen in Zechariah’s version of the candlestick with seven lamps, which were continuously supplied with olive oil carried through seven pipes (Zechariah 4:2-3).  Therefore it is clear that the Romish practice did not come from the Temple worship or the Bible.

The burning of wax candles has a secret and mysterious meaning.  The Babylonish religions had a corrupted concept of the “Word of God”, the second person in the Trinity.  This secret is revealed by observing that “word” in Chaldee is “dabar” but “dabar” has a second meaning in English, which is “bee”.  Thus, Nimrod, supposedly the messiah and the word of God, was represented in the Mysteries as a bee.  Since wax came from the bee, the burning of wax symbolised the light from the “Word” that enlightened mankind.  Thus we find in the Mysteries that Jesus Christ was supplanted as the “Light of the world” by Nimrod!  Hence, the significance of John at the start of his Gospel.  Speaking of the Word, “Jesus Christ”, he says: “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” (John 1:9)

Not only do candles tend to superstition but they symbolise the light from Nimrod, the false messiah.  Therefore, let us flee from all such things and maintain a pure worship of Jesus Christ according to the Bible, the written word of God.

Cakes Offered to the Queen of Heaven

                                 

Various versions of the Mysteries tell how Semiramis (the goddess wife and mother of Nimrod) was offered an “unbloody sacrifice”.  On the contrary, Nimrod was worshipped as a god that delighted in blood.  The deified Semiramis was represented as possessing a benign and gentle character, she was seen as the mediator between man and Nimrod, who was frequently depicted as a child in her arms.  This doctrine is seen in some of the very many names given to Semiramis. Tradition ascribes the invention of crucifixion to Semiramis.  Crucifixion was not only a punishment for crimes committed, but was also regarded as a human sacrifice to pagan gods.  Yet we read of the Blessed Lord Jesus, “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)  By his death and resurrection, Jesus overcame “the power of darkness” (Luke 23:53) and “having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it,.” (Colossians 2:15)

The significance of the letters “HIS” graved on the Romish wafer, according to the Church of Rome, are that the letters stand for “Iesus Hominum Salvator”, which is Latin for “Jesus the Saviour of Man”.  However, at the time of the Roman Empire there were innumerable worshippers of the Egyptian goddess Isis in Rome.  Isis was one person in a perverted trinity, the other two were Horus, who was “the Son”, and Seb, who was “the Father of the gods”.  Thus, “HIS” stands for “Isis, Horus and Seb”, the Egyptian trinity of “the Mother, the Son and the Father of the gods”.  The 31st Article of the 39 Articles of Faith of the Church of England appropriately sums up the Mass by saying that it consists of “blasphemous fables and dangerous deceits”.  However, even before the Reformation, John Wicliffe likened the Mass to the rites of the priests of Baal.

A form of the Mass in the final days of the kingdom of Judah is spoken of by the prophet Jeremiah.  “The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.” (Jeremiah 7:18)  The ‘queen of heaven’ was the title given to the deified Semiramis.  It is therefore no surprise to find that the Church of Rome has bestowed this title upon the “Virgin Mary”.

Easter

Although there was no apostolic commandment as such, many professing Christians in the early Church observed a festival called “Pasch.”  This was based on the Jewish Passover and commemorated the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Somewhat later in the Spring, Pagans celebrated a festival dedicated to the queen of heaven – the deified Semiramis, queen of Babylon – the dates of which varied between different nations.  However, this position changed during the course of the 4th century at the time of Constantine, as Hislop explains: “To conciliate the pagans to nominal Christianity, Rome, pursuing its usual policy, took measures to get the Christian and pagan festivals amalgamated.”  This was facilitated by a complicated, but skilful, adjustment of the calendar.  There was also the familiar incorporation of Babylonish rite into what was a supposedly Christian festival, which is now known in English as Easter.

This amalgamation was completed in 519 AD, when it was decreed by the Bishop of Rome that the forty day fast known as Lent was to be kept before Easter.  Of course, no such period of fasting is to be found in the Jewish Passover.  However, the forty day fast was an essential part of the Babylonish spring festivals.

Although the English name “Easter” appears once in the Bible (Acts 12:4), the original Greek word “Pascha” strictly means “Passover”.  It would appear that the translators of the Authorised Version were unaware that the word “Easter” is of pagan origin.  Although it is widely assumed that “Passover” and “Easter” are synonymous, this is in fact a misconception.

The English word “Easter” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “Eostre,” which was the name of the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring.  However “Eostre” was in turn derived from one of the ancient titles of the Babylonian queen of heaven.  In ancient Assyria this was “Ishtar,” and in other parts of the ancient world it was “Astarte.”  In the Bible, this goddess was also known as “Ashtareth”.  There are very many variations of this name, all derived from the Chaldee for “the woman that made the encompassing wall;” for it was Semiramis who first built the walls of Babylon.

Just as eggs are associated with Easter today, so were eggs regarded as sacred symbols in Babylon, Egypt and many other parts of the world.  Hislop relates the class account of the mystic egg of the Babylonians, quoting from the ancient writer Hyginus. “An egg of wondrous size is said to have fallen from heaven into the river Euphrates.  The fishes rolled it to the bank, where the doves having settled upon it, and hatched it, out came Venus, who afterwards was called the Syrian Goddess” – that is, Astarte.  Hence the egg became one of the symbols of Astarte or Easter, and accordingly, in Cyprus, one of the chosen seats of the worship of Venus, or Astarte, the egg of wondrous size was represented on a grand scale.

The eating of hot-cross buns on Good Friday is also of pagan origin.  It is derived from the cakes offered to the queen of heaven.  The original Hebrew word translated “cakes” actually signifies “cakes with marks on them.” As we have seen in a previous chapter, the cross is also the sign of the false messiah Tammuz, in this respect the hot-cross bun is similar to the Romish “Host”.  Further potent symbolism of Tammuz is also displayed by the use of the fire-cross; Hislop gives a detailed account of the worship of the cross of fire in the Vatican on Good Friday, in which a blazing cross of fire was suspended above the tomb of St. Peter’s.

The worship of fire does not end on Good Friday, for the following “Holy Saturday” is that in which the “New Fire” of Easter is lit and blessed.  The Missal states, “The lighted Paschal Candle symbolises the Risen Christ Himself who is “the light of the world.”  So the priest cuts in the wax a cross, to show that it represents Christ.  Not only is this rite derived from the Babylonish worship of fire, but the Church of Rome is implicitly celebrating here the risen Christ on Saturday, rather than on Sunday!  Furthermore, on Maunday Thursday the “Host” (supposedly the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ) is placed in a sepulchre or “Altar of Repose”.  Thus the Romish “Christ” is apparently buried on a Thursday and rises on Saturday!  The god of Rome, though taking the name of Jesus Christ, is in fact Saturn the “Hidden god” of the Mysteries, whose original Chaldee name “Satur” also translates into English as the number “666”.  Saturn was the god of fire, therefore, it is fitting that the rites of Easter fire should take place on the Day of Saturn, or Saturday.

The Halo and Sun Image

In idolatrous pictures of Jesus, Mary or other “Saints”, it is usual to see a bright circle (known as a “halo”) around their head.  Alternatively, a golden coloured disc surrounds the head.  This symbolism is not restricted to professed Christian churches.  It was used in pagan Rome and ancient Babylon.  Pictures of Jesus Christ were unknown in the early Church, and one will search the Bible in vain for such things.

Hislop states that the disc or circle of light surrounding the head “is found in the artistic representations of the gods and goddesses of Babylon.  The disc, and particularly the circle, were the well known symbols of the sun divinity, and figured largely in the symbolism of the East.  With the circle or the disc the head of the Sun-Divinity was encompassed.  The same was the case in Pagan Rome.  Apollo, as the child of the Sun, was often thus represented.  The Missal of the Church of Rome contains a number of pictures of Jesus and Mary.  These show clearly a bright disc encompassing the head, shining as the brightness of the sun.  The Solar disc or halo is exactly the same form of symbolism as that of the round cake or wafer, which we considered in the previous chapter.  Therefore, it comes as no surprise to find the Church of Rome representing the consecrated “Host” in the form of the sun.  These pictures in the Missal also include images of corn, just as “the Son,” the child Nimrod, was represented in the Mysteries.

However there is a deeper significance in the circle around the head.  The word “zero” in Chaldee means both “a circle” and “the seed” in English.  The former meaning of the word “zero” has of course been carried into the English language.  The latter meaning is seen in another name given to Nimrod, which was “Zoroaster,” the head of the fire worshippers.  The name “Zoroaster” is simply a version of the Chaldee “Zero-ashta” which means in English “the seed of the woman”.  Thus, we see how Nimrod was worshipped as a false messiah, being given the titles and dignities by his worshippers that are due to Jesus Christ alone.  Therefore, when we consider that the sun god Tammuz was symbolised by a circle, how blasphemous do the Romish pictures of Jesus Christ appear.  The shining sun behind the head or the circle of light shows that, what is claimed to be Jesus Christ, is in the fact the false messiah Nimrod.

Sun images appear widely in church buildings; these images may take on various forms.  Above the ‘high altar’ in St. Peter’s in the Vatican is a huge golden sun-burst image.  In other parts of St. Peter’s there are sun images at the top of pillars.  This is remarkably similar to the forms under which the sun was worshipped in Babylonish temples.  In the time of Josiah, the gold king of Judah, we read: “And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down.”  (2 Chron 34:4).  The expanded rendering given for “images” by the translators in the margin is “sun images”, this is confirmed by Young’s Concordance.

Another form of sun image that originates from Babylon is the solar wheel, which is in the form of a chariot wheel, and is linked with astrology and the Occult.  Again, this is referred to in the Bible during the reformation of King Josiah.  “And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire.” (2 Kings 23:11)  It is quite remarkable then to find that the circular courtyard in front of St. Peter’s marks out the pattern of a solar wheel.  Another very common form of solar wheel found in all manner of church buildings is the rose window.  This is often placed above the entrance of the church.  Although it was probably not the intention of the church architects, it is remarkably similar to the sun images placed over the entrances to Babylonian and Egyptian temples.  This shows how the customs of Babylonish sun worship have become a traditional part of professed Christian churches.

Saints Days and Patron Saints

The calendar of the Church of Rome over the years has become full to overflowing with the feast days of various “Saints” to whom the Church of Rome gives honour.  Many of these were clearly true Christians, such as the apostles and many martyrs of the early Church.  However, others are of a most dubious nature.  “Saints” are often specially associated with certain types of work or of particular events in life; these are known as “Patron Saints.”  This practice is one which has been taken from Babylonish religions, in the Church of Rome the position of the “Patron Saint” is directly analogous with that of the pagan patron gods and goddesses.

It is recorded that when pagan temple were reconsecrated as churches during the period when the church of Rome absorbed paganism, statues to various gods were renames as statues of “Saints”.  The Romish pictures and images of the Madonna and child, which supposedly represented Mary and the child Jesus, were modelled on the ancient portraits of Isis and the child Horus; as we saw in a previous chapter, Isis and Horus are versions of the deified Semiramis and Nimrod.  The statue of St. Peter in the Vatican is widely believed to have been originally a statue of the god Jupiter.  The halo above “St. Peter’s” head is just like the Babylonian solar wheel.

One practice that the Church of Rome indulges in is the kissing of images; these images may also be dressed in clothes.  Woodrow shows a photograph of the Pope kissing the toe of the statue of St. Peter in the Vatican; the statue is dressed up in pontifical robes.  Both of these practices are borrowed from Babylonish rituals.  Likewise, the processing of idols, that is often performed on feast days by the Church of Rome, had its counterpart in paganism.

The Bible also speaks of this type of idolatrous worship prior to the destruction of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.  The Lord said unto Jerusalem, “Thou has also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them, And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou has set mine oil and mine incense before them.” (Ezekiel 16:17-18).  Concerning the worship of Baal by Ephraim, the prophet Hosea said, “and now they sin more and more, and have made them molten images of their silver, and idols according to their own understanding, all of it the work of the craftsmen; they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.” (Hosea 13:2)  Furthermore, the Lord spoke to Elijah, “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.” (1 Kings 19:18)  It is shocking to compare this with the superstitions in the Church of Rome (and elsewhere) in which people bow before images and in private devotion kiss an image of Christ represented in the crucifix.

The name of some of the “Saints” are direct copies of the names of Babylonish gods.  On 7th October we find St. Bacchus” honoured in the Romish missal.  This date coincides with the end of the grape harvest.  At this time the pagan Romans used to celebrate the “Rustic Festival” of Bacchus, who was the god of wine, drunkenness and debauchery.  The name “Bacchus” means “The Lamented One” and was one of the titles given to Nimrod, who died a violent death and was wept over by his followers.  Likewise, the Church of Rome honours “St. Bacchus” as a martyr.

Rightly did Farel, the 16th century French reformer, regard the worship of “saints” and images to be a revival of pagan idolatry.

Let us then in conclusion remember the words of the Lord Jesus, “God is a Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”  (John 4:24)  In our present day, there is much talk in the professed churches of the work of the Spirit and spiritual experiences.  However, at the same time we see vital godliness and the word of God trampled under foot.  This is because the words “in truth” have been neglected.  Let those who profess the name of Jesus Christ seek prayerfully to worship Him who said “I am the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)

May we forsake all pagan and Babylonish rites, for to say that such things are acceptable to God, if done with a ‘right motive’ is to adopt the doctrine and morality of the Jesuits.  The Bible knows of no such teaching.

Excerpts from “Mystery, Babylon The Great” by I.A. Sadler (OOP)


The Truth About Roman Catholicism
The Secret Truth of Roman Catholicism
Prayer for Renunciation of Roman Catholicism I
Prayer for Renunciation of Roman Catholicism II Release From Strongholds of Jezebel / Queen of Heaven
Prayer for Renunciation of the Jezebel Spirit and To Break Jezebelic Curses
Prayer of Release From the Stronghold of the Baphomet (Freemasonry, the Occult, the New Age, Sexual Sin, Rape, etc.)
Rise of the Global Church of Lucifer
Ecumenism and the New World Order
Rehearsing What God Has Done – Testimony
Mission to Catholics

30 Traits of the Jezebel Spirit
Twenty-One Jezebelic Footprints
Jezebel in Our Society – Who Was Jezebel?
The Attack of Jezebel on the Church
The Spirit of Jezebel and the Church In Biblical Times and Now
Recovery From Codependency / Narcissistic Abuse

How To Discern, Test and Judge Rightly
How To Help Those in the Occult

Refutation of Claims Made by Cessationists
Can a Born-Again
Christian Have a Demon?
Deception Party – Pick Your Poison
What Is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
Christian Testimonies

Renunciation Prayers
How To Get Help Through Prayer
Prayer for Cleansing the Home
Prayer To Break Unholy / Ungodly Soul Ties

Prayer To Restore a Fragmented Soul
Prayer for Divine Healing and Health
Prayer for Self-Deliverance

Posted in False Teaching in the Last Days, Jezebel and Ahab Spirit, The Ecumenical Movement, Truth of Roman Catholicism | 2 Comments

Prayer of Release From Occult Traditions of the Kabbalah

Heavenly Father, Maker and possessor of heaven and earth and all that therein is.  I come before Your presence in prayer for release from all deceptions and devices of the enemy.  I confess and repent from my heart for seeking forbidden and ‘hidden’ or ‘secret’ knowledge outside of Your Word, and opening myself up to deceiving spirits.  According to the multitude of thy tender mercies, please pardon and forgive me for breaking Your commandments and for hurting You in not trusting in Your sufficiency, O God only wise.

I renounce and repent of having allowed myself to be deceived in falling for the lie of the serpent in Genesis 3 – yet again – in accepting the occult knowledge inspired by fallen angels. I renounce and reject the blinding and confusing myriad concepts of the many-faced Kabbalah: “Hear O Israel, the Lord Thy God is One.” (Deut 6:4) and any and all other systems of idolatry, which claim to honour You, while teaching men to break Your commandments.  I renounce and reject the falsehood and slander that You do not manifest Yourself and therefore denying the redemption through the living Word that You sent unto us (1 John 4:6).

I renounce and reject the fallen spirits’ teachings of witchcraft, divination, sorcery, alchemy, spiritism and familiar spirits, reincarnation, numerology and the false illumination of the Zohar, the Tree of Life, The Gateway of Intentions, the Eight Gates of Ari’s Doctrine, the Ten Sephirot or Sephiroth (the ten fallen ones including Azazel and Uzazel who fell from Your truth, and sought to make mankind to fall).  I renounce and reject any and all other associated deceptions received through automatic writing: ”The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deut 29:29)

Help me to understand that all things outside of Thy Word are not of Truth, and are therefore of the lie: “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:17) “You alone are God”, and all the things that You made were made for this one thing, to know You.  “…was not this to know me? saith the Lord.” (Jer 22:16)

Keep me from knowing the depths of Satan, and help me to know the depths of Your love, and to understand the power of Jesus’ resurrection which can never be achieved by any manmade efforts or systems which can all be traced to the lie of the serpent in the garden. “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then Your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5)  ”Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” (Romans 1:25)  Therefore I renounce and reject the root and all the spirits of the Kabbalah.  O Righteous Father, the worshippers of the Kabbalah have not known You!

Help me to know You, the only true God and the Son of Your heart that You sent (John 1:18).  In whom are all of Your wisdom treasures and precious promises.  Help me to know the life that was in Your Son, and the light of that life, the true illumination that lights everyone who comes into this world (1 John 5:12).

I deny the Kabbalah that denies that You were manifested in the flesh, that denies the Father and the Son (1 John 2:22), and the Word of Your Testimony (1 John 5:10): “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” (2 Cor 10:5)

Father, I trust and believe in Your Word, even Yours only:  ”….as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1 Cor 2:9)  Help my love to grow and draw me nearer to You always seeking Your face.

Help me to understand Your will concerning You, and to worship You: “…in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24) in the liberty of simplicity, where Your spirit is.

I ask Father that You rebuke all the deceptions and slander of the enemy, I confess that the teachings of the Kabbalah cannot save nor redeem anyone.  I believe that there is no other name or way given by You that can save or redeem but the name of Your Son: “…thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.”  (Psalm 138:2)

You alone are faithful and just to forgive, and the blood of Your dear Son cleanses me from all of my sins.  Help me not to sin again, but to remember what Your Son suffered for me.

I confess that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life and no man can come to You by any other means, because this is Your will. Your will be done on Earth.

Father keep me from idols. Amen.


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What We Know About God and Jesus From the Bible
Angels and Demons – A Survey of Biblical Doctrine
How To Discern, Test and Judge Rightly
The Counsel of God
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Testimony of Ex-Jewish Rabbi Porat
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How To Get Help Through Prayer
Renunciation Prayers
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Prayer for Salvation / Deliverance by Pastor John Kyle
Prayer for Renunciation and Deliverance
Prayer for Repentance and Forgiveness
Prayer for Divine Healing and Health
Prayer for Cleansing the Home
Prayer for Self-Deliverance
Prayer After Being Saved
Prayer To Surrender Burdens (Short)

Prayer To Thank God for Our Saviour

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Living With Bereavement

Once I was on the telephone to a friend and I told him how I was grieving and how difficult it was sometimes and how painful. My friend responded with something which comforted me greatly.  He said: “Look he is not with you now, but you know that he is somewhere, and you know that wherever he is, he still loves you.”

If we turn to God in brokenness, humility and helplessness and ask Him to help us, we can be sure that He will because He promised us he would and God does not lie.

When it gets too much we can hand our grief over to God and ask him to take it from us, and He will.

God will comfort us, and also we were told to comfort each other.

Just before the ordeal which led to His crucifixion, Jesus promised His disciples that another “Comforter” would be sent to them after He was gone:

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;” Jn 14:16

“For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”  (Is 41:13)

Job said: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”  (2Co 4:16-18)

We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” (2Co 5:8)

“And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.” (Ps 40:3)

Be comforted in that the Bible does say that we shall see our loved ones again.

When King David’s baby son died, David said: “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” (2Sa 12:23)

God’s word is true:

“You keep track of all my sorrows.  You have collected all my tears in your bottle.  You have recorded each one in your book.” (Psalm 56:8)

“For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)


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The Provision of God’s Mercy – Seven Steps to Release by Derek Prince
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Traveller’s Guide to Heaven
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Prayer To Renounce Generational Family Iniquity
Prayer To Restore a Fragmented Soul
Prayer for Cleansing the Home
Prayer for Self-Deliverance
Prayer To Surrender Burdens (Short)

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Who Are the Nicolaitans?

A mysterious group of wicked religious imposters were the “Nicolaitans.”  Who were they?  What did they teach?  Do they still exist today?  Why should they even concern you?  In the warnings to the seven churches of Revelation, we are told to beware of them. Why are they dangerous and how would you recognize them, today?

In Revelation, chapter 2, we read of an enigmatic sect or group called the Nicolaitans who post a great threat to the churches of God.  Jesus says to the Ephesus church: “But this you have, that you hate the DEEDS of the Nicolaitans, which I also HATE” (Rev.2:6). Notice that they hated and rejected the doctrines, works, and doctrines of the “Nicolaitans”.

The Ephesus church was historically a type or antitype of the first and second century churches of God – essentially, the first generation of the church and their early descendants.  But Christ said, “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to [all] the churches” (Rev 2:7).

Then, to the Pergamos church, who existed in a succeeding period of the church, Jesus declares again:  “But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.  Thus [i.e. therefore] you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. REPENT, or else I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of My mouth” (vs.14-16).

Doctrine of Balaam

Notice that their teachings are comparable or the same as the doctrine of Balaam, the arch apostate deceiver and prophet who tried to divine magic against Israel when they came out of Egypt.  When God would not allow him to place a curse on Israel, he later taught the Midianites and their allies to “seduce” Israel from their faithfulness to God, by sending their daughters and wives to use their sexual charms on them, and to entice them to commit immorality and the partake of pagan festivities and idolatrous worship, combining paganism with the worship of God – something which God abominates and thoroughly detests!  The blending of the truth of God with paganism and wicked pagan festivals and practices is an abhorrence to God.  It is called religious “syncretism”.

The word “Nicolaitans”, in Greek, means “followers of Nicolas”.  The name “Nicolas” means “victor of the people”.

Peloubet’s Bible Dictionary says of them: “They seem to have held that it was lawful to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit the immoral excesses of the heathen, in opposition to the decree of the Church rendered in Acts 15:20, 29.  Mingling themselves in the orgies of idolatrous feasts, they brought the impurities of those feasts into the meetings of the Christian Church.  And all this was done, it must be remembered, not simply as an indulgence of appetite, but as a part of a SYSTEM, supported by a “doctrine,” accompanied by the boasts of a prophetic illumination” (p.449).

Early Church Syncretism

The Nicolaitans, therefore, were the early Christian-pagan syncretists, the false teachers that crept into the church, who disguised themselves as followers of Christ – who professed to be His ministers and servants – but who led the people astray.

Peter wrote of them, saying, “But there were also false prophets among the people [such as Balaam], even as there will be FALSE TEACHERS among you, who will secretly bring in DESTRUCTIVE HERESIES, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.  And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed”. All over the world, this will paint all true Christians with the same brushstroke, as being corrupt, immoral, and evil, because of the shenanigans and wicked works of these “Nicolaitans” or false Christians, false teachers who claim to represent Messiah and His truth (II Pet.2:1-2).

Peter goes on, “By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words” (v.2).  He says of them, that they despise authority.  They are presumptuous, self-willed, and like brutish beasts, speak evil of the things they do not understand (verse 10, 12). They are spots and blemishes [in the churches], carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you. They have a heart trained in covetous practices and are accursed children.  They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, FOLLOWING THE WAY OF BALAAM the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness (verses 13-15).

These are the “Nicolaitans”. Halley’s Bible Handbook tells us of them, “Sexual vice was actually a part of heathen worship, and recognized as a proper thing in heathen festivals.  Priestesses of Diana and kindred deities were public prostitutes.  The thing had been a troublesome question for Gentile churches from the start. Meantime great multitudes of heathen had become Christians, and had carried some of their old ideas into their new religion. Naturally there were all sorts of attempts to harmonize these heathen practices with the Christian religion.  Many professing Christian teachers, claiming inspiration from God, were advocating the right to free participation in heathen immoralities.  In Ephesus, the Christian pastors, as a body, excluded such teachers.  But in Pergamum and Thyatira, while we are not to think that the main body of pastors held such teachings, yet they tolerated within their ranks those who did” (p.694).

Ancient Pergamos was a city where the worship of Zeus and Asclepios were endemic, whose symbol was a serpent entwined around a rod or staff.  It was a city where paganism and politics were closely entwined and allied.  Nicolaitan pressures were very strong in this city where pressures to “compromise” would have been very heavy.

“Sacrificed to Idols”

The Nicolaitans seduced God’s people to “eat things sacrificed to idols” – that is, participate in heathen, pagan festivals, including sexual immorality – in other words, to commit spiritual fornication and adultery – which is IDOLATRY!  This convergence of Christianity with pagan beliefs and practices was sheer APOSTASY in the eyes of God!

The Interpreter’s Bible Dictionary tells us, “Since the same practice and teaching of immorality and of idolatry appear in the church of Thyatira, the Nicolaitans, though not named, were probably present also in this church (Rev.2:20-25)” (p.547).  By the time of the Thyatira church age, the problem had grown into a much greater state or condition, for at that time a woman, “Jezebel,” represented the group of apostate heretics and their heresy – a powerful church in conflict with the true Church, masquerading as the true Church.  John wrote, to Thyatira, “Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because YOU ALLOW THAT WOMAN JEZEBEL, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols” (Rev.2:20).  God says of that heathen “church,” which inculcated massive pagan practices and festivals into its church calendar, “Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit ADULTERY [idolatry!] with her into GREAT TRIBULATION, unless they repent of their deeds” (v.22).

Down through Church history

It is clear from the evidence that this heresy, which began as a small group, in the first century, mushroomed and became a strong, dominant CHURCH by the third and fourth centuries, and became the foundation of the Church of Rome and the papacy.  It is described in Revelation 17 as a “woman sitting on a scarlet beast” with the name:  “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth” (Rev.17:3-5).

By the Middle Ages this church became the great persecuting church and was guilty of spilling massive amounts of the blood of the true saints and servants of God (Rev.17:6).

What was the main crime of this church?  Spiritual fornication – or spiritual adultery!  Combining pagan practices and doctrines with the Word of God, or replacing the teachings of God’s Word with corrupt, pagan deceptions and lies, straight from the bowels of Satan the devil!

Says The Interpreter’s Bible Dictionary, “Pagan feasts might thus foster immorality, which is understood literally as licentiousness, or possibly in an allegorical way as unfaithfulness to God. At Thyatira followers of Jezebel claim to know the deep things of Satan. This claim to special knowledge of deep mysteries marks the incipient Gnosticism which flourished a century later (Iren.Her.II.2.2).  The Nicolaitans may be taken to be a heretical sect, who retained pagan practices like idolatry [such as image worship, observing pagan holidays like Christmas, Easter, Halloween, etc.] and immorality contrary to the thought and the conduct required in Christian churches” (p.548).

The early church fathers also spoke of the Nicolaitans.  “Tertullian reports the lust and luxury of the Nicolaitans, cites evidence from Revelation, and adds that there was another sort of Nicolaitans, a satanic sect, called the Gaian heresy [worship of Mother Earth, which has reared its ugly head today]. Clement of Alexandria knows of followers of Nicolaus, ‘lascivious goats,’ who perverted his saying that it was necessary to abuse the flesh.  Clement undertakes to show that Nicolaus [the deacon mentioned in Acts 6:1-6, a faithful servant of God] was a true ascetic and that the later, immoral Nicolaitans were not his followers, though they claimed him as their teacher. Later their name flourished as a designation for heretics.”

The “Synagogue of Satan”

When the Nicolaitans become powerful and the apostasy becomes full blown, and matures, then it changes into a whole Church – but no longer in any degree or sense a part of God’s true Church but an entirely apostate Church body!  When Satan the devil takes over the church body, it becomes literally a “synagogue of Satan”!

This was prophesied to happen during the course of history, and a vast parallel church would be formed of people who think they are Christian, but they are far removed from the original true teachings of the apostles during the first century.

John, in the book of Revelation, spoke of it in the message to the Philadelphia church.  He wrote, to this faithful and true body of believers, who held fast to the truth, and did not deny His Name, “You have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.  Indeed [for this reason] I will make those of the SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN, who say they are Jews [spiritual Jews or true Christians] and are NOT but LIE  [they are deceived frauds, impostors, phoney as a $6 dollar bill] – indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.  Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” (Rev.3:8-10).

Christ warns this church body, the genuine “Philadelphia” church, called that because God names things according to their dominant characteristics, and this church is characterized by “brotherly love,” for the Greek word philadelphos literally means “brother love.”  He warns it, “Behold, I am coming quickly!  HOLD FAST what you have, that no one may take your CROWN” (verse 11).

This church does not slip into the apostasy of the Nicolaitans.  In fact, it has conquered them and their full-blown image – the “synagogue of Satan” by remaining faithful to God’s Word and doctrine!

But many, not knowing or understanding, fall victim to the “conquerors” – the “victors over the people.”  Speaking of such religious leaders, Paul declared, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.  And no wonder!  For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works” (II Cor.11:13-15).

Church history has been replete with such splinter groups, heresies, sects, denominations, cults of all bizarre types and sizes and beliefs.  They are all part and parcel of the “great apostasy” that developed over the centuries from the original church of God.

Paul warned the brethren in Ephesus, “For I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.  Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (Acts 20:29-30).

He was especially concerned about the church in Galatia, and wrote to them, exclaiming, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to PERVERT the gospel of Christ” (Gal.1:6-7).

This was already beginning to occur during the very FIRST generation and Age of the church!  The apostasy and heresy has developed and grown massively since that era, with thousands of Octopus-like tentacles reaching throughout the world.

How did it all begin?  When did the real apostasy really start?

The Real Nicolas Identified: Who was the original founder of this apostasy?  There is no evidence to support the idea that an early deacon in the church named Nicolas was the one who began this heretical movement.  The New Testament nowhere says that he later went astray.  Rather, he was a man who was chosen for a special task, along with Stephen, one of “seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom” (Acts 6:5).

However, God calls things what they are – He names people according to their major characteristic.  A look at the name “Nicholas” will be helpful.  It literally means “victor of the people.”  A synonym of “victor” would be “one who vanquishes an enemy; a conqueror” (The Winston Dictionary).

Who was the great conqueror, who first led the world into APOSTASY?

“Cush began Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one in the earth.  He was a might hunter before [or, Hebrew, “against”] the LORD” (Gen.10:8-10).  He was the first world despot or tyrant upon the earth after the Flood.  Alexander Hislop, in The Two Babylons, tells us, “He [Ninus] was the first who carried on war against his neighbours, and he conquered all nations from Assyria to Libya, as they were yet unacquainted with the arts of war” (p.23, Hislop quoting Justin’s “Trogus Popeius”).  Ninus was Nimrod, the most ancient king of the Assyrians and Babylonians.

Nimrod “began to be mighty upon the earth.”  He was a great dictator, autocrat, and ruled with an iron hand.  He was very contentious and brooked no insult or disobedience to his iron-fisted rule.  He was also the religious leader of the world, leading mankind away from the worship of the true God and into incredible idolatry.  He was the founder of the “Babylonian Mysteries” (compare Rev.17:1-5).

Cush and religious “chaos”

Says Hislop, “Cush [Nimrod’s father] is generally represented as having been a ringleader in the great apostasy” (p.25).  Cush was also known as Hermes [“son of Ham”], or Mercury, and was “the great original prophet of idolatry; for he was recognized by the pagans as the author of their religious rites, and the interpreter of the gods” (ibid., p.25-26).  Cush was also known as Bel, “The Confounder,” who confounded the truth with his replacement lies and deceptions.  He was also called Janus, “the god of gods,” who said of himself, “The ancients called me Chaos.”  He was the one who brought ‘Chaos’ into the world after the Deluge.

Nimrod: the original “Nicolas” and arch apostate

Cush’s son Nimrod (or “Ninus”) “inherited his father’s titles, and was the first king over the Babylonian Empire, which he created by conquest.  Nimrod also led the great rebellion against God by building the tower of Babel, in an attempt to unite all mankind under his rulership and in defiance of the ordinances of heaven.

Hislop goes on to say that when the deification of mortals began, “the ‘mighty son’ of Cush was deified, the father, especially considering the part which he seems to have had in concocting the whole idolatrous system, would have to be deified too, and of course, in his character as the Father of the ‘Mighty one,’ and of all the immortals that succeeded him.  But, in point of fact, we shall find, in the course of our inquiry, that Nimrod was the actual Father of the gods, as being the first of deified mortals” (p.32).

Josephus, in Antiquities of the Jews, tells us, “Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such an affront and contempt of God.  He was the grandson of Ham, the son of Noah – a bold man, and of great strength of hand.  He persuaded them not to ascribe it to God, as if it was through his means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage that procured their happiness.  He also gradually changed the government into a tyranny, — seeing no other way to turn men from the fear of God, but to bring them into a constant dependence upon his power” (Bk.I, iv, 2).

Nimrod was the first great “victor of [or over] the people.”  He was the first “Nicolaus.”  He is the one for whom the WHOLE SYSTEM is named!  His name is stamped on the forehead of this “Mystery, Babylon,” religious system which seeks to bring the whole world into one unified religious system of belief, doctrines, and religious globalization.

To compromise with that entire system or any part of it, God says He HATES – He is passionately against it – it is utterly idolatrous, the horrendous religious system inspired and created by Satan the arch-enemy of God – the devil who deceives the WHOLE WORLD by masking truth of God and replacing it with his nefarious, devious, enticing doctrines (see Rev.12:9)!

Where Are the Nicolaitans Today?

The Nicolaitans today comprise all those people who DEPART from the truth of God, and jettison the true teachings and doctrines of the Bible, for the substitute “mush” from the churches of “nominal, mainstream” Christianity, which has over the centuries, plunged back into a religious system originating in ancient Babylon, and from there to Rome, and from there to Protestantism, and the wide-ranging cults, sects, and denominations of our current generation.

The world is full of them!  They are everywhere – like dandelion seeds, wafting on the winds, blown about and scattered all around us.  “You will know them by their fruits,” Jesus declared (Matt.7:20).

The vast, overwhelming number of churches in the world today would fall into the category of the infamous “Nicolaitans”!  The deception is global.  And it is getting much, much worse, and stronger!

The apostle Paul wrote, about the last days, before the coming of Christ, “Let no man deceive you by any means for that Day will not come unless the FALLING AWAY comes first, and the man of SIN [lawlessness] be revealed, the son of perdition [destruction], who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped [such as Nimrod himself!], so that he sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until He [or “he”] is taken out of the way.  And then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming” (II Thess..2:3-8).

An end-time “Nicolas” – victor or tyrant over the people – is soon to appear on the scene!

The end-time resurrection of this evil apostasy and deception is fast falling into place and coming together before our very eyes, at this moment in history!

False Doctrine – a Mark of the Nicolaitans

What are the identifying “marks” of this vast, deluded apostasy?  How do you know that you personally have not to some extent fallen into some form of this adulterated subspecies which broke off from true Christianity?

First, look at their teachings and doctrine. Compare them with the Scriptures very carefully, taking nothing for granted.  Believe nobody, but check up on everybody, and then believe your Bible!  The apostle Paul wrote, “PROVE ALL THINGS; HOLD FAST THAT WHICH IS GOOD” (I Thess.5:21).  Isaiah the prophet wrote, “To the law and to the testimony [the Old Testament and the New Testament – the Word of God]!  If they do not speak according to THIS WORD, it is because there is NO LIGHT in them” (Isa.8:20).

Paul praised the Bereans because “they received the word in all readiness, and SEARCHED THE SCRIPTURES DAILY to find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).  Paul wrote to Timothy, exhorting him (and all of us), “Be diligent to present yourself to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, RIGHTLY DIVIDING the word of truth” (II Tim.2:15).

Nicolaitans are those who have departed from the faith, in some degree or completely.  They have been led astray by false teachings and doctrines.  Most have rejected the true Sabbath.  Most have rejected the TRUE holy days of God, the annual festivals of His Word (Lev.23), and some THINK they observe them, but have been misled, and keep a false “Passover,” a false “Pentecost,” and even the wrong days for the other holy days, and reject specific commandments of God when they do so!  Most reject the TRUE calendar of God, the New Moons, and the proper calculation of the Hebrew months, and therefore the holy days.  Many accept a false, “fixed’ Jewish calendar when replaced the true calendar in 357-58 A.D. in the time of Hillel II.

And these are only SOME of the false teachings of modern day, end-time “Nicolaitan” influenced churches which claim to be the true remnants of the Church of God and assure the people that they have the bona fide “TRUTH”!

But Jesus declared, “Thy Word is truth,” (John 17:17), and “The Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35), and asserted also, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt.4:4; Luke 4:40.

The Second Fatal Identifying Mark – False Form of Church Government

The Nicolaitans are also like their original founder, Nimrod the apostate, guilty of not only compromising the truth of God, and adulterating it, and mixing it with PAGAN beliefs and doctrines and practices, but they possess a wicked, deceptive, deceitful form of CHURCH GOVERNMENT.   They are often in the form of religious tyrannies, authoritarian, totalitarian, abusive ministers, and very quick to discipline and disfellowship recalcitrant or slow-to-conform members of their churches.  They are very intolerant and autocratic – and rule their congregations like a “god” or a Hitler with a Gestapo-like ministry.

Jeremiah the prophet prophesied of them:  “WOE to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!’  says the LORD.  Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: ‘You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them.  Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,’ says the Lord” (Jer.23:1-2).

Speaking of the churches of God, and the religious leaders of His people, God says, “For both prophet and priest are profane; Yes, in My house I have found their wickedness,’ says the LORD.  ‘Therefore their way to them shall be like slippery ways; in the darkness they shall be driven on and fall in them; for I will bring disaster on them, the year of their punishment,’ says the LORD.  And I have seen folly in the prophets [ministers, pastors, preachers] of Samaria [the modern United States, Britain and house of “Israel”]; the prophesied by Baal and caused My people Israel to ERR” (Jer.23:11-13).

God is very angry at these end-time preachers, ministers, and their lack of true conversion, humility, fear of God, and arrogance!  He thunders, “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you.  They make you worthless; they speak a vision [or doctrine, teaching] of their own heart, not from the mouth of the LORD” (v.16).

God is going to punish.  He declares, “The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has executed and performed the thoughts of His heart.  In the latter days you will understand it perfectly” (v.20).

Do you understand?  Do you fear and tremble before the Word of God?  (see Isaiah 66:1-2).  Do you humble yourself before His Word?

God goes on in His severe warning:  “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran.  I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied [preached].  But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused My people to hear My words, then they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings” (vs.21-22).

God would even forgive them, for their preaching in His name, if only they would preach the TRUTH!  But they don’t, and they won’t.  So God declares, “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy LIES in My name, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’  How long will this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies?  Indeed, they are prophets of the DECEIT [deception, false teaching, false doctrines] of their OWN heart” (vs.25-26).

God thunders, “ ‘The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully.  What is the chaff to the wheat?’ says the LORD.  ‘Is not My word like a fire?’ says the LORD, ‘And like a hammer the rock in pieces?  Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,’ says the LORD, ‘who STEAL MY WORDS everyone from his neighbor” (vs.28-30).

The warnings of Yahweh God are very explicit.  He declares, “Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams [false ideas, teachings of their own heart – see verse 26],’ says the LORD, ‘and tell them, and CAUSE MY PEOPLE TO ERR by their LIES and by their RECKLESSNESS.  Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all,’ says the LORD” (Jer.23:32).

And in verse 36 God warns, “For every man’s word will be his oracle [“burden”], for you have PERVERTED the words of the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God” !

Very serious charges, these are!  Don’t you agree?

The LORD Yahweh says He is going to forsake utterly those who pervert His Word, and preach the deceit of their own hearts, make His people to err and go astray by their LIES, and their “RECKLESSNESS” regarding His divine Word, His TRUTH!

Modern-day “Nicolaitans” and their followers should get a real “HEADS UP” and WARNING from Jeremiah’s message in chapter 23.  He is speaking to THEM!

The Final Mark – Abuse and Cruelty

Ezekiel the prophet was inspired to continue this awesome, power-packed indictment against the shepherds of Israel during the end-time.  He wrote, “And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered” (Ezek.34:1-5).

Notice!  These churches, regardless of their posturing and posing, and dubious claims, persecute the flock under them.  They mistreat God’s people, cause them to grovel in the dirt before their imagined authority, rule them with CRUELTY and hardness, harshness, and overbearing authority.

They do not love the flock; they are not loving or good shepherds, who would even give their lives for the sheep (see John 10:11).  Rather, they are mere ‘hirelings,” who have their own agenda, their own motives, for being ministers, teachers, and pastors!  Jesus said, “But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.” (John 10:12-13).

These “hirelings” rule the flock with “force” and “cruelty.”  The Hebrew word for “force” is #2394, chosqah, meaning “vehemence (usually is a bad sense), force, mightily, repair, sharply.”  Gesenius says, “might, violence, very, mightily.”  The Hebrew word for “cruelty” is #6531, perek, and means “from an unused root meaning ‘to break apart,’ fracture – i.e. severity – cruelty, rigor” (Strong’s Concordance).  Gesenius states: “oppression, tyranny, from the signification of crushing.”

Do we get the picture?  Do you know ANY ministers or churches like that?  How does your minister or church handle it when or if members DARE to ask questions concerning doctrines, teachings, beliefs, or Scriptures which seem to conflict with the church’s teachings and doctrines?

True Ministers

A true minister of God will handle questions in a gentle, loving, patient manner.  As Timothy was told by the apostle Paul, ”Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren.”  (I Tim.5:1)

Paul declared, “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” (2 Tim 3:24-26)

Peter tells the true servants of God, the true ministry, “Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being EXAMPLES to the flock” (I Pet 5:1-3).

And to the church members, God says, “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. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and for ever. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.” (Hebrews 13:7-9).

Paul adds, “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.” (Hebrews 13:17)

And to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote, “And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves.” (I Thess.5:12-13).

Warning for the End Time

The problems with false teachings, false doctrines, and the spirit of Nicolaitan ministers and teachers, was foretold to become very serious and extreme in the “end of days.”  The apostle Paul warned, “Now the Spirit expressly [explicitly] says that in the LATTER TIMES some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron” (I Tim.4:1-2).

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul issued the same warning, only more explicit  He wrote, “But know this, that in the LAST DAYS perilous times will come:  For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a FORM of godliness but denying its power.  And from such people turn away!  For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the TRUTH.  Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth” (II Tim.3:1-8).

The Nicolaitan condition is like a spiritual cancer, that spreads and poisons cells and creates tumours and metastasises until it spreads its lethal cargo throughout the whole body.  If it is not purged, it leads ultimately to death.

Therefore, God tells His true ministers, and servants, to be on their guard.  “Preach the word!  Be ready in season and out of season.  Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (II Tim.4:2-4).

Each one of us is responsible for our own salvation.  We dare not trust any man to do our work, study, prayer, or research for us – we must work out our own salvation, “with fear and trembling” (Phil.2:12-13).  Paul also declared, “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” (Eph.4:14)

Salvation is serious business!  The spirit of Nicolaus/Nimrod and religious deception is alive and well, and thriving in this end-time generation.

Now that you know what the “Nicolaitans” are, what are you going to do about it?

 by William F. Dankenbring

[For more information on this and related subjects, write for our articles:  “The End-Time Apostasy,” “The Great Apostasy,” “Crisis in the Church of God,” “Where Did the Church Go Wrong?”, “Back to Babylon,” “How Have the Mighty Fallen!”, “The Son of Perdition,” “How Should God’s Ministers Be Ordained?”, “The Plain Truth about Church Government,” “Church Authority – The Truth about Totalitarianism,” “How To Study the Bible,” “What Is Moses’ Seat?”, “Anointing and the Laying on of Hands,” Prophetic Errors of Herbert Armstrong,” “Which Church Is God’s True Church?”, “40 Differences – a Statement of Beliefs”.] Triumph Prophetic Ministries

What is the difference between a believer and a disciple?  Or the teaching of the Nicolaitans which Jesus hates?

Nicolaitan literally means “conquest of the laity” in Greek. Translated into terms we see in the Church today, it refers in the author’s opinion to a system in which professional clergy hold unquestioned authority over the laity—that is, the common people who are non-clergy. In much of the Church today, although certainly not all of it, there is a wall of separation between the professional clergy with their ecclesiastical titles and theological degrees and the ordinary people who lack expertise and training in the area of theology.

Professionals like doctors and lawyers and accountants must understandably meet a host of specific requirements to be allowed to enter the brotherhood and practice their profession. And so it is with those who aspire to the title of “Reverend”: those who are worthy of reverence. Traditionally, only those who have seminary training and then ordination, and so forth are allowed entrance into this elite group. In such a way, they appear to be set apart from the people. Certainly the clergy are worthy of respect, but should there be a wall of separation between them and the people? Should we not respect all believers in the family of God? (Perhaps reverence should be reserved for deity alone.)

Although humanly speaking this separation may sound quite reasonable and desirable as it is for human professions, I believe that Jesus hates it when applied to servants of God. Let’s seek to understand why this might be so.

Pastors (not to mention apostles, evangelists, prophets and teachers) have for the most part failed to “equip God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13)

Due to the structure of the church today and man’s nature, most (but not all) pastors prefer their church members to remain in their church until they go home to the Lord, if at all possible. They want no one to leave by the back door, thus insuring a church which continues to grow numerically. There are different kinds of earthly benefits—financial benefits, power, respect from one’s peers, self-esteem and satisfaction to name a few—to be gained by having a large church. However, I’m sure that most pastors do not see these as the primary motivation for church growth. Rather, they see them if anything as only fringe benefits to the accomplishment of reaching many lost souls and gathering them into their church in obedience to the Great Commission. Having a large church might even be a reward for years of hard work and skillful leadership.

It’s clear that most pastors therefore want their church to grow, and to grow as large as possible. One unspoken and perhaps unintended way of keeping the people from leaving the church is to keep them from maturing and attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. We keep them as spiritual children (or at most adolescents) and thus dependent upon us so that they don’t leave the nest to start their own fruitful ministries—which is actually what we expect our own children to do after they grow up. Few of our people will attain to our professional status by doing what is necessary to gain ecclesiastical titles and enter our exclusive club. The great majority will not reach mature adulthood and not be equipped for fruitful ministry. They will not be sent out. They will remain in our church and serve under our authority as laymen. (We are here making no distinction between “full-time” servants of God and “tentmakers”. In the eyes of God they are equivalent.)

Of course, few pastors deliberately keep their people from maturing; it is rather an unwitting course of action predetermined by the Nicolaitan system. Most pastors fear God. But because of the church system and structure in which they grew up and to which they were exposed, they know of no other way. The system which also limits the feeding of the word of God to believers to only once or twice a week in formal meetings in church of course stunts their growth and prevents many believers from reaching adulthood in Christ. Most pastors will say that they desire their members to mature to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. But at the same time for the most part they don’t want people to leave their church because of the various pressures on them for church growth. So there can be conflict for a pastor. It’s not difficult to see which side usually wins the conflict.

But will children become responsible and productive if their parents force them to remain at home as dependents, and never allow them to launch out on their own?

Pastors might not mind if a few of their people mature and become missionaries or evangelists, and may even support them financially. But clearly there is a definite limit to such a scenario. Not only will they be losing the people who tithe* to them, they will be an outflow of funds as well to support them. That’s no way to run a church under the Nicolaitan system. Perhaps there is something wrong with this system.

In the author’s opinion this is the system which Jesus hated. The Roman Catholic Church of course excelled in it. The Protestant Reformation which was in part meant to abolish the Nicolaitan system and restore the priesthood of believers has fallen far short of Martin Luther’s goals. In some cases today around the world the Protestant Church has backslidden to make even the Catholic Church blush. Look at the following instances.

In some Third World countries, the teaching of the Nicolaitans has resulted in extreme perversions and abominations. “Anointed” pastors put their church assets into their own name and run them like profit-making businesses. One retired pastor in Indonesia owned a luxury estate which has an actual Rolls Royce Phantom (price tag on a new 2012 model: from US$447,000 to $528,000) perched right over the front of his big swimming pool like some kind of trophy. Since he is too old to drive it, he simply comes out to polish it every day. Every Sunday following the two church services, bank officials would come to pick up the offering to count it. Only by Wednesday later that week would they finally complete counting the large offering consisting of barrels of small Indonesian currency. Where would it be deposited? Although that is not known, it would not be unusual for it to go directly into the current pastor’s personal bank account. Such a system is not at all rare in Third World countries among charismatic churches.

Another well-known Indonesian pastor urges the faithful during offering time to give whatever they can. If they give a chicken, God will bless them with a goat. If they give a goat, God will give them a bull. If they give a bull, God will give them a….tractor?

An “anointed” superstar pastor in Malaysia is stirring up controversy by alleging turning his megachurch into a private family enterprise. I have heard of some pastors in other countries as well doing similar things, bringing disrepute onto the gospel in the eyes of the lost.

Once we taught The Elijah Challenge for a church in Germany. The pastor’s wife was very concerned that we were teaching their believers how to heal the sick and cast out demons as Jesus did. Her fear was that their people would no longer depend on them or need them after they were trained.

The practices of the Nicolaitans, along with contemporary teaching on “touch not the Lord’s anointed” and the extreme prosperity gospel—none other than the teaching of Balaam and Jezebel both of which Jesus also detests—have combined to give rise to such perversions in the Church of Jesus Christ. “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” “Touch not the Lord’s anointed.” Could there be a parallel here?

Why do most believers not mature into disciples?

It’s obvious why Jesus hates the practices and teaching of the Nicolaitans which can and will evolve into abominations given man’s fallen nature. And the Nicolaitan teaching is also one reason why most believers do not mature into disciples. Let’s see why this is so.

Like the Israelites in 1 Samuel 8, many believers desire an “anointed” king to lead them and to go out before them and fight their battles for them—essentially rejecting God by doing this (v. 7). This is the fruit of the Nicolaitan teaching which holds that believers constantly need a specially “anointed” servant of God to lead and teach them, thus relieving them of the responsibility to study the Scriptures for themselves and mature in their personal relationship with the Lord. But it was an “evil thing in the eyes of the Lord” as Samuel warned the Israelites in 1 Samuel 12:17 when they asked for a king.  Samuel moreover warned them what their king would demand of them in return.

1 Samuel 8:15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. …17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. …19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

This is so reminiscent of what “anointed” pastors will demand from their flock in terms of offerings in return for leading them and fighting their battles for them. And the people do not mind “paying” their professional clergy for their valuable services. This is the inevitable consequence of the institutionalization of the Church of Jesus Christ by man through the teaching of the Nicolaitans. In this way, some pastors are professionally-speaking no different from doctors, lawyers, and accountants. It is not wrong for members of these latter professions to keep an eye on the bottom line and to want to maximize their income since they are essentially businessmen. But as “professionals” some pastors and servants of God have now learned to operate in quite the same way. Just follow the money trail and you will understand why some do what they do—including inviting well-known guest speakers who will draw crowds and their offerings.

The ‘anointing’ as found in the Church today: scriptural or not?

Again, certainly not all pastors have adopted the teaching of the Nicolaitans; many serve the Lord in fear and trembling. Moreover, there is a wide spectrum of accommodation to this teaching into which pastors can be classified. I have ministered in the churches of some very godly pastors. But many well-meaning servants of God, not having been exposed to any other system in the Church, have innocently to some degree or another adopted the model which Jesus hates.

Let us remember that Jesus had only twelve disciples in whom he invested most of his time and efforts. He distrusted the crowds, knowing what was in their hearts. It was his disciples who ultimately impacted the world for the gospel. It was because of their labors that we can hear the gospel today 2,000 years later, and receive eternal hope.

Recall what Jesus said to his disciples: “If is for your good that I am going away” (John 16:7). Only by his going away could his disciples mature as they were taught directly by the promised Holy Spirit. In the same way, disciples must at some point in their development be released to walk with the Lord and to serve him, and no longer dependent on their human mentor who is usually a pastor.

Indeed what is presented in this article is radical and offensive to some in view of the current structure of the Church. A tiny minority of pastors might even see it as a threat to their job security, as did the pastor’s wife in Germany mentioned above. But I believe we can agree that the Church as a whole is making believers—and not disciples. In the Great Commission as recorded in Matthew 28:19, Jesus commands us not to make believers, but to make disciples of all nations. Clearly the Church as it is today is not what the Lord had in mind. He commands us to repent.

“Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality.  Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.  Repent therefore!” (Revelation 2:14)

Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

Therefore what should disciples of Jesus be doing?

John 14:7  If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”  8  Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”  9  Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  10  Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.  11  Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.  12  Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

Perhaps there is no greater threat to the Nicolaitan establishment of a professional clergy and its specially “anointed” ministers lodged in certain circles of the Church than these cryptic words spoken by our Lord Jesus regarding what “ordinary” disciples should be doing.

Why does God HATE them?

When our Lord Jesus Christ walked among men, He taught His disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, whom He denounced as hypocrites. With them He classed the chief priests and officials of the temple, together with the recognized teachers in the synagogues. He declared they had so corrupted the truth of God, which they were supposed to preach, with the doctrines and ordinances of men, that the truth, as originally given, was no longer with them. That which these blind leaders of the blind were giving forth as truth of God was making their converts twofold more the children of hell than they were before accepting the schism by these corrupt teachers.

False teachings enter the Church

In the book of Revelation it is both their “deeds” and “doctrine” that the Lord addresses:

“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; But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ” (Revelation 2:1, 6)

“And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: Thus you also have those who hold THE DOCTRINE of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.” (Revelation 2:12, 15)

The Lord demands repentance on the part of those who hold and practice these things and He threatens drastic punishment if they do not obey Him:

“Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.” (Revelation 2:5)

“Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.” (Revelation 2:16)

Composition of the word

The word Nicolaitans (or Nikolaitës, Strong’s Concordance Number #G3531) found in Revelation is a compound word which is composed of THREE Greek words. Because of it being a proper noun, the word is TRANSFERRED instead of being translated into English. Thus, it is subject to the laws of Greek construction in regard to ellipsis, contraction and phonetics.

The three Greek words used in this word’s construction are:

  • NIKOS, of which we use the English equivalents instead of the Greek letters, as we shall also of the other two. Nikos is defined as “a conquest; victory; triumph; the conquered; and by implication, dominancy over the defeated.” Another transferred name in which this term is used is “Nicopolis,” which is composed of Niko, which means conquest and polis, which means city. Hence, the city of conquest, or city of victory.
  • LAOS, which means people. Another use of this word is found in NICOLAS, which is transferred and is composed of Nikos-laos and means one who is “victorious over the people,” the letter “s” being in both words the nominative case ending, which is retained only at the end of the word to denote the case, while “a” short and “o” short are contracted into “a” long.

A still further transferred use of LAOS is found in the name Lao(s)diceans (or Laodikeus, Strong’s Concordance Number #G2994), compounded with DIKE or DICE as the Greek “k” is the equivalent English “c.” Thus, in the name Laodiceans, we have LAOS, meaning the people, and DICE, meaning judgment or vengeance, i.e., the people of my judgment, or of my vengeance. Also the Greek word la(ic)os, which means “laymen,” of which LA-OS is the root and stem, which selfsame word, with the “o” short contracted to “i”, to which root and stem the plural definite article TON is joined to form LAITON, which is a Greek phrase meaning “the laity.”

  • TON is the third and last word entering into the construction of the proper name Nicolaitan. TON, in which Omega, the long “o”, is contracted into long “a”, thus making the word TAN which is the genitive case plural in all the genders of the definite article ‘the.’

We therefore have, without the legal Greek construction, the English hyphenated word NIKOS-LAOS-TON, but which, with its lawful contractions, becomes the English translation found in Revelation.

What is the real-world meaning of the word?

The full meaning of the word “Nicolaitans” in its native tongue and in its ecclesiastical setting, is that the bishops and prelates of the Church have gained a triumphal victory or conquest over the LAITON, the laity, until they have been compelled to submit to the arbitrary dominion of men who have become that thing which God hates – ‘Lords over God’s heritage’:

“The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed:  Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; NOR AS BEING LORDS OVER THOSE ENTRUSTED TO YOU (‘lords over [God’s] heritage’ in the KJV Bible), but being examples to the flock;” (1Peter 5:1-3).

The evidence of this full meaning is found in all our common school dictionaries, among which we find the following definition of the term “hierarchy: the power of dominion, government by ecclesiastical rulers,” to which the following is introduced in evidence:

“If anyone shall say that there is not in the Catholic Church a hierarchy established by the divine ordination, consisting of bishops, presbyters and ministers, let him be anathema, Council of Trent (translation) XXIII 6.” (Century Dictionary)

In other words, let anyone who has the audacity to say there is not a hierarchy, not a collection of human beings who have been given the power by other men of dominion, as ecclesiastical rulers over churchmen who are declared God’s heritage, let that man be ACCURSED — let death and hell and the devil get him. Surely, the thing in which that ecclesiastical company is glorying is their shame!

Webster’s dictionary defines the word “episcopal” as “the power of government, belonging to, or invested in, bishops or prelates. Government of the church by bishops.”

Also, “in episcopacy, the order of bishops is superior to the other clergy, and has exclusive power to confer orders”.

In this definition it is affirmed that a certain portion of presbyters (elders) were even “in apostolic times superior in authority to ordinary presbyters,” and also mentions the fact that episcopacy recognizes “episcopal rank” which is created by the institution thus governed; all of which affirms that any church in which episcopal government obtains is practicing the very carnal and fleshly iniquity of creating “Superiors” in what should be a holy brotherhood. The use of this appellation makes INFERIORS out of brethren who are in the selfsame clergy.

How can RANK and HIERARCHY destroy a church?

The approbation of “ordinary elders” demands a set of elders who are extra special, thus creating “rank” (caste) in the otherwise Divine brotherhood, all of which DESTROYS holy fellowship, creates division and strife, and fosters envy. No marvel that our Lord should hate a thing like that, condemn it, and demand that those who are guilty repent.

But will they? Yes, some will when the tribulation is on. Others, however, will stick to their ecclesiastical crowd, vainly imagining that their boasted “superiority” will carry them through that time of the greatest trouble the world has ever known, or will know. They must go down with the rest of the hosts of Antichrist.

And yet, one of the most unfortunate features of all this is that there are those in the Christian Church who do not hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, but who practice “their deeds” of dominating the laity by lording it over the Church of Jesus Christ, which should be subject only to one Divine Master!

By  J. H. Allen


Who Were the Nicolaitans, and What Was Their Doctrine and Deeds?
The Secret Truth of Roman Catholicism
Seven Churches of Revelation
Signs of Jesus’ Second Coming
How To Discern, Test and Judge Rightly
Why Worry About Doctrine – Here’s What the Bible Says
Twenty-One Jezebelic Footprints

A Guide to the Tribulation
The Truth About the Rapture
Who Are “The Two Witnesses”?
Rise of the Global Church of Lucifer

Mystery Babylon The Great
Your Church Babylon or Zion?
Deception Party – Pick Your Poison
What Is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
Christian Testimonies

How To Get Help Through Prayer
Renunciation Prayers
Prayer of Release From the Occult and False Religion
Prayer for Self-Deliverance
Prayer To Renounce Being Offended
Prayer To Surrender Burdens (Short)
Prayer To Ask To Develop Good Fruit
Prayer for Spiritual Warfare – Daily
Prayer To Thank God for Our Saviour

Posted in Another Gospel Another Jesus, Seven Churches of Revelation, The Antichrist Beast System, The Great Falling Away Today, Wolves in Sheep's Clothing, Your Church Babylon or Zion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?



Prayer for Countering Halloween
An Understanding of the True Nature of Evil
God Gives Life While Satan Gives Death
Satan’s Biggest Lie – “You Shall Not Die”
Angels and Demons – A Survey of Biblical Doctrine
The Mystery of Jesus Christ

What Is Occultism?
Can Physical Objects Be Vehicles of Curses?
Should Houses Be Cleansed of Evil Spirits?
How To Help Those in the Occult
Occult and Cursed Objects List
The Disney Occult Deception

Renunciation Prayers
How To Get Help Through Prayer
Prayer To Renounce Generational Family Iniquity
Prayer To Renounce Unholy /Ungodly Soul Ties
Prayer To Restore a Fragmented Soul

Prayer for Cleansing the Home
Prayer for Salvation / Deliverance by Pastor John Kyle
Prayer for Self-Deliverance
Prayer for Protection
Prayer for Spiritual Warfare – Daily

Posted in The Occult and Cursed Objects, The True Nature of Evil | Leave a comment

The Meaning of Shalom

This peace bought for us by Jesus is more than a peaceful feeling.  The Hebrew word means completeness, welfare, peace, safety, soundness in body, health, prosperity, quiet, tranquility, contentment, friendship.

In Hebrew, the literal translation is “Nothing missing, nothing broken”, so it is often used to describe ‘salvation’ in Hebrew – the completeness offered by Jesus the Messiah – Shalom describes our new covenant relationship to God through Christ’s blood and sacrifice.  We become not only His child but His friend.


Bible Verses About Healing [KJV]
God Has Given Us Everything We Need
The Father’s Love Letters
The Biblical Meaning of Grace
Where Do I Stand With the Lord?
The Blood Is Enough for Complete Forgiveness
Ten Guidelines From God for Help and Comfort
The Provision of God’s Mercy – Seven Steps to Release
Christian Testimonies

How To Get Help Through Prayer
Renunciation Prayers
Prayer for Healing
Prayer for Protection
Prayer for Self-Deliverance
Prayer To Renounce Being Offended
Prayer To Surrender Burdens (Short)
Prayer To Ask To Develop Good Fruit
Prayer for Spiritual Warfare – Daily
Prayer To Thank God for Our Saviour

Posted in When Things Get Tough | Leave a comment

The Armour of God


“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.  Put on the WHOLE armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  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. 

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”  (Ephesians 6:10-18)

Every Christian needs to wear the full armour of God. God’s word tells us clearly that for every one in the body of Christ, this is the only armour that can and will protect from the evil days.

Ephesians 6:11 says: “Put on the whole armour of God”. It means to put on the ‘full’ armour of God and not just a part of it. If we leave any one part off, the devil would hit us right in that place. The devil is always looking for ways to get a toehold, a foothold, a stronghold and then a stranglehold. The enemy is looking for whom he may devour. Therefore, we need to put on the full armour of God.  Apart from the sword of truth, all the armour of God is defensive.

John repeatedly says that every believer should know he is of God and needs to distinguish himself from the fact that he does not belong to the wicked one. Satan exercises dominion over the world as its ruler. The enemy does not take a break. He is continually at work and that is why there is not a single place in scripture where it tells us we can take the armour off. We have to put on the armour of God all the time to stand against the schemes of the devil in every place.

One thing God has assured that His peace will be with us: “For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, But my kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall “My covenant” of peace be removed,” Says the Lord who has mercy on you.” (Isaiah 54:10)

The peace of God is a great weapon against the power of the enemy. This peace is something we experience even in the midst of the greatest battle.   We will know the greatest peace even in the midst of the greatest battle, but there is no time we should ever let our guard down or remove our armour. The armour of God is not just protection that we have come up with human ability. It is something that God Himself has given us. This weapon will fully protect us in this life and from any weapon that is formed against us.

Standing firm is very significant. We are supposed to stand and stand firm. This armour does not cover our back which means we are to progress in the forward direction.

We can stand against the schemes of the devil. Note the phrase, ‘evil day’. Paul is not referring to any day in particular, although some disasters will take place in the last days. Paul talks about something that every Christian will go through. There will be times when his faith will be challenged and he must confront the forces of evil.  Is there a need to face the evil day? Yes, in fact, it is not an option but a certainty. We will not escape the evil day but we have to go through the evil day.

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

“We know that we are of God and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” (1 John 5:19)

May the Lord help us put on the whole armour of God always in Jesus’ name. Amen.

There are seven ‘pieces of equipment’ in this armour

  1. The belt of truth, which is your trust in the Lord Jesus who declared Himself to be the Truth.
  2. The breastplate of righteousness is your assurance that the blood of Christ enables you to stand righteous before our Father – your heart’s decision throughout the day.
  3. Have your feet shod with the gospel of peace as that way you prepare for the Lord’s service as he is setting you apart to fulfil his purposes and wherever you go, his presence and power will be with you, ready for action.
  4. The shield of faith to extinguish the enemy’s fiery darts aimed at any weak areas in your life.  The shield does no good unless you grip it tightly, prepared for battle.
  5. The helmet of salvation focuses your mind on eternity with God, and guards you against any further enemy intrusion into your soul.
  6. You wield the sword of the Spirit as you immerse yourself in God’s word and put it into action.
  7. Pray in the spirit, so you can be alert and available at all times for communion and intimacy with our Lord.

Belt of truth

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth. To gird your waist means to move out of a comfortable or relaxed position and to prepare for confrontation. Most people don’t like confrontation, and we generally tend to get knots or butterflies in our stomach when we find ourselves going into this sort of situation. It is a normal, healthy reaction. To gird our waist with truth simply means that as we prepare to confront the enemy each day, in whatever form that may be, we should be prepared with the truth as it is in scripture, and/or, more importantly, revealed by the Holy Spirit. As we spend time with Jesus each day, He prepares us for the day ahead, and this is an imperative part of being ready, or ‘girded’.

Breastplate of righteousness 

Having put on the breastplate of righteousness protects you as you face a battle or confrontation. It protects our vital organs, particularly the ‘heart’ (soul), which is susceptible to spiritual damage. Righteousness simply means right standing before God. Right standing before God is achieved chiefly through having a good, honest, and open relationship with Him. Once again, a good relationship means spending quality time with the other person, in this case, God. Sin will separate us from God and therefore weaken our protection (breastplate), but praise God, He is quick to forgive us when we ask Him to. Putting on the breastplate of righteousness is achieved by spending time with our Lord, and then walking in obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit and in accordance with scripture.

Feet shod

Having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace as having your shoes on is symbolic of going out. When we go out we need to be ready to be able to meet people’s needs as we come across them. The fact that Jesus was prepared to die in order to provide our salvation means that we should at least know what to say to someone who has not yet found that salvation. If we find ourselves in a situation where we cannot answer a question or a need, we need to sort it out so that next time we will be.

There is nothing wrong with saying to someone “I don’t know, but I will find out for you”, but it is much better if we can be prepared through knowing our Bible and spending time with our Lord. Having Jesus in our hearts and a good knowledge of the Bible is a very good way to get ready to go out! Jesus often spent time alone with His Father and then did the things that the Father showed Him.

Shield of faith

Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. The shield of faith is obviously very important. Paul says “Above all” when talking about taking the shield of faith. A shield talks of protection. Faith talks of knowing, and believing God, and knowing His direction for us. For example, if God was to say to you “Move to a certain town”, then that is just what He would expect you to do. Almost without a doubt someone, or perhaps even several people might come and say to you “Don’t be silly, God doesn’t want you to do that!”.

The fact that you KNOW what God told you to do protects you from the doubt and hurt (fiery darts) that would otherwise sway you. There are two main aspects of faith. One is simply knowing that God is, and that:

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16,17)

The other side of faith comes and develops as we spend time with our Lord. It is knowing Him on a personal basis each day and being led by the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that He does nothing unless He sees His Father do it first. (John 5:19) So it should be for us, having first spent time with our Lord in fellowship, to be prepared for what lies ahead in each day. Walking in faith simply means walking in obedience, not only to what we know is right behaviour, but also as led by the Holy Spirit.

Helmet of salvation

Take the helmet of salvation which obviously protects our heads and, in particular, our minds and is simply the knowledge and reassurance we have of our salvation. Because we know Jesus not only in the scriptures, but also in our hearts, this is our protection against doubt and anything else that would seek to undermine our faith. Romans 8:15-16 reads:

“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption (sonship) by whom we cry out Abba Father”.

The ways to keep our helmet firmly intact are chiefly to have a good Bible knowledge (through regular reading), but more importantly, to make sure that our actual personal relationship with the Lord is alive and meaningful.

Sword of the Spirit

And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ‘Word’ here is the Greek word “rhema” which means an actual spoken message from God. Therefore the sword of the Spirit is the word (or message) that God speaks to us. It is a quickened word which God provides to counter a wrong situation, or to encourage someone when they need it, to give direction or reassurance etc.

You can picture God sitting up there in Heaven and He sees something that needs His attention. He says to Himself “Hmmm, I think I’ll send Moses with a message for those people. Holy Spirit, go to Moses and tell him to go to Pharaoh and say ‘If you don’t let my people go I will bring a plague of locust upon your land'”. The end result was that Pharaoh could not stand against the Lord, and had to let His people go. It is the same today. God uses us to take a message from Him to different people at different times according to His purposes.

We can all hear from God like this, and His message can be one of reassurance, rebuke, direction, or any one of a number of different things. For that sword to be all sharpened up and ready for use requires an active relationship with the Lord. Take time out at the start of each day, and then periods throughout the day, to just give Him your fellowship. It is amazing how He speaks to people who have the ears to hear! This is another piece of the armour of God that is automatically intact and properly fitted when we have a right relationship with God.

When David faced Goliath, Saul had David fitted out in his armour, but David found that it was heavy and uncomfortable, and so he chose to go without it. In the same way we cannot wear anyone else’s armour. It is not good enough to know about God through someone else. We are each responsible for our own personal relationship with the Lord to keep our armour intact. The plus is that when we have a right relationship with Him, our lives are complete and nothing can match the beauty that we find there even in adversity.

There are many different aspects to having a meaningful relationship with God. Some of these are regular Bible reading, prayer, thanksgiving and praise, but along with these is the need for time out to “be still and know that I am God”. A time of fellowship where we stop and let Him enjoy our company, while we enjoy His. A time without noise, or the need to do or say anything. A time of just being still before Him and available to Him.

Basis of our victory

“Christ Jesus has totally defeated Satan and all of his wicked powers and authorities totally and forever”.  The enemy would like to have God’s children ignorant of the fact that Christ already defeated Satan one hundred percent. The battle is won totally and forever.

“And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it”. (Colossians 2:13-15)

Satan, the Accuser

Why does Satan accuse us? The primary motive behind the accusations of the devil is to make us feel guilty. Satan wants to rob us of the confidence we have to go before God.

Guilt is the key to our defeat and righteousness is our key to victory. God, through the cross, has dealt with this problem of guilt, both in the past and in the future. He has made complete provision for both. How did God deal with the past? Colossians 2:13 says: “He forgave us all our sins”. God made provision for our future, as seen in Colossians 2:14, “…having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us: he took it away, nailing it to the cross”.

Written code

These are the laws of Moses. To obtain righteousness with God, we need to keep all the laws as given to Moses. As long as the Mosaic laws were the requirement, every time we broke even one of the most minor requirements, we were guilty before God. But Jesus took the law out of the way and made provision for us to live free from guilt. Isn’t that awesome?

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes”. Jew or Gentile, it makes no difference. Christ is not the end of the law as part of God’s Word. Christ is the end of the law as a means to achieve “righteousness with God”. We are not required to keep the law in order to be righteous.”  (Romans 10:4)

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”  (2 Corinthians 5:21)

This is the divine exchange. Once we grasp the fact that we have been made righteous with the righteousness of Christ, the devil cannot make us feel guilty any longer. Satan’s main weapon will thus be taken from him. Jesus disarmed the principalities and powers by His death on the cross. He took from them their main weapon against us.

The outworking of Christ’s victory through us

“And having disarmed the powers and authorities he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2:15)

“But thanks be to God who always leads us in His triumph in Christ and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.”  (2 Corinthians 2:14)

Notice the words “always” and “in every place”. That means, there is no time and no place when we cannot visibly share the triumph of Christ over Satan’s kingdom.

Jesus declares: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, Therefore make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28: 18-20)

Here Jesus says that through His death on the cross, He has wrested the authority from Satan, obtained it for Himself and God has vested in Jesus, all authority in heaven and earth.

What is the implication of “therefore?” Jesus says: “I have won the authority, you go and exercise it”. You go and demonstrate My victory to the whole world by fulfilling My commission.”

The victory of Jesus 

First, in the wilderness, Jesus defeated Satan on His own behalf. He met Satan, resisted his temptation, and defeated him.

Second, on the cross, Jesus defeated Satan on our behalf, not for Himself. He did not need the victory for Himself because He already had it, but He won the victory for us and defeated our enemy. He disarmed our enemy, stripped him, and made a show of him openly on our behalf. Praise God!

Third, it is now our responsibility to keep the devil where he belongs.

Remember: “Jesus Christ has made victory possible for us ‘always’ and ‘in every place’. Amen.

The girdle of truth

This is the first equipment in the whole armour of God. When a Roman soldier was required to do something active, such as use his weapons, he would need to take care of that loose garment. If he failed to do it, its flaps and folds would hinder his movements and prevent him from using the rest of his equipment effectively.

Truth literally means honesty, sincerity and openness. We live in a culture and society where people say things without really meaning them from the bottom of their hearts. Why do they say something and do something else? … simply because, they want to sound good. In other words, instead of God pleasers we often become men pleasers.

Often times, we say we will pray for you, brother and then totally forget about that brother. That is a bunch of insincere words and they are like the loose, hanging garment. It gets in our way and prevents us from doing the kind of thing that God asks us to do. Not only that, it becomes a stumbling block for the other items of equipment.

We must put away sham, hypocrisy, saying and doing things we do not mean. Often truth is painful. But it is time to confront the need for real truth, openness and frankness. You need to put on the girdle and tie it around so that the religious insincerities and shams no longer hang around you and become a stumbling block in the way of things God would want to have you do.

‘Loins’ is often used in the context of reproduction. When we gird our loins, we clothe ourselves in a way that our loins are covered in the spiritual sense. Every Christian married or unmarried must have spiritual children. It happens by ‘Words’. Words are the seeds to produce spiritual children.

“The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life.”  (Proverbs 13:14)

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit”.  (Proverbs 18:21)  We need to give life with our words.

Jesus spoke about girding your loins with truth. The Lord said:

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. “The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”  (Matthew 12:33-37)

What was Jesus talking about? He said in effect, if our words are truth and life, then we must wrap ourselves in the truth. We must love truth as we love our life. Truth should become our treasure.

We are living in the last days. The deceiver is let loose. People are talked into things that are not truth anymore. If we, as God’s elect want to stand by the truth, we need to love the truth. That is why 2 Thessalonians 2:10 says, “…the love of the truth”. Only the people who love the truth will not be deceived in the last days. This is the way we wrap ourselves with truth to prove that we love the truth. Or in other words, we love the truth so much that we wrap ourselves in it continually.

A practical way to girdle the truth is to meditate on the word of God, the first thing in the morning. It is so important to girdle our loins with the truth. Just like the people in uniforms get up each day early morning and get ready for that day’s battle, we as a soldier in God’s army need to put on the full armour of God. The first thing we need to do is wrap ourselves in the word of God.

In the Old Testament days, the priest needed to wash themselves in the laver first thing each morning. That means the cleansing of the Word.  The children of Israel need to gather manna the first thing in the morning that represents the word of God.

In the biblical times, barrenness was such a reproach. In the spiritual sense barrenness is even worse. We literally lose our ability to reproduce if we do not have enough seed (the word of God) in us. We must protect our ability to reproduce and we can do it only with the “Word of God”. Amen.

May the Lord help us to gird our loins in Jesus’ name.

The breastplate of righteousness

The heart is the vital organ of the human body. The breastplate of the soldier protects the heart. The Bible declares in Proverbs 4:23:

Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life”.

Paul speaks about the breastplate of righteousness as a protection of the heart. Ultimately what we have in our heart determines the course of our life, for good or for evil. Therefore it is so important to safeguard your heart. When a soldier in the army of God we need the breastplate of righteousness.

Paul describes the breastplate of righteousness which you need to put on. Unless you decide to put on this breastplate, God cannot put this on you.

“But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love.”  (1 Thessalonians 5:8)

Again Paul describes the breastplate but this time on a different dimension, ie., of faith and love.

If we put these two scriptures together, the breastplate of righteousness is a breastplate of faith and love. In Philippians 3:9, Paul speaks about this kind of righteousness again. That I may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.”

In the above scripture, Paul talks about two kinds of righteousness. One is his own righteousness that is derived from the Law and says this is not sufficient. But he talks about a righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith in the written word of God. Paul is talking about the second kind of righteousness when he was writing about the breastplate of righteousness.

When we operate in our own righteousness, Satan can find many weak points in that type of righteousness and can often penetrate it with his attacks and could damage our heart. Therefore we must put on a breastplate that is not our own righteousness but the righteousness of Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ.

We need to believe the scriptures and accept by faith that we have become the righteousness of God. That is the only kind of breastplate that can adequately protect our heart and our life.  This type of righteousness can only be wrought by faith. It is a breastplate of faith and love.

Jesus prayed for Peter that “his faith may not fail” the night before His passion. There may be times when our faith seems to fail. But that is when we need to pray like how Jesus prayed. It is so easy to praise God and keep going when everything goes all right. But when everything seems to be failing, that is when the real test of our faith comes.

Jesus warned Peter that he was going to betray Him the same night. In the context of that warning, Jesus said, “Peter, I have prayed for you”. Jesus did not pray that Peter would not betray Him. In those situations, under the pressures that would develop and with the known weaknesses in Peter’s character, it was inevitable that Peter would betray Jesus. But Jesus prayed a different kind of prayer.

Notice that your faith may not fail. If Peter’s faith would not fail, then even though he was going to deny the Lord and show himself very weak and cowardly, all those things could be retrieved. Jesus was giving importance to Peter’s faith instead of the other outward things. Jesus was praying for Peter’s breastplate of faith and love. Faith is the essential element for this breastplate.

The kind of faith we are talking about works only through love. Galatians 5:6 says:

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision mean anything, but faith working through love”.

One thing that Paul says is without faith that comes from love, you cannot succeed in Christian life. It is an active faith that works through love.

Song of Solomon 8:6-7, says: “Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal over your arm: for love is as strong as death, many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away”.

See the phrase “love is as strong as death”. Death is the one irresistible thing that we all must encounter. There is no way to avoid death. Love always conquers us from all negative forces like resentment, unforgiveness, bitterness, discouragement, and despair which can corrupt our hearts and spoil our lives. Remember, all that there is in life comes out of the heart.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

This is the breastplate we need, one that never fails. A breastplate in which there is not a single weak point that the enemy can get in. This breastplate will protect you from any evil thing that the enemy can bring to you to penetrate that vital area of your life.

Let our faith not fail, no matter what we go through in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The shield of faith

Ephesians 6:16 says: “above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one”.

There are many facets of faith. First of all we enter into God’s Kingdom by faith. We perform signs, wonders and miracles by faith. We even prophesy according to our measure of faith. In the scripture above, we notice that faith is also the shield that will quench the arrows of the enemy. Yet there are many who do not understand it and there are few who use it.

Faith is the most visible part of the spiritual life of a Christian. Let us say that a soldier is marching toward you with his shield held rightly. It will be the most prominent thing you will ever see about him. In the same way, when others look at you walking towards them, is your faith that prominent? Our words and deeds should bring about faith in others. Sadly, some people have their shields in a place that is hardly seen. Yet some are dragging their shields behind them instead of holding it up against the enemy.

All of life’s trials that come our way are for one great purpose, our maturity. We should therefore embrace the trials as opportunities. That way, each trial the enemy flings at us will actually cause our faith muscle to grow stronger and stronger and it becomes impossible for the enemy to hurt or wound us.

Every soldier must learn to use the shield skilfully. Irrespective of the direction from which the attacks came, the warriors use their shields efficiently so that he will not miss the target from an unexpected direction. We too need to learn to be flexible with our faith. Usage of faith should accompany trust in God and assurance of His victory and never look at situations in doubt and unbelief.

Shields are of two types. One is a small circular, flat one and the other one is a long rectangular shield and is taken from the word for a door because it is shaped somewhat like a door. This is the kind of shield Paul speaks of when he says, “the shield of faith.”

A properly trained Roman soldier uses the shield so skilfully that no part of his body could be reached by the enemy. It gave him complete protection. This is the faith Paul is talking about when he refers to it as a shield.

Satan doesn’t care about the folks that do not cause any damage to his kingdom. He wants to cause trouble to those who will trouble him. The enemy first counterattacks our minds, our hearts, our bodies and our finances. So we need to have a shield that covers us. He will attack any area he could reach. If he cannot attack us, he will attack those closest to us. If you are a married person then the first thing the enemy would want to touch is your spouse. That is why you need to have a shield big enough to protect you and everything around you. You, your family, and everything God has committed to you.

Faith is mentioned twice in this list of armour. First, as a breastplate which is faith and love. Secondly, a shield is the shield of faith. Each of us of ‘faith’ must be understood slightly differently. The breastplate is faith for our own personal righteousness, but the shield of faith is for protection and provision for ourselves and all whom God has committed to us. It is that which covers everything. We must hold our shield of faith for full protection and provision.

May the Lord make us strong soldiers in His Kingdom. Amen.

The sword of the Spirit

The sword is the one weapon that is quite different from the rest of the weapons. The sword is more an offensive weapon than a purely defensive one. To fight the devil in your life, there are no shortcuts. In fact, there is no other effective way than to take the sword of the Spirit in your mouth. In order for you to get there, you need to spend a lot of time meditating on the word of God and memorizing portions of it. That is the way you have an abundance of Word when you need it.

You cannot tell the devil, “Hey devil, hold on, let me find out which word will stop you”. No! You have lost the battle already if you do that. You need to get trained to use this weapon so effectively that the devil will not mess with you anymore. It is the only way to drive the devil off.

Are you finding it so hard to fight with the enemy? It is not so hard. The only thing that you need to be aware of is your position in Christ and the privileges you have in the Lord. The devil is already defeated. He cannot stop you from doing God’s will in your life. But you can stop him. Jesus has given us “the power to trample over serpents and scorpions and nothing can by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)

The source and the nature of the sword of the Spirit

1. It penetrates

Hebrews 4:12 says, “The word of God is living and active sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart”.

God’ word is so powerful it can penetrate to every area of a human being. It divides the soul and the spirit, the innermost area of human personality. It goes to areas where no missile on earth can reach. It does much more than any human invention can do.

2. Comes out of the mouth of Jesus

John the disciple saw a vision in Revelations 1:16 when he had a vision of Jesus in His glory as the Lord of the church, one of the things that he saw was a sword coming out of the mouth of Jesus. “In his right hand he held seven stars and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword”.

3. The only weapon Jesus used

Matthew 4:1-11 says that Jesus used this weapon all the three times the devil talked to Him in the wilderness. Every time Jesus encountered Satan personally, the only weapon He used against him was the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Jesus had no doubts about the scripture. He knew it so well that if he uses the scriptures, there will be divine manifestations. Satan also never questioned the authority of the scripture. He never will. The devil knows the power of the Word of God. The temptation that Satan threw at Jesus was for Him to doubt the Word of God. Notice Satan starts each question with an “if”. That means he calls for doubt.

Beloved, this is the same strategy the devil uses against us. He will cause us to doubt the Word of God as he did to Eve in the Garden of Eden. Once he gets there, then it is easy for him to work on us. That is why we need to hold on to the Word like an anchor even when the going gets tough. No matter what your situations are, the Word of God is the same. God’s word is perfect, powerful and reliable in every situation.

Also notice, Jesus did not have different methods to deal with the enemy. He used the same weapon of the Word of God against him. “It is written…it is written…it is written…”

4. Sword of the Spirit is the “Rhema word

Ephesians 6:17 says, “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Paul speaks about the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. In the Greek it is ‘Rhema’ which is the spoken word. It is not the Bible that is in your bookshelf or on the nightstand or on your coffee table. It is the word of God you have put in your heart and the Holy Spirit taking the one word and giving it to you in your time of need.

Our part is to deposit the word of God in our hearts. The Holy Spirit will not do that for us. But when we take the sword in faith, then the Holy Spirit gives us the power and the wisdom to use it.

May the Lord help us use the sword of the Spirit effectively in our lives. Amen.

The weapon of praise 

Praise is related to God’s greatness or awesomeness. Praise is a very powerful tool for God’s supernatural intervention. Three things happen when we praise God.

The children of Israel sang in Exodus 15: 11:

“Who is like You among gods, O Lord? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?”

“Awesomeness in praise” reveals how great our God is. He alone is worthy of all our praise. To Him belongs all the praise. Only our God can be praised and none other.

1. Praise silences Satan

Satan’s main activity is accusations against God’s children. He is full-time into accusing the children of God. He does this to push us to a place of guilt and shame.

Revelations 12:10 says, “And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night”.

Jesus was performing miracles in the temple when the children cried “Hosannah”. The chief priest and the scribes objected to that. Jesus quoted the scripture as in Psalm 8:2:

“Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes, You have ordained strength, Because of your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger”.

2. Praise strengths God’s children

In Matthew 21:15,16, God’s word declares: “But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant, and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes; have you never read, “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes Thou has prepared praise for Thyself?”

Notice Jesus said “Out of the mouth”. The mouth is the primary channel for releasing our spiritual weapons against Satan’s kingdom. Secondly, this verse speaks of infants and babes. This means those who have no natural strength of their own, who much rely on God’s strength. Jesus refers to the people who do not have natural strength of their own when He said babes and not necessarily those who are new born in the natural.

Here we see that God has provided His people strength to deal with this entire kingdom. Jesus was out in the temple and the little children were shouting, “Hosannah!” Jesus was quoting the scripture as in Psalm 8:2 and at that time Jesus answered and said: “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes you have established strength”.

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3. Praise releases power

When God’s children use their mouth effectively, there is no way out for the enemy. Praise literally binds the enemy. In other words, the party that uses the mouth effectively wins the war. If God’s people keep silent, they cannot win. When they begin to praise, the enemy has to keep quiet.

Psalm 149:6-9 says, “ May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all his saints”.

These verses sounded so promising to me when I read this. This speaks of God’s saints and what they can do through praise. That praise should be accompanied by a two-edged sword. It means praise should be coupled with God’s word.

We have the authority committed to us, through God’s word and through the weapon of praise, to administer God’s written judgment on angels, rulers, kings, peoples and nations. That implies a great amount of power and authority. Isn’t that awesome! Praise God. Thank you Jesus for the authority you have given us as your children!

May the Lord help us to be people of praise always in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The weapon of preaching

This weapon of attack is specifically related to the preaching of God’s Word. It is no way related to preaching on any other subjects other than what is in the Word of God.

Paul encourages Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:1-2 says, “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke and exhort with all longsuffering and teaching.”

First of all the word “charge” is a strong term. Notice the word, “I charge you”. This word “I charge” is used in connection with a solemn testimony in a court of law. It is a legal term. Paul tells Timothy that he is to preach the word with equal urgency when circumstances are favourable and when they are not. It is given in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, in the light of the fact that Christ will judge the living and the dead and in view of His appearing in His kingdom. It is one of the most solemn charges ever given to any servant of God.

Secondly, the charge is to preach the Word. It takes into account the responsibility of the preacher for what he preaches. Jesus will judge the living and the dead indicates the preacher will give an account for the messages he preaches. It is a warning not to preach what the listeners want to hear but instead to preach the truth in love. Paul says in Acts 20:20, “I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house”. Despite opposition and criticism, the charge is to preach the Word of God.

God’s Word is a Weapon

There is so much to say about the power and effectiveness of God’s word. There is dynamite power in the preached Word of God. Its results are guaranteed. It will not return empty. It is like a hammer that will break in pieces every rock that opposes the purposes of God. It is like a sharp sword that pierces to the innermost recesses of the human personality and exposes the intentions of men’s hearts and minds.

Isaiah 55:11: “So shall My word that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

Jeremiah 23:29: “Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”

Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Ministry of Paul in Ephesus

Acts 19:8-10: “And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. But when some were hardened and did not believe but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyranus. And this continued for two years so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks”.

Paul did an intense, continual and extensive teaching of the Word, which is so important for a breakthrough. Paul’s preaching was intense in the sense that he spoke boldly without reservations. His preaching was continuous. He preached every day for two years. He did not preach the Word on and off. It was extensive in the sense that his teaching reached out to the whole of the province of Asia.

The first result was supernatural attestation. Scripture says that God will confirm His Word. He does not confirm human theories. He will confirm that He has said in His Word. Acts 19:11-12 says, “God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them”. I love the word “extraordinary miracles.” Do you know what that implies?

The second result was that the evil spirits were driven out into the open. Acts 19: 13-16 says, “Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists book it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches. Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”  This account is like a backhanded compliment when the representatives of the Devil say that about a preacher. In effect, Satan’s agents were saying, ‘This preacher is achieving something’.

The third result of Paul’s preaching was the occult domination over the entire city was broken. Acts 19:17-19, “This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified, And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totalled fifty thousand pieces of silver”.

Even in the church world today, we see a lot of folks having one foot in the Kingdom of God and the other in the enemy’s kingdom. These folks need to see the demonstration of the reality of Satan’s power. When Paul preached, the believers brought the books and burned them publicly. The value of the books was fifty thousand silver. One silver is a day’s wages. If you estimate a day’s wage at about $50, then, 50 thousand silver is $2,500,000. What a transformation it will be if the same thing happens in every city in the USA!

Acts 19:20, “The Word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed”. The tremendous power behind all this is the preached word of God. Paul’s ministry had no reservations and no compromise. That is the kind of preaching of the Word of God that accomplishes similar effects. Oh! How much we need that kind of preaching today.

May the Lord raise up Pails in the body of Christ in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The weapon of testimony 

Preaching is sharing the Word of God, but testimony is speaking from a personal point of view about incidents that line up with the Word of God and confirm the truth of God’s Word. For example, if we are preaching a message on deliverance, we share the promises of deliverance and preach the principles on which God delivers. But if we testify about healing, we speak about an incident when we personally experience God’s delivering power. Therefore, preaching and giving a testimony are both with respect to the Word of God but they approach from different angles.

Three things are needed for the testimony to be powerful

1. We need the “Supernatural Power”

To be effective witnesses for Jesus, we need supernatural power. Out testimony needs the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus wanted His disciples to go out and begin testifying after they were enbued with that power on the Day of Pentecost.

2. Our Life needs to become a testimony

Jesus insisted that our life speaks to people all the time about Jesus. More than our talk and our work, it is our character and our conduct that touches people. The key for our testimony is ‘our life’. Our way of living talks a lot of things to the people that our words cannot speak. Our life talks louder than our words.

3. We need to start where we are

We need to start in Jerusalem which means our area of influence. Jesus was talking about telling people from where God has placed us. Let them believe and let them be filled with the Holy Spirit. Then let them in turn go and tell other people. In turn, let them believe, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and go and tell others. He said it would start in Jerusalem, move out to Judea, then to Samaria, and will not cease until it reaches the uttermost parts of the earth.

The goal Jesus has is ‘the uttermost parts of the earth’. His basic strategy for reaching it was for all of God’s people to become witnesses, witnessing to and winning others. Those, in turn, were to witness and win until, like the expanding ripples from stones cast into a pond, they reached the uttermost part of the earth.

Blood of Jesus and the Word of God

We overcome Satan when we testify personally to what the Word of God says the blood of Jesus does for us. One way we do that is taking part in the Lord’s Table.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:26: “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes’.

The cup represents the blood of the Lord, so in taking part in the Lord’s Table we are continually testifying, proclaiming the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

There are five important provisions revealed in the Word of God that are made available to us through the blood of Jesus.

  1. Redemption: Ephesians 1:7,”In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”
  2. Forgiveness:  1 John 1:7 says, “…but if we walk in the light as He himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
  3. Cleansed:  Romans 5:9 says, “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”
  4. Justified:  Justified is just –as-if-I’d never sinned, because I have been made righteous with a righteousness that knows no sin, which is the righteousness of Christ.
  5. Sanctified:  Sanctify means to set apart for God or to make holy.  Hebrews 13:12 declares, “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate”.

We need to continually take the offensive with the weapons God has provided for us. It is not enough to merely stay on the defensive and wait upon the Lord all the time to do the battle. We are an army or conquerors. The Nations are ready to be harvested into the kingdom of God who will win them with the Gospel of the kingdom.

Our prayer is that the Lord will use you as a testimony to win the people into the kingdom of God. Amen.

The love commandment

Every Christian would have prayed these words at least once. Lord, “let me hear from you”. Most of us would have prayed many times and some are praying daily. Without a doubt, God wants to answer. Yet believers remain frustrated unable to hear specific instructions from the Lord, they end up wandering around in a spiritual dilemma, incapable of seeing God’s path He has planned for them.

The first step is to obey the general instructions that He has given us before we can go into any of those specific instructions. Every soldier in an army has to learn the general orders first.  General orders are the overall military requirements that everyone in uniform must obey.  Once that was in place the cadets learn the direct orders from their superior officer. Finally, there are orders of the day, which is a detailed format that provides a road map for the day.

As soldiers in the kingdom of God, we’ve been given general orders by the Commander in Chief.  Those commands are mandatory and important—so important that everything in life hinges upon our obedience to them.

Matthew 22 is one of the many places in the New Testament we find those general commands.  There we read about a young lawyer asking Jesus a crucial question:

“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is, You shall love your neighbour as yourself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22: 36-40)

1. Love God, love others

These are the general and direct orders of the Kingdom. 1 John 4:10 says, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” The word love is a strong term. The cycle of love begins with God. His love is what gives us love for Him and love for others. Jesus prayed to the Father for His first 12 disciples and for all who would believe in Him, and said, “You have sent me and have loved them as You have loved Me.” (John 17:23). God loves me as much as He loves Jesus.

Thank God for that and say it out loud till it sinks in. The devil may attempt to convince you the other way but don’t give room for the devil. Pray this: Father, I thank you for loving me so much. Thank you for sending Your Son for me. I receive that love in the name of Jesus, Amen.

2. Believe that love is in you

That love is living inside of you. Romans 5:5 says, “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Believe as Jesus said in John 17:26 that the love with which God loved Jesus is in you. 1 John 4:15,16 says:

“Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him and he in God. And we have and believed the love that God has for us.”

The love of God is imparted in your heart and you are the authorized user of it. God has deposited His love in your heart and you need to withdraw from that deposit all the time. When you realize that you activate the most powerful force. You begin to love everyone. You will not only love God, with the same love you will start to love on the most crazy and the meanest people you know. You will be full of love, you will not have problems releasing it. You will be so full of love, it will begin to overflow.

3. Practice love

Now you are saying, ‘how can I do that’? Start by taking time to really forgive others that have wronged you. How to do that? In prayer take time to picture that person in your mind. Lift him before God and say, Father, I give all those unloving, bitter and hateful feelings toward this person to you. I will no longer be bitter towards this person. I surround him with love. I love that person as much as I love myself. Spend time loving God and focus on forgiving people who have been hard to love in your life. Pray for them. Consciously strive to live and walk in harmony especially those with and around you – especially with your family, people at church. The devil knows the power of agreement. Mathew 18: 19-20:

“If two of you agree touching anything in this earth, it will be done by my father in heaven.”

When you catch yourself saying something angry or unloving, do not allow yourself to be that way. Repent immediately. Say: “ I judge myself for that in the Name of Jesus. I am not full of anger but I am full of love”.

Another way you can practice the love of God is by looking for secret ways to bless people. Do not even put your name. Let God get the glory out of it. Don’t do it to be seen or appreciated. Do it purely out of love. Look at James 2:14-17: “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”

Finally confess the One who is the greatest. 1 John 4:4 says: “Greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world.” With Him we can do everything. We can love anyone. Cultivate a conscious awareness that God is walking with you all the time

“For you are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:16-18)

Become God-inside minded. Say, “When I walk, God walks. His hands are in my hands. I have the mind of Christ. I am the temple of the Holy Spirit. When you begin to live in the light of that revelation, you are walking in love and your path will grow brighter and brighter every day. You will be hearing specific orders from Heaven at every point.

May the Lord pour out His love on us in Jesus’ name.

Amen.


The Armour of God and Other Bible Pins I
The Armour of God and Other Bible Pins II
Salvation – What the Bible Says
In Christ I Know Who I Am
What We Know About God and Jesus From the Bible
A Guide to the Tribulation
The Truth About the Rapture

Angels and Demons – A Survey of Biblical Doctrine
How To Help Those in the Occult
Can a Born-Again Christian Have a Demon?
Refutation of Claims Made by Cessationists
The Biblical Meaning of Grace
The Meaning of Shalom
Various Levels of Faith
Christian Testimonies

How To Get Help Through Prayer
Renunciation Prayers
The Blood Is Enough for Complete Forgiveness
Prayer for Forgiveness Made Possible by Jesus Christ
Prayer To Renounce Being Offended
Prayer To Surrender Burdens (Short)
Prayer To Ask To Develop Good Fruit
Prayer for Spiritual Warfare – Daily
Prayer To Thank God for Our Saviour

Posted in Deliverance, Faith and Belief, The Armour of God, When Things Get Tough | 2 Comments

Why Is Christianity So Bloody?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.  Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.”  (Proverbs 3:5-7)

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

As far as Christianity being a bloody religion, it is. But it is uniquely a bloody religion. Contrary to bloodless religions, it takes sin seriously, indicating that God takes sin seriously and gives a death penalty for it. Sin is not a small matter. It is the simple sin of pride that turned Lucifer into a demon. It was the simple sin of jealousy that caused Cain to slay Abel, etc. And in Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit, they believed the deceiver over a good and loving God, choosing to rebel against His love and denying the goodness of His character. Christianity is a bloody religion because it views sin as a holy God views it – seriously.  It seems a simple matter, but it is the very thing by which so many are deceived.

Also, because God is just, sin requires a penalty. God cannot merely forgive in mercy until the demands of justice have been met. Thus the need for a sacrifice before forgiveness is possible. The shedding of the blood of animals, as Hebrews points out, could only “cover” sin for a time (Hebrews 10:4) until the intended and sufficient sacrifice was made in Christ’s atoning death. Thus, Christianity is different from other bloody religions in that it alone provides a sufficient sacrifice to take care of the sin problem.

Last, although Christianity presents a bloody sacrifice in these regards, it is the only religion that is bloodless in the end. The opposite of death is life. In Jesus’ death, He brought life as is shown in so many verses. And in trusting Christ and His atoning sacrifice for one’s sins, one is saved from death and has passed into life (John 5:24; 1 John 3:14). In Him is life. All other paths lead to death (Acts 4:16; John 14:6).

Question: “Why is Christianity such a bloody religion?”

Answer: To understand why Christianity is a “bloody religion,” we must go back to God’s declarations regarding blood in the Old Testament: “the life of the flesh is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11, 14). Here God tells us that life and blood are essentially one and the same. The blood carries life-sustaining nutrients to all parts of the body. It represents the essence of life. In contrast, the shedding of blood represents the shedding of life, i.e. death.

Blood is also used in the Bible to represent spiritual life. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden by disobeying God and eating fruit of the forbidden tree, they experienced spiritual death immediately, and physical death years later. God’s warning, “You shall not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. For in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17) was fulfilled. Their blood – their lives – were now tainted by sin. In His gracious plan, however, God provided a “way out” of their dilemma by declaring that sacrifices of blood, first the blood of animals and finally the blood of the Lamb of God (Jesus Christ), would be sufficient to cover the sin of fallen mankind and restore us to spiritual life. He instituted the sacrificial system, beginning with the animals He himself killed to provide the first garments, thereby “covering” the sin of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21). All the Old Testament sacrifices which followed from then on were temporary ones, needing to be repeated over and over. These continual sacrifices were a foreshadowing of the one true and final sacrifice, Christ, whose blood shed on the cross would pay the penalty of sin forever. His death made any further bloodshed unnecessary (Hebrews 10:1-10).

Question: “Why did the sacrificial system require a blood sacrifice?”

Answer: The whole of the Old Testament, every book, points toward the Great Sacrifice that was to come—that of Jesus’ sacrificial giving of His own life on our behalf. Leviticus 17:11 is the Old Testament’s central statement about the significance of blood in the sacrificial system. God, speaking to Moses, declares: “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.”

A “sacrifice” is defined as the offering up of something precious for a cause or a reason. Making atonement is satisfying someone or something for an offense committed. The Leviticus verse can be read more clearly now: God said “I have given it to you (the creature’s life, which is in its blood) to make atonement for yourselves (covering the offense you have committed against Me).” In other words, those who are covered by the blood sacrifice are set free from the consequences of sin.

Of course the Israelites did not know of Jesus per se, or how He would die on their behalf and then rise again, but they did believe God would be sending them a Savior. All of the many, many blood sacrifices seen throughout the Old Testament were foreshadows of the true, once-for-all-time sacrifice to come so that the Israelites would never forget that without the blood, there is no sacrifice. This shedding of blood is a substitutionary act. Therefore the last clause of Leviticus 17:11 could be read either “the blood ‘makes atonement’ at the cost of the life” (i.e. the animal’s life) or “makes atonement in the place of the life,” i.e. the sinner’s life, with Jesus Christ being the One giving life through His shed blood.

Hebrews 9:11-18 confirms in the New Testament the symbolism of blood as life and applies Leviticus 17:11 to the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 12 states clearly that the Old Testament blood sacrifices were temporary and only atoned for sin partially and for a short time, hence the need to repeat the sacrifices yearly. But when Christ entered the holy place, He did so to offer His own blood once for all time, making future sacrifices unnecessary. This is what Jesus meant by His dying words on the cross: “It is finished” (John 19:30). Never again would the blood of bulls and goats cleanse men from their sin. Only by accepting Jesus’ blood, shed on the cross for the remission of sins, can we stand before God covered in the righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Question: “If God hates human sacrifice, how could Jesus’ sacrifice be the payment for our sins?”

Answer: The Bible makes it quite clear that God hates human sacrifice. The pagan nations that surrounded the Israelites practiced human sacrifice as part of the worship of false gods. God declared that such “worship” was detestable to Him and that He hates it (Deuteronomy 12:31; 18:10). Furthermore, human sacrifice is associated in the Old Testament with evil practices such as sorcery and divination, which are also detestable to God (2 Kings 21:6). So, if God hates human sacrifice, why did He sacrifice Christ on the cross and how could that sacrifice be the payment for our sins?

There is no doubt that a sacrifice for sin was necessary if people are to have any hope of eternal life. God established the necessity of the shedding of blood to cover sin (Hebrews 9:22). In fact, God Himself performed the very first animal sacrifice to cover, temporarily, the sin of Adam and Eve. After He pronounced curses upon them, He killed an animal, shedding its blood, and made from it a covering for Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21), thereby instituting the principle of animal sacrifice for sin. When He gave the Law to Moses, there were extensive instructions on how, when, and under what circumstances animal sacrifices were to be offered to Him. This was to continue until Christ came to offer the ultimate perfect sacrifice which made animal sacrifice no longer necessary. “But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:3-4).

There are several reasons why the sacrifice of Christ on the cross does not violate the prohibition against human sacrifice. First, Jesus wasn’t merely human. If He were, then His sacrifice would have also been a temporary one because one human life couldn’t possibly cover the sins of the multitudes who ever existed. Neither could one finite human life atone for sin against an infinite God. The only viable sacrifice must be an infinite one, which means only God Himself could atone for the sins of mankind. Only God Himself, an infinite Being, could pay the penalty owed to Himself. This is why God had to become a Man and dwell among men (John 1:14). No other sacrifice would suffice.

Second, God didn’t sacrifice Jesus. Rather, Jesus, as God incarnate, sacrificed Himself. No one forced Him. He laid down His life willingly, as He made clear speaking about His life: “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again” (John 10:18).  God the Son sacrificed Himself to God the Father and thereby fulfilled all the requirements of the Law. Unlike the temporary sacrifices, Jesus’ once-for-all-time sacrifice was followed by His resurrection. He laid down His life and took it up again, thereby providing eternal life for all who would ever believe in Him and accept His sacrifice for their sins. He did this out of love for the Father and for all those the Father has given Him.  (John 6:37-40).

Question: What does it mean that Jesus died for our sins?

Answer: Simply put, without Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins, no one would have eternal life. Jesus Himself said: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). In this statement, Jesus declares the reason for His birth, death and resurrection—to provide the way to heaven for sinful mankind, who could never get there on their own.

When God created Adam and Eve, they were perfect in every way and lived in a virtual paradise, the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15). God created man in His image, meaning they also had the freedom to make decisions and choices of their own free will. Genesis 3 goes on to describe how Adam and Eve succumbed to Satan’s temptations and lies. In doing so, they disobeyed the will of God by eating of the tree of knowledge from which they were forbidden: “And the LORD God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die’” (Genesis 2:16-17). This was the first sin committed by man and, as a result, all mankind is subject to both physical and eternal death by virtue of our sinful nature inherited from Adam.

God declared that all who sin will die, both physically and spiritually. This is the fate of all mankind. But God, in His grace and mercy, provided a way out of this dilemma, the shed blood of His perfect Son on the cross. God declared that “without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22), but through the shedding of blood, redemption is provided. The Law of Moses (Exodus 20:2-17) provided a way for the people to be considered “sinless” or “right” in God’s eyes – the offering of animals sacrificed for every sin they committed. These sacrifices were only temporary, though, and were really a foreshadowing of the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice of Christ on the cross (Hebrews 10:10).

This is why Jesus came and why He died, to become the ultimate and the final sacrifice, the perfect (without blemish) sacrifice for our sins (Colossians 1:22; 1 Peter 1:19). Through Him, the promise of life eternal with God becomes effective through faith to those who believe in Jesus. “So that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe” (Galatians 3:22). These two words “faith” and “believing” are critical to our salvation. It is through our believing in the shed blood of Christ for our sins that we receive eternal life. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

by Robert Gobelet


In the face of tragedy, a question often asked is “Why does God allow pain and suffering?”
Religious Abuse – Links to Websites, Videos and Books
Ten Guidelines from God for Help and Comfort
Abuse – Recover From All Seven Forms
God Gives Life While Satan Gives Death


Salvation – What the Bible Says
Should Christians Pray the Imprecatory Psalms?

Occult Questionnaire
Deception Party – Pick Your Poison
What Is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Christian Testimonies

How to Get Help Through Prayer
Renunciation Prayers
The Blood Is Enough for Complete Forgiveness
Prayer for Forgiveness Made Possible by Jesus Christ
Prayer To Restore a Fragmented Soul
Prayer To Renounce Rejection
Prayer for Cleansing the Home
Prayer for Divine Healing and Health
Prayer To Renounce Being Offended
Prayer To Surrender Burdens (Short)
Prayer To Ask To Develop Good Fruit

Posted in When Things Get Tough, Why Is Christianity So Bloody | 1 Comment

Legalism Carnality Apostasy

Legalism: strict adherence, or the principle of strict adherence, to law or prescription, especially to the letter rather than the spirit.  In theology it is the doctrine that salvation is gained through good works and the judging of conduct in terms of adherence to precise laws.

Carnality: that which is characterized by the flesh or the body, its passions and appetites, sensual: carnal pleasures, not spiritual, merely human, temporal, worldly; a man of secular, rather carnal, leanings.

Apostasy: an abandonment, desertion of or departure from one’s religion, principles, party, cause, etc.

From “Blessing or Curse – You Can Choose” by Derek Prince

In Jeremiah 17:5 God pronounces His curse on another kind of sin, which is at work in many sections of the Church:

“Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord.”

In this context – as in many other passages of Scripture – the word ‘flesh’ does not denote the physical body.  Rather, it denotes the nature each of us has received by inheritance from our common ancestor, Adam.  Adam did not beget any children until he himself had transgressed God’s commandment.  The essential motivation of his transgression was not so much the desire to do evil as the desire to be independent of God.

The desire is at work in every one of Adam’s descendants.  It is the distinctive mark of the ‘flesh’.  In the field of religion, it seeks to perform righteous acts without depending on the supernatural grace of God.  No matter how good its intentions, the final product will always be an ‘Ishmael’, not an ‘Isaac’.

The adjective that Scripture applies regularly to the flesh is ‘corrupt’.  Although it can produce much that is designed to impress the mind and the senses, it is all tainted by corruption.  The outcome of all of its efforts is described in Hebrews 6:1 as ‘dead works’, from which God requires us to repent.

The kind of person described in Jeremiah 17:5 is not a stranger to God’s grace.  This is indicated by the closing phrase: ‘whose heart departs from the Lord’.  If he had never known the Lord, he could not be said to ‘depart’ from Him.  A person of this kind has experienced God’s supernatural grace and power, but then turns back to relying on his own natural ability.  His conduct reveals that he has more confidence in what he can do for himself than in what god can do for him.  He has, in fact, ‘snubbed’ God.  It is this attitude that calls forth God’s curse.

The next verse describes the outworking of the curse that such a person brings upon himself:

“For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,
And shall not see when good comes,
But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
In a salt land which is not inhabited.”

What a vivid picture of a person under  God’s curse!  He finds himself living in ‘parched places’ and ‘a salt land’.  All that surrounds him is barren and dreary.  Refreshing may come to others all around him, but in some mysterious way it always passes him by.  He is doomed to barrenness and frustration.

The curse of Jeremiah 17:5-6 is at work in the lives of many individuals, but it also applies to a much wider area.  It is one real but invisible cause of the barrenness and ineffectiveness of many sections of the contemporary Christian Church.  Almost every movement of any significance in Christendom can trace its origin to a powerful, supernatural work of God’s grace and God’s spirit.  It is to this, above all else, that they owe the impact they have made on history.

Yet, today, many – perhaps most – of these movements no longer place much emphasis on the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.  They have turned back to relying on the best that they can accomplish by their own efforts.  They are ‘trusting in man’ – that is, in themselves – and ‘making flesh their strength’.  Surely, but imperceptibly, ‘their heart has departed from the Lord’.  They have, perhaps, achieved religious and intellectual ‘respectability, ‘but in so doing they have forfeited God’s favour.  In its place, they have brought upon themselves the dark shadow of the curse pronounced in Jeremiah 17:5.

To put human ability in the place of divine grace is to exalt the carnal above the spiritual.  The effect will be manifested in many different areas.  For example:

Intellectual education above character building

Program above the leading of the Holy Spirit

Theology will be exalted above revelation

Eloquence above supernatural power

Reasoning above the walk of faith

Psychology above discernment

Laws above love

All these errors are different manifestations of one great, basic error: putting man in a place that God has reserved solely for the Lord Jesus Christ.

This was the kind of situation Paul sought to deal with in the churches of Galatia.  In Galatians 3:1‑10 he traces the problem from its source to its culmination.

In verse 1 Paul identifies the source as a deceiving satanic influence that he calls ‘witchcraft’:

“O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?  This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” (Gal 3:1-2)

An alternative version renders Paul’s question, “Who has put you under a spell?”

This satanic influence had obscured the only source of God’s all-sufficient grace: Jesus Christ crucified.  Cut off in this way from God’s grace, His people inevitably turn back to the only alternative: a system of religious laws.  This leads to Paul’s next question in verse 2:

“Did you receive the spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”

The word normally used to describe this is legalism.  Since this word is often used in a an imprecise way, however, it is important to define it more exactly.

Legalism may be defined in two related ways.  First, it is the attempt to achieve righteousness with God by observing a set of rules.

In Romans 3:20 Paul has ruled this out with absolute finality:

“Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

The word ‘the’ in front of ‘law’ is put in by the translator.  What Paul actually says is:

“By the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

The word ‘the’ in front of ‘law’ is put in by the translator.  What Paul actually says is:

“By the deeds of law no flesh will be justified.”

The primary reference is to the Law of Moses, but the statement applies no less to any other set of religious rules.  Law can show us that we are sinners, but it does not have the power to change us.

Alternatively, legalism could be defined as the attempt to impose any extra condition for achieving righteousness beyond what God Himself has laid down.  God’s requirement is stated in Romans 4:24-25:

“It [righteousness] shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offences, and was raised because of our justification [in order that we may be reckoned righteous by God].”

This is God’s simple but all-sufficient requirement to attain righteousness: that we trust ourselves to Him, believing that He did two things on our behalf.  First, He delivered Jesus to death for our sins.  Second, He raised Jesus from the dead that we might be reckoned righteous.  God asks no more than this, and no one has ever been authorised to add anything to God’s requirements.

After that, once we have received righteousness in this way by faith, the righteous acts that are appropriate will flow out of our faith.  But if we add any extra requirement for attaining righteousness, God will not meet us on that basis, and the righteous acts will not follow.  We will never be able to go beyond the best that we can achieve by our own fleshly efforts.

This explains Paul’s next question in Galatians 3:3:

“Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?”

The normal term for this is carnality – that is, relying on our own fleshly nature.  Further on, Paul lists at least fifteen ‘works of flesh:

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)

Not one of them is good or acceptable to God, because the flesh is not capable of producing anything that God will accept.  In Romans 8:8 Paul sums this up: “So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God”.

Finally, in Galatians 3:10, Paul states the culmination of this descending process: a curse.  “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse.”

Thus, by the logic of the Holy spirit, Paul analyses the problem of the Galatian churches, which is also the problem of many contemporary churches.  It stems from a deceiving, satanic influence that infiltrates the church and diverts the attention of God’s people from the only source of His grace: Jesus Christ crucified.  Paul categorises this influence as witchcraft or a spell.

Cut off in this way from the source of grace, Christians inevitably degenerate into carnality and legalism.  The final outcome of this downward drift is a curse. It has already been pointed out – in Chapter 6 – that spells and curses are the main tools of witchcraft.

In this way, the truth of Jeremiah 17:5-6 is carried over into the New Testament, and finds its expression in Galatians 3:1-10.  “Trusting in the works of the law [legalism]” and “making flesh our strength [carnality]” culminate in a curse.  As a result, God’s people find themselves living in ‘parched places’ and ‘a salt land’.

Carnality can take many forms.  Often these are obvious and unappealing to people with a religious outlook.  Some typical examples would be: sexual uncleanness or immorality; vulgar language; over-indulgence in food or drink; driving personal ambition; uncontrolled anger or other evil passions.  What makes legalism especially dangerous is that it appeals to earnest, dedicated men and women who would not easily be entrapped by these more obvious sins of the flesh.  Yet in its final consequences, legalism is just as deadly as other, less ‘respectable’ sins.  It is Satan’s favourite tool to divert Christians who could otherwise become a serious threat to his kingdom.

For me personally, the analysis of the Galatian problem is no mere exercise in abstract theology.  On the contrary, it is very real, and also painful.  In 1970, in Fort Lauderdale, I found myself sovereignly and supernaturally ‘joined’ to a small group of ministers from various backgrounds.  None of us had anticipated what happened to us, and one of us understood what God had in mind for us.  Doubtless, if we had continued to rely on the Holy Spirit who had initiated our relationship, He would have gradually unfolded His purpose to us, but that was not the path we followed.

All too soon, and without our discerning what was happening, the various features of the Galatians 5 ‘syndrome’ began to manifest themselves.  Our decisions and actions were no longer initiated by the Holy Spirit, but were based on an elaborate system of rules and concepts that had been devised.  We continued to acknowledge the Holy spirit, but in the way that guests in a restaurant might acknowledge a waiter.  If we felt we needed something, we would summon Him briefly.  But for the most part we relied on methods and plans of our own devising.

Looking back, I realise now that the work the Holy Spirit had initiated among us posed a serious threat to Satan.  He resorted, consequently, to the tactics that had been so successful in Galatia, and in countless other situations throughout subsequent Church history.  There were two decisive steps.  First, he displaced the cross from the centre of our lives and ministries.  Second, he displaced Jesus as ‘Head over all things’ in our practices and relationships.  By an inevitable process, we degenerated into the normal type of religious organisation, operating on the plane of our natural reason and ability.

Paradoxically, one main cause of our problems was the very fact that we had a supernatural beginning.  Like the Galatians, we had ‘begun in the Spirit’.  From that beginning, there was no easy or painless route by which we could simply become just another religious organisation, functioning on the natural plane and taking our place alongside countless similar groups throughout Christendom.  As Paul pointed out to the Galatians, that which has been initiated by the Holy Spirit can never be brought to completion by human flesh.

It was not long before we were confronted by the outworking of the curse we had thus brought on ourselves.  Its manifestations were characteristic of other similar developments throughout church history.  Personal relationships were ruptured; congregations were split and shattered; promising ministries were cut short or else diverted from God’s purpose; once-enthusiastic Christians were blighted by frustration and disillusionment.  Many abandoned their faith.  If we had been obliged to give a name to it all, we would have had to call it “Ichabod, saying, ‘The glory has departed’”. (1 Samuel 4:21)

The produce of all religious activity that is not initiated and directed by the Holy spirit is summed up, in Hebrews 6:1, by the phrase dead works. For this, the remedy is stated in the same verse: repentance. This was made real to personally.  I could not blame others.  I had to accept responsibility for what I had been involved in.  More than anything else, I realised that I had grieved and slighted the Holy Spirit.

I saw that I had to confess my sins to God and trust Him for forgiveness and restoration.  This was a personal decision that only I could make.  I could not make it on behalf of others, but if I could find a path that led to restoration, then those who saw their need could follow the same path.  In 1983 I responded and made the break.

In His mercy, God showed me, step by step, the path I was seeking.  I discovered that there is a way to pass out from under the curse and enter once more into the blessing.  If I had not made this discovery, this book would never have been written.  For those who may find themselves in a similar situation, I offer a full explanation of the steps they need to take in Section 3: “From Curse to Blessing”.

In Galatians 1:6-9 Paul exposes another way a curse may come upon the people of God: apostasy.

I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace in Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.  But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.  As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

The kind of person here described is one who represents himself as a minister of Christ, but perverts the central truth of the Gospel.  Paul declares that such a person brings a curse upon himself.  The Greek word ‘accursed’ is anathema.  It denotes something that provokes God’s wrath and is subject to His irrevocable condemnation and rejection.

The Gospel contains a central core of revealed truth that has been accepted and upheld by the general church throughout all generations.  It may be summed up as follows:

Jesus Christ is the divine, eternal Son of god, who became a member of the human race by virgin birth.  He led a sinless life, died on the cross as a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of humanity, was buried and rose again in bodily form from the grave on the third day.  He ascended into heaven, whence he will return to earth in person, to judge the living and the dead.

Everyone who repents of sin and trusts in the sacrifice of Jesus receives forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life.

It is important to emphasise that the gospel centres in the death and resurrection of Jesus.  In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 Paul sums up its message in three historical facts: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures… He was buried…. He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”

The first authority that Paul cites in support of these facts is “the Scriptures” – at that time meaning the Scriptures of the Old Testament.  As further confirmation of the resurrection, Paul goes on to list various eyewitnesses who saw Jesus after He rose from the dead.  Their testimony is secondary, however, to that of the Old Testament scriptures.

In two successive statements, Paul then stresses that faith in the bodily resurrection of Jesus is essential to salvation:

And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is also in vain… And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!  1 Corinthians 15:14-17

In 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Paul warns that at the close of this age there will be widespread apostasy from the Christian faith.  There are strong reasons for believing that we are now in the predicted period of apostasy.  In some major Christian denominations, many recognised leaders have publicly renounced faith in the Scriptures and – in particular – in the bodily resurrection of Christ.  Probably they do not realise that their declaration of unbelief is in itself a fulfillment of the scriptures they are rejecting!

One fact, however, they cannot change.  Unless they repent, those who in this way pervert the Gospel, bring upon themselves the wrath and the curse of God.

by Derek Prince


Law and Grace Comparison Table
How the Spirit of Religion Fights the Spirit of God
What Is Religion? Enemy of Grace
Prayer for Release From a Religious Spirit
Hebrew Roots Movement
Hebrew Roots: SA in Crisis – Dangers of Messianism, Hebrew Roots and Torah Groups
Sacred Names of God
Is It Right To Judge?


The Armour of God
Various Levels of Faith
The Meaning of Shalom
The Biblical Meaning of Grace
The Occult and Cursed Objects List
Occult Questionnaire

Renunciation Prayers
Prayer To Renounce Unforgiveness and Unholy Judgement
Prayer for Protection Against Demonic Oppression
Prayer To Renounce Rejection
Prayer for Divine Healing and Health
Prayer to Surrender Burdens (Short)
Prayer for Deliverance
Prayer for Healing
Prayer To Thank God for Our Saviour

Posted in False Teaching in the Last Days, Hebrew Roots Movement, Law and Grace, The Great Falling Away Today | 3 Comments

The Father’s Love Letters

My Child

You may not know me but I know everything about you.
(Psalm 139:1)

I know when you sit down and when you rise up.
(Psalm 139:2)

I am familiar with all your ways.
(Psalm 139:3)

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.
(Matthew 10:29-31)

For you were made in my image.
(Genesis 1:27)

In me you live and move and have your being.
(Acts 17:28)

For you are my offspring.
(Acts 17:28)

I knew you even before you were conceived.
(Jeremiah 1:4-5)

I chose you when I planned creation.
(Ephesians 1:11-12)

You were not a mistake for all your days are written in my book.
(Psalm 139:15-16)

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live.
(Acts 17:26)

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
(Psalm 139:14)

I knit you together in your mother’s womb.
(Psalm 139:13)

And brought you forth on the day you were born.
(Psalm 71:6)

I have been misrepresented by those who don’t know me.
(John 8:41-44)

I am not distant and angry but am the complete expression of love.
(1 John 4:16)

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.
(1 John 3:1)

Simply because you are my child and I am your Father.
(1 John 3:1)

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.
(Matthew 7:11)

For I am the perfect father.
(Matthew 5:48)

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.
(James 1:17)

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs.
(Matthew 6:31-33)

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.
(Jeremiah 29:11)

Because I love you with an everlasting love.
(Jeremiah 31:3)

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore.
(Psalms 139:17-18)

And I rejoice over you with singing.
(Zephaniah 3:17)

I will never stop doing good to you.
(Jeremiah 32:40)

For you are my treasured possession.
(Exodus 19:5)

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul.
(Jeremiah 32:41)

And I want to show you great and marvellous things.
(Jeremiah 33:3)

If you seek me with all your heart you will find me.
(Deuteronomy 4:29)

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart.
(Psalm 37:4)

For it is I who gave you those desires.
(Philippians 2:13)

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine.
(Ephesians 3:20)

For I am your greatest encourager.
(2 Thessalonians 2:16-17)

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles.
(2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

When you are brokenhearted I am close to you.
(Psalm 34:18)

As a shepherd carries a lamb I have carried you close to my heart.
(Isaiah 40:11)

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes.
(Revelation 21:4)

And I’ll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth.
(Revelation 21:4)

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus.
(John 17:23)

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.
(John 17:26)

He is the exact representation of my being.
(Hebrews 1:3)

He came to demonstrate that I am for you not against you.
(Romans 8:31)

And to tell you that I have no desire to count your sins.
(2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.
(2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you.
(1 John 4:10)

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love.
(Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus you receive me.
(1 John 2:23)

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again.
(Romans 8:38-39)

Come home and I’ll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen.
(Luke 15:7)

I have always been Father and will always be Father.
(Ephesians 3:14-15)

My question is…Will you be my child?
(John 1:12-1)

I am waiting for you.
(Luke 15:11-32)

Love

Your Dad


To send the following letter to someone with their name visit here:
Personalised Letter from God

To My precious child:

Because I knew even before I created the earth that you would accept My love for you, and that you would seek to know Me thus…

In the beginning I created the heavens and the earth. Then at the right time and in the right place I created you. I created your inner most being, I created every part of you, I knit you together in your mother’s womb. You were carefully and wonderfully made; my works are wonderful, and you My precious child are my work. My eyes saw your unformed body. All the days planned for you were written in my book before one of them came to be. How precious are my thoughts for you, How great is the number of them! If you were to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.

Listen to me, My precious child; I created you and have cared for you since before you were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime, until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. I will carry you in my arms, holding you close to my heart. For I know the plans that I have for you plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

My precious child there are some times of suffering in your life. But the temporary suffering of this life does not compare to the glory that shall be revealed in you. Know this that I am with you and I will help you. Your help comes from me, I am the God who created the heavens and the earth, and the one who created you. I will never leave you, I will never reject you. When your parents fail you I will pick you up, hold you close, and adopt you. Nothing can ever separate you from my love for you. When you are in trouble and distress my love is with you. When you are persecuted my love is with you. When you are hungry and cold and naked my love is with you, I am always with you. When you are in danger and threatened with death my love is with you, I will be with you forever.

My precious child know that nothing can separate you from my love, no matter how high you go, no matter how deep you sink, nothing in life and not even death can separate you from Me, and My love for you. No demon or any other power in hell can separate you from my love. My love for you is revealed through Christ Jesus your Lord. In all things and every situation you will have victory, you will conquer, because the victory of Christ Jesus is your victory.

But now, My precious child, I the LORD, who created you and formed you, says: Do not be afraid, for I have purchased you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, they will not over flow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. I command you to be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid; do not be dismayed, for I, the LORD your God will be with you everywhere you go.

My precious child, know that everything will work together for your good, because you love me. You have been called according to my purpose. For I knew you before you were born and I predestined you to be conformed to the likeness of my Son, Jesus Christ. This is your destiny, and this is your purpose, that you become one with my Son Jesus, and thus one with me. I created you in my image so that you and I can express love to each other. The most intimate relationship you can have is with me because you and I are becoming one. You and your brothers and sisters that believe in me are becoming one with Jesus, and thus one with me. You in me, and me in you, together, unified by my love for you. You were designed for this purpose, nothing else will ever satisfy your deepest needs, your deepest desires, only I can. Because you seek to know me I satisfy your heart with love, joy, and peace that only I can give you.

My precious child if you should forget me, and enter into sin, and not turn back to Me on your own then I will punish you. Because your sin will separate you from feeling My presence, and My influence, and I want you to return to your first love, the One who loves you. I the Lord discipline those I love, and I punish everyone who I accept as my child. Just as a good Father disciplines His children to turn them away from a dangerous path, so I shall discipline you for your good, that you may share in My holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

My precious child, When you confess your sins, I am faithful and just and will forgive you of your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. In repentance and resting in Me is your salvation, in quietness and trusting Me is your strength. I will create in you a clean heart and renew a right spirit within you. I will not send you away from My presence, and I will not take My Holy Spirit from you. I will restore again the joy of your salvation, and make you willing to obey Me. Then you will teach My ways to sinners, and they will return to Me also. Humble yourself, therefore, under My mighty hand, that I may lift you up at the right time.

My precious child do not forget all my benefits, I forgive all your sins and heal all your diseases, I rescue your life from the pit of destruction and crown you with love and compassion. I satisfy your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. I The LORD work righteousness and justice for all the oppressed; I The LORD am compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. I will not always accuse, nor will I harbor my anger forever; I do not treat you as your sins deserve or repay you according to your iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is My love for you because you fear Me; as far as the east is from the west, so far have I removed your transgressions from you.

My precious child, call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know. Always pray to Me about your every concern, pray from your mouth and pray from your heart, I hear every thought that you think. Everything that you care about, I care about also because it concerns you. Cast all your cares and anxiety on Me because I love you. Trust in Me, the LORD YOUR GOD, with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding; In everything acknowledge Me, And I will direct your paths. Do not worry about anything, but in everything big or small, by prayer, with thanksgiving, present your requests to Me, the Most High God. And I will give you My peace in your heart, peace that is beyond all human understanding, and it will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. Always be joyful. Keep on praying always. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is My will for you because you belong to Me.

My precious child, Study My Book of law and truth, the Holy Bible, do not let My words depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. My words are Spirit and they are Life. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you will, and it will be given you. For the word of God is living and powerful. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. The most important thing you will ever own is your Bible because it gives you knowledge of Me, The Most High God. It makes the poor rich, it gives hope to the hopeless, faith to the fearful, food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, love to the despised, comfort to the lonely, freedom to the prisoner, health to the sick, light in the darkness, and life to the dying.

My precious child I have set up circumstances and situations in your life to cause you to seek Me and find Me. I desire that you know Me. I am The Lord your God, full of compassion, and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But My precious child glory in this, That you understand and know Me, That I am the LORD, exercising compassion, lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight and take pleasure.

All things are created for My pleasure and My pleasure is to show forth loving compassion. I have compassion on the poor and needy, and I am a Father to the fatherless, I help them, and I defend them. Far below Me are the heavens and the earth, I stoop to look down, and I lift the poor from the dirt and the needy from the garbage dump and I set them among princes. My precious child I want you to do these things also, have compassion on the poor and needy and help them, this is what it means to know Me. For I am Love, and when you live in love, you live in Me, and I live in you. Loving compassion is good, and this is what I require from you, to do what is right, to love compassion, and to walk humbly with your God.

As a father has compassion on his children, so I your LORD have compassion on you because you fear Me; for I know how you were formed, I remember that you are dust. Forever and ever My love is with you because you fear Me, and My righteousness with your children’s children; with those who keep My covenant and remember to obey My laws. My law is to love. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments all of My laws are based. When you walk in love you are obeying all My laws. When you walk in Love you are walking in My Holy Spirit for I AM LOVE!

My precious child come and live in My shelter, in the protection of the Most High God, you will find rest in the presence of the Almighty. You will say, “This I declare of the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I am trusting him.” My precious child I will rescue you from every trap and protect you from the fatal plague. I will shield you with My wings. I will shelter you with My feathers. My faithful promises are your armor and protection. Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor fear the dangers of the day, nor dread the plague that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. But you will see it with your eyes; you will see how the wicked are punished.

Because you My precious child make the LORD your refuge, because you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your dwelling. For I order My angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone. You will trample down lions and poisonous snakes; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!

My precious child, My servant, and My friend, whom I have chosen, I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will hold you up with my righteous right hand. All who come against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid, for I myself will help you declares the LORD, your Redeemer. You will rejoice in the LORD and glory in the Holy One of Israel.

My precious child, when you asked Me to forgive your sins and come into your heart I sent My Holy Spirit into you to comfort you, to give you power, and as proof to you that I have adopted you as My child. The Holy Spirit shall lead you into all truth because He shall testify of Jesus, and He will give you power to testify of Jesus. I will speak to you through My Holy Spirit that is in you, He will tell you what is right and wrong, what is love and hate. My Holy Spirit is a gentle whisper inside your heart telling you the path to walk in. If you walk in My Spirit you will walk in love, you will not sin. And you will see great and mighty things happen before you, they will not be accomplished by strength, nor by outside force, but by My Spirit says the LORD ALMIGHTY. Through My Holy Spirit I shall give you supernatural gifts that you may be blessed, and that you shall bless others through demonstrating My love for them. My Holy Spirit will be with you through out your whole life, and after I will receive you into My glory.

I your LORD say to you I will rescue you because you love me. I will protect you because you trust in my name. When you call on me, I will answer; I will be with you in trouble. I will rescue you and honor you. I will satisfy you with a long life and give you my salvation. Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me. It is your destiny.

Thus Says THE LORD Your GOD!


To send the preceding letter to someone with their name visit here:
Personalised Letter from God


God Has Given Us Everything We Need
Ten Guidelines From God for Help and Comfort
Bible Verses About Healing [KJV]
40 Healing Scriptures
The Meaning of Shalom

The Biblical Meaning of Grace
Living With Bereavement
Personalising Scripture
Various Levels of Faith
Occult Questionnaire

The Provision of God’s Mercy – Seven Steps to Release by Derek Prince
In the Face of Tragedy, a Question Asked Is “Why Does God Allow Pain and Suffering?”
Why Is Christianity So Bloody
Traveller’s Guide to Heaven
Where Do I Stand With the Lord?
In Christ I Know Who I Am
Christian Testimonies

How To Get Help Through Prayer
Renunciation Prayers
The Blood Is Enough for Complete Forgiveness
Prayer for Forgiveness Made Possible by Jesus Christ
Prayer To Renounce Generational Family Iniquity
Prayer To Surrender Burdens (Short)
Prayer To Ask To Develop Good Fruit
Prayer for Deliverance
Prayer for Spiritual Warfare – Daily
Prayer to Thank God for Our Saviour

Posted in When Things Get Tough | 2 Comments

Preaching and Witnessing

There are those who say that preaching in the streets was good for Biblical times, but not for today. Here we will do a historical study of open air preaching and its effectiveness throughout Church history. The subject of preaching is to be differentiated from that of “witnessing.” The preaching spoken of throughout this history is best defined by Christ himself in Matthew 10:27: things heard and proclaimed from the housetops.

Street preaching has spawned major movements and Protestant denominations in the last 2000 years. Time and space will not permit us to give more than a few highlights in this format, but hopefully this information will enlighten those with eyes to see, the power and effectiveness of this bold Biblical, and “consistent with the message” approach (Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 1:18).

The Apostles spread Christianity throughout the Roman Empire through street preaching, but soon the early church began to see persecution by the Roman Empire. Since public expression of faith in Jesus resulted in death, the Church went underground. When Constantine became emperor Christianity became the official state religion, and there was a decrease in zeal to spread the faith. Then the absolute power that corrupts absolutely corrupted the Church, and it became more of a political organization, losing sight of the self-sacrificing discipleship of the New Testament.

Some attempted to stay on the pure path and questioned the new directions of the “Church,” challenging papal authority, infant baptism, and other unbiblical doctrines. These groups however were suppressed by those in authority, and were persecuted by the Bishop of Rome and his followers through the centuries. This faithful line, known by various names (Paulicans, Bogomiles, Cathari, Montanists, Donatists and Albigenses. See “Trail of Blood” by J. M. Carroll.) is traced back to Apostolic times, and are no doubt responsible for a continuation of the narrow path.

Because of intense persecution, public proclamation of the Word of God was virtually non-existent, but as time went on some became very vocal about their displeasure with the papacy. This came from groups within the Catholic Church upset at its growing worldliness, which became “heretics” whose exhortations got them excommunicated.

Below are just a few of the history-changing street preachers of the last 20 centuries.

Early Protestants

Before Luther and the Protestant Reformation came along, the groundwork for their success was laid by several groups that rose within the Catholic Church and questioned papal authority to the point of getting excommunicated. Three such groups arose in France in the 12th century and were started by street preachers.

The Henricians were started by Henry of Lausanne (died 1148), the Petrobrussians by Peter de Bruys (died 1126). They worked together denouncing romanist doctrines like infant baptism and transubstantiation (both were eventually condemned as heretics and martyred.). They also rejected Church buildings, and “preached on the streets and in the open places.” The Henricians and Petrobrusians were street preachers!”

Waldenses

The Waldenses were started by Peter Waldo, a wealthy merchant in Lyons, France in the 12th century. One day he asked a theologian what he should do to gain eternal life. He was answered with the words of Jesus to the rich young ruler, to sell his possessions, give the money to the poor, and follow Christ. Waldo took this literally, selling his business, giving away his wealth. Together with his followers, they travelled by twos, preaching in the streets, reading passages of Scripture which they translated themselves into the common language. According to Foxe’s Book of Martyrs the Inquisition was originally launched against the Waldenses. The Waldenses were street preachers!

The Lollards

Now we come to John Wycliffe (1330-1384), “the morning star of the Reformation”. Wycliffe was the first to translate the Bible into the English language (from the Vulgate), and the Wycliffe Bible Translators take their name from him. His followers were called Lollards, and travelled throughout England preaching in the streets and marketplaces against the errors of Popery. The Lollards were street preachers!

 The Protestant Reformers

The early Protestant reformers necessarily had to be outdoor preachers, since, as Spurgeon points out, the churches were in the hands of the papacy. William Farel (1489-1565), who paved the way for John Calvin to come to Switzerland, and has been called “the pioneer of Protestantism in Western Switzerland,” was a street preacher. “He turned every stump and stone into a pulpit, every house, every street, and market-place into a church.”

The Presbyterian Church was founded in Scotland by John Knox (1513-1572), who started out as a bodyguard for a street preacher named George Wishart. After Wishart was martyred in 1546, Knox took over as leader of the reformation. Wishart was not allowed to preach in the churches and so preached in the market-places and fields. John Knox accompanied him on his preaching tours, sword in hand, to protect him from violence.” Later, when the Church of England was established in Scotland, Protestant preachers were banned from their pulpits and became field preachers, proclaiming their message in the open air. Some of these Scottish Presbyterian field preachers included Richard Cameron (1648-1680) and Donald Cargill (1619-1681). The Presbyterian Church was started by street preachers!

Post-Reformation Preachers

After the Reformation other great movements were started by street preachers.

The Methodist Church, co-founded by George Whitefield (1714-1770) and John Wesley (1703-1791) is an example of this period. These two were Anglicans, but being banned from speaking in churches since they were not “licensed,” they took to field preaching, boldly proclaiming God’s Word to large crowds in streets and markets. Whitefield spoke to estimated crowds of up to 20,000 people in the open air. They travelled throughout England and the American colonies, and were instrumental in the Great Awakening, a mighty revival that swept the colonies in the eighteenth century. The Methodist Church was started by street preachers!

George Whitefield stated: “I believe I never was more acceptable to my Master than when I was standing to teach those hearers in the open fields.” … “I now preach to ten times more people than I should, if had been confined to the Churches.”

Also from John Wesley: “I am well assured that I did far more good to my Lincolnshire parishioners by preaching three days on my father’s tomb than I did by preaching three years in his pulpit.” … “To this day field preaching is a cross to me, but I know my commission and see no other way of preaching the gospel to every creature”.

A friend of Whitefield and Wesley’s started a great revival in Wales called the Welsh Revival. His name was Howell Harris, and is another example of a man known to be a field preacher.

Another great Methodist outdoor preacher at this time was Gideon Ouseley (1762-1839). He travelled on horseback and preached several times a day, without dismounting, in streets, fairs and markets throughout Ireland. Methodists were also instrumental in America’s second Great Awakening, typified by outdoor Camp Meetings, started in 1800 by James Mcready, and also featuring the preaching of Peter Cartwright (1785-1872) and Lorenzo Dow (1777-1834).

A great Baptist revival in Scotland was the result of the field preaching of Robert (1764-1842) and James (1768-1851) Haldane and Rowland Hill (one of the founders of the Religious Tract Society, and an early advocate of vaccination). They were Anglicans, but converted to Baptists when the established Church forbade their field preaching. Robert and James left their business and sold their estate to devote their time to preaching the Gospel.

Modern Missions Movement

The first modern Protestant missionary society was started by William Carey (1761-1834), the first missionary to India. Carey had little education, but taught himself science and languages. He translated the Bible into 11 languages. He went to India and started by preaching to large crowds that gathered in the streets of the brothel district. One of his converts was a young British sailor named Robert Flockhart (1778-1857), who went back to the British Isles and preached in the streets of Edinburgh for 43 years until his death. One of Carey’s associates, Mr. Chamberlain would go to the Ganges river where Hindus gathered, and start an argument with one of the Brahmins. When the argument drew a crowd, he would preach to the assembled Hindus. The Modern Missions Movement was started by street preachers!

Other famous preachers started their ministries by preaching in the streets. It is well known that The Salvation Army started out doing a lot of street preaching!

Coming to Modern Times there is a remnant today of those who still carry on the mission of street preaching. A particular aspect of open air preaching is utilization of the Free Speech Platforms on College and University Campuses. Cal State Berkeley was ablaze with Bible preaching in the 1960s by Hubert Lindsey (also known as “Holy Hubert” to those turbulent times). Today others follow in his footsteps.

In addition to those we have mentioned, we are sure God’s judgment will reveal many untold stories of men who have been faithful to this most obvious work. Though little recognition and support has been historically given to such men, the Father will accord them their true glory and reward.

We have only scratched the surface concerning the impact that street preachers have had on the world. As this information is neglected in today’s churches, it is our hope that by remembering and publicizing this history, hearts and minds will be inspired to see the timelessness and power of this simple approach. street preaching is the most powerful tool for reaching the world, not only throughout Biblical times, but also in every age of history. We believe that in today’s critical times the Church of Jesus Christ needs more than ever to revive this proven ministry.

Open-air preaching is the most used method for Biblical Evangelism.  Jesus was an open-air preacher (Sermon on the Mount), John the Baptist was an open-air preacher (he preached in the wilderness), Paul was an open-air preacher (Mars Hill), Stephen (Acts 7), and many more such as Peter, Jeremiah, Amos, Jotham, Jonah, Isaiah, etc.

We believe that the Gospel is a confrontational message, a call to forsake all known sin, and a committing of the soul and the whole being to Jesus Christ.  We fervently oppose the message that one can continue in sin while in a relationship with God.

Beginning at around noon, with no amplification, Ellen and I approach the free speech area in the secular universities and lift up our voices, crying aloud and sparing not against sin, as the Bible says to do in Isaiah (Is 58:1).

I believe that one of the greatest needs in America today is aggressive evangelism in the open-air. Many of our modern methods only reach those that want to hear it, read it or tune in.  Open-air preaching reaches those who would not to a traditional evangelistic meeting otherwise.

I have tried it all: pizza suppers, musical outreaches, door-to-door witnessing, literature distribution, book tables, etc.  All these have been effective to a degree, but open-air preaching is by far the most effective (as well as the most controversial).

In Bible times life was much simpler than it is today. From the written page to communication in cyberspace, today’s transfer of information is radically different than that of Biblical times. Why then should you consider or emphasize the description of preaching found with Scripture? The most obvious answer, as we will fully document, is God’s instruction within His Word. This chapter will show the weakness found in contemporary approaches vs. the strength and power found in GOD’S way.

Satan’s work to eliminate the Biblical method of preaching has shown much fruit. Today’s understanding of the word “preach” has only been assigned to a select few: Pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc. In addition to this, the actual idea of preaching has been re-defined as conversing, witnessing, sharing, or the like. This deception has, for all practical purposes, virtually eliminated the actual practice found in Scripture. Additionally these two contemporary “definitions” work very effectively to quench those who would read, see and attempt to follow the men of the Bible. The high tech world of books, radio, TV, and stadium venues has become our day’s way of getting the Word out. While looking like the most effective way, their substitution for God’s way has left most of the world unreached. All of these approaches share a common ingredient:

For the most part, they only communicate to those who want to hear or are already believers.

With the “meeting” format the vast percentage of the audience is hearing information they already possess. Literature is useful, but only to those who take the time to read it. Witnessing is good, and should be the mainstay in a believer’s life, but again it is very hard to reach more than a few. While God uses these methods to reap some of those who are ready, the rest of the world goes without. In addition, the methods of today are very expensive: a poor use of God’s money and the church’s time.

Public preaching is the number one method of outreach used in the Old and New Testament…is the most effective way to get the Gospel to the most people, in the shortest time and at the least expense!

Definitions

What then is preaching? According to Noah Webster, “Preach” come from a Latin word meaning to “proclaim publicly… a sermon urging acceptance or abandonment of an idea or course of action , specifically in an earnestly tiresome and officious manner.” “Officious” it seems is the key word in much of what is biblical preaching. The Prophets through Christ and the New Testament church told it like it was and paid the price for their boldness and “officious” manner; as it continues to be defined: “volunteering one’s services where they are not asked for or wanted; meddlesome” and “high-handed.”

As we have outlined, preaching today is narrowly defined and misunderstood to the exclusion of the above definition. It typically refers to invited people, invited speakers, and scheduled services. Biblical preaching, however, conforms to the above definition, and is often to hostile crowds outside “religious” services…to those who would seek to even kill the messenger.

The Old Testament

The Old Testament is rich with accounts of public preaching.

“Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: she crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words…” (Proverbs 1:20-21).

“Crieth” means shouting out loud. “without” means outside. “chief place of concourse” means where the biggest crowds are.

“Doth not wisdom cry? And understanding put forth her voice? She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.” (Proverbs 8:1-3).

Old testament prophets often preached at the gates of the city. The gates were the busiest place in town. The cities in Bible times were surrounded by walls for protection, and all traffic in and out of the city went through the gate. It was the place to be to get a message to all visitors (Genesis 19:1) as well as the citizens (going in and out to work in the fields), and the king and all dignitaries. All kinds of activity took place at the gates:

  • Business transactions (Genesis 23:10ff; II Kings 7:1)
  • Community meetings/ “city hall” (Genesis 34:20ff; II Samuel 19:8; Proverbs 31:23; Lam. 5:14)
  • Legal decisions/court (Deut. 22:15ff; 25:7; Ruth 4:1; II Sam. 15:2; Amos 5:15; Zech 8:16)
  • Public executions ( Deuteronomy 22:24)
  • Public mourning (II Samuel 18:33)
  • Daily chores (II Samuel 23:15; I Kings 17:10)
  • Religious meetings/idolatry (I Kings 22:10; II Kings 23:8; II Chronicles 18:9; Acts 14:13)
  • The poor (Psa. 69:12; Proverbs 22:22; Amos 5:12)

These then are some of the things that took place at the gates. A man preaching at the gate would not only reach large crowds, but also have an impact on and a direct outreach to such varied arenas as: the business community, court decisions, idolatrous meetings, soldiers, government, etc., etc.

Amos Was a Street Preacher!

“They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly. (Amos 5:10)

Isaiah Was a Street Preacher!

They “lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate…” (Isaiah 29:21)

Jeremiah Was a Street Preacher!

“Thus said the Lord unto me, Go and stand in the GATE of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the GATES of Jerusalem; and say unto them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem that enter in by these gates: Thus saith the Lord…” (Jeremiah 17:19-20)

“The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Stand in the GATE of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord. (Jeremiah 7:1-2)

An interesting point about these men is that most of them spent most of their time not reaching those in other countries, or the most reprobate sinners, but God’s “chosen people,” who had the Bible, as they entered the house of God to worship the Lord!

“Thus saith the Lord; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah…and thy people that enter in by these gates.” (Jeremiah 22:1-2)

“Then read Baruch in the book of the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord…at the entry of the new gate of the Lord’s house, in the ears of all the people.” (Jeremiah 36:10)

The prophets of God in the Old Testament did not use “low-key,” “subtle” (see Genesis 3:1) approaches, such as literature tables, passing out tracts, invitations to religious meetings, travelling Gospel singing teams, etc., etc.

These things have some limited value, but again, what is the main method of outreach in the Bible?  What is the most effective way to reach the most people at the least expense?  What is the method that most accurately reflects the real character of God? What is the method that is most consistent with the message of Heaven or Hell? What is the one method that receives the least amount of teaching, encouragement and promotion?

Street Preaching

“Then the Lord said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them.” (Jeremiah 11:6)

“The word of the Lord came to me, saying, Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord.” (Jeremiah 2:1-2)

“Cry aloud; spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins.” (Isaiah 58:1)

In Judges 9:7 when Jotham had a message to get to a crowd of people in Shechem (who wanted to kill him), how did he do it? Not with literature, or invitations to religious services, or any other “subtle” methods.

“Jotham went and stood in the top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said unto them, Hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you.” (Judges 9:7)

Jotham found a safe place from which they could all hear him, and lifted up his voice. Jotham was an open air preacher ca. 1300 B.C.

The best example in the Old Testament of a foreign missionary is Jonah. God sent him to warn Nineveh. Did he rent a hall and invite people to come to a scheduled meeting, enticing them with “special music” and Gospel entertainment? No. Jonah was charged to preach to Nineveh (as we are to the world!), not only to those who would attend his meeting, but to the whole city. The Bible says Nineveh was “an exceeding great city of three days journey” (Jonah 3:3); i.e., it took 3 days just to walk around it. Diodorus confirms that Nineveh was 60 miles in circumference (Herodotus records that a day’s journey was 20 miles). Jonah 3:4 says “Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” Jonah went “a day’s journey” into Nineveh, a city of 3 day’s journey, and cried. He was preaching as he was walking, i.e. outdoors. Jonah was a street preacher, walking the streets as he preached his message of judgment and truth..

What About the New Testament?

With the subject firmly established within the largely Hebrew mission in the Old Testament, and it’s mostly limited focus in the Middle East, we now turn our attention to the New Testament. Beginning with John and moving to our commission to the whole world we are instructed in Mark 16:15, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature”.

Our job is to preach the Gospel to every creature in the world. Simple logic will show the best way to accomplish this is to find where the most “creatures” are in one place at one time and proclaim the message loud enough for them all to hear.

“Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” (Colossians 1:28)

The first preacher in the New Testament was John the Baptist. Once again, his preaching was lacking comfortable buildings, music, entertainment, etc. John was an open air preacher:

“In those days came John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:1-2; see also Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3)

Matthew says Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan came out to hear John preaching (Matthew 3:5-6). John was baptizing in the river Jordan. Jews who travelled back and forth to Galilee refused to take the direct route through Samaria (John 4:9), but rather went to the Jordan River and followed it up to and from Galilee, so John picked out a place to preach repentance and baptize at a place of heavy traffic, with large crowds.

“Witnessing?”

With the Biblical emphasis of preaching to crowds, there is not much “one-on-one witnessing” talked about in Scripture. In today’s Church however, there is a lot of training and promotion of witnessing. In Sunday School, Bible colleges, seminaries, workshops and books there is heavy emphasis on this approach.

The personal witnessing experiences of Jesus Christ get a lot of attention, as well they should, but in the 4 Gospels, covering 2-3 years of Christ’s ministry, we find only about three cases of personal witnessing: Nicodemus, the woman at the well, and Zaccheus. The Gospels spend much more time pointing out Christ’s dealings with “multitudes:” Matthew 4:25; 5:1; 8:1; 18; 12:15; 13:2,34; 14:14; 15:10,30-35,39; 17:14; 19:2; 21:8,11. (Also notable is that Jesus’ one-on-one situations usually came out of these “multitude” situations).

Jesus was with a large crowd when He looked up and saw Zaccheus, and invited him to come down (Luke 19:1-5). And He was in Jerusalem, crowded with Jews from all over the world for the Passover, where He drove the moneychangers out of the temple and preached, “Make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise,” and after causing that little stir, Nicodemus came to Him by night (John 2:13-3:1). En route back to His home in Galilee after that incident He stopped and exposed the secret sins of the woman at the well (John 4).

Jesus’ most famous sermons were delivered outdoors. For example, the sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5,6,7). In Luke 6:17 he preached to a “great multitude” in “the plain” (outdoors). The “Olivet discourse” (Matthew 24) was delivered on the Mount of Olives (outdoors). In Matthew 13 His well known parables were preached to “great multitudes” by “the sea side” (JESUS was a “beach preacher”). He sat in a boat and taught the multitude on the shore.

Just to be clear, we are not saying to stop the work of witnessing : we do it and we encourage it! Again, our interest is given to the main method of outreach found in the Scriptures: open air preaching.

The four Gospels are often described as John and the ” three synoptic Gospels,” meaning Matthew, Mark, and Luke are similar to each other, yet not much information in John is found in the “synoptics.” The reason for this is simple: Matthew, Mark, and Luke devote most of their attention to Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, where He lived most of the time. But several times a year, all the Jews in the world would go to Jerusalem for the Feasts (see Exodus 23:14,17). Christ would go to Jerusalem and PREACH to these large crowds gathered there. Everything in JOHN is concerned with these trips of Jesus to Jerusalem during these feasts. The Passover is mentioned in John 2:13; 6:4; and 12:1. The feast of Tabernacles is mentioned in John 7:2. Another feast is mentioned in John 5:1. Hanukkah is mentioned in John 10:22. Jesus Christ came to Jerusalem to cleanse the Temple (at least twice, John 2; Matthew 21, Mark 11and Luke19), and preach to the multitudes.

“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” (John 7:37).

Jesus Commanded His Apostles

“What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light, and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.” (Matthew 10:27)

His apostles carried this out in the book of Acts. On the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), we find one of the greatest examples of street preaching of all time. The charismatic read Acts 2, see tongues, and say: We need to speak in tongues like they did in Acts 2. Some fundamentalists read Acts 2 and see 3000 added to the church in one day, and they say: We need to have large church growth like they did in Acts 2. What is missing is the recognition of the delivery and method of street preaching found in Acts 2,. Tongues drew a crowd, Peter preached repentance (Acts 2:38), and the church grew.

It is notable that preaching repentance involves the whole counsel of God. In addition to the Gospel, Christ preached “The Kingdom of God.” This involves the whole of God’s character and all instruction on all subjects found in Scripture.

“Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the …market daily…(Acts 17:17)

Yes, the apostles’ evangelism often involved “disputing” and judgment, not just preaching God’s love (see Acts 6:9; 9:22,29; 11:2; 15:2,7; 17:2; 18:19,28; 19:8,9; 28:23; see also Neh. 13:11; 17,25; Proverbs 28:4; Ephesians 5:11; I Thessalonians 2:2; Jude 3,9; see also examples in Matthew 22; John 7,8).

Why the market? Crowds! The apostles wanted to get the Gospel to the most people at one time, so they went to the markets where crowds gathered, and disputed, preaching the kingdom and wisdom of GOD in the open air.

In Conclusion We See

Modern methods are:

  • Expensive!
  • Limited to reaching a few of the many who we are commanded to reach
  • Inefficient
  • Time and labour intensive
  • Bureaucratic
  • Deceiving, in that they have a great show of power, when in fact they are weak.

Biblical methods are:

  • Inexpensive
  • Unbureaucratic
  • Strong and in line with the power and content of the message (Heaven and Hell!)
  • Able to provide place for the defence and explanation of all BIBLICAL matters (see Paul at Mars’ hill; Acts 17)
  • Able to provide for rebuke, exhortation and warning to all people and situations as required, Ezek. 3:15-21 (Watchmen!)
  • Time and labour efficient
  • Wise with the wisdom of God

Public, open air preaching of the Gospel and the Kingdom of God is imperative for the fulfillment of the Great Commission. With the help of God available, this is an attainable goal within each of your groups, fellowships, and Churches. It is not unreasonable to think that of every 50 or so believers, one could do this work. When you add them up, a city the size of Los Angeles would net at least 500 to 600 men to shoulder the plough in this untouched field. The impact of such a group would be immediate and powerful: from the simple Gospel to the public rebuke of evil, God’s mind and will would be shown to all.

“He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” (2 Corinthians 9:6)

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” (Isaiah 61)

by John Duncan


Guidelines to Open Air Preaching – Kevin Williams
Witnessing in the Marketplace – Dan Ausburger
Salvation – What the Bible Says
Is Repentance Part of Salvation?
Deception Party – Pick Your Poison
What Is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
Rehearsing What God Has Done – Testimony
Christian Testimonies

How To Get Help Through Prayer
Prayer for Salvation / Deliverance by Pastor John Kyle
Prayer To Renounce Being Offended
Prayer To Renounce Rejection
Prayer for Protection
Prayer To Surrender Burdens (Short)
Prayer To Ask To Develop Good Fruit
Prayer After Being Saved

Posted in Preach Teach and Witness | Leave a comment

Prayer To Renounce the Possession of Cursed Objects

Lord, I come to you about cursed objects and any demon infestation in my possessions and home.  I ask your forgiveness for having any such items in the precious name of Jesus.  I understand that this is idolatry.

I forgive my ancestors, descendants and others who have had spiritual influence over me.   I ask you to forgive and bless them, especially with salvation in the name of Jesus. Please forgive me and I forgive myself for spiritual adultery.

I forgive those who have cursed me; forgive me for cursing others. I break the curses and demonic soul ties including spiritism, and psychic and Catholic prayers, in the name of Jesus.

I commit to cleaning out my home and workplace of any cursed objects or symbols.  I will drive the evil spirits out of the house in the name of Jesus.

Please show me any cursed objects or symbols to be removed, and any demon infestation and spirits that need to be cast out.

In the precious name of your son, Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank you for delivering me.

Amen.


Go through your home, garden, garage, workplace, and car, carefully checking for items and symbols against a comprehensive cursed objects list such as the one available on this site. Usually it’s a good idea to go through this list on several separate occasions, as it is easy to miss things and usually more will be found each time as knowledge and perception increases. 

Cursed objects and symbols can be found anywhere and some may be hidden. I found over a dozen in the first three years after moving into my current home, figures of frogs, snakes, and fleur-de-lys on old plastic borders hidden in the hedges and Greek key patterns on the flowerpots, etc. It amazed me how they kept on showing up.

Please note: demons will try in various ways to stop you doing this as they are well aware that this will remove licence rights and close demonic doorways.

The Occult and Cursed Objects List

Cursed objects ought to be disposed of but never sold or given away as any curse would be passed on.

It is best to go through your home, office, garden, garage and transport with the list several times over a period of time to finally remove every last item. Pay special attention to jewellery, clothes and literature, and search for patterns and symbols in home decor and decorative items.

For example, paisley is a popular and often very pretty pattern but the swirly shape is representative of the eye of Horus. Fleur-de-lys is an ancient and powerful symbol used in black magic and freemasonry which can be found on all sorts of things and it is very often used in door furniture. Once you start to look, you will see fleur-de-lys are literally everywhere! Also, look for hidden pentagrams and skulls, and especially 666. This can be very cleverly hidden and the writer had a tradecraft lamp given as a present for years not realizing that the pattern on it was a convoluted 666.

It doesn’t make any difference whether you know the cursed objects are there or not, if they are in your home, office, garage, garden or vehicle. they can be used as demonic doorways, portals or gateways.

Images of owls are popular today, and can be found on things like bags or pencil cases, etc. Owls are mentioned in the Bible as being a creature that inhabits unclean places and images of them are frequently used in satanic symbolism due to their association with Athena and Minerva. An owl is used as the logo for Bohemian Grove which is a 27,000 acre private Satanist holiday camp in the USA where there is also a 40ft figure of an owl used as a sacrificial altarpiece.  There are images of owls hidden everywhere these days including on dollar bills and in building layouts only visible aerially. There is more information about why images of owls are cursed in the Occult and Cursed Objects List. Skulls and crossbones and ‘666’ are often hidden in patterns and not immediately noticeable but it does not mean they have any less effect.

We can pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show us any cursed objects or symbols, visible or hidden, in our possession.  If you have a feeling about something, check it out carefully. There could be an association with an unholy soul tie, or some other reason that an item is a cursed object.

Symbols are important in occultism and are powerfully used as demonic doorways.  Occult objects and symbols do not give less licence grounds or legal rights for demons to operate because the owner does not know they are cursed objects or symbols, or does not know that they are there at all.

Witchcraft and wizardry are an abomination to God, so anything, a story or an ornament, a movie, anything containing a witch or wizard (including, say, Lord of the Rings, or Narnia) needs to be disposed of.  This does not include black cats, who are not – according to the Bible – connected to witches, or good or even bad luck.  In fact, cats are not even mentioned in the Bible at all That is a false belief founded in fantasy and superstition which is cursed and ought to be renounced.  In fact, ‘luck’ is derived from the word ‘Lucifer’ and either good luck or bad luck is superstition and anything to do with luck or superstition should be renounced as not of God.  

There are many references to curses and cursed objects in the Bible particularly in Deuteronomy 28 and blessings and curses are in fact mentioned a total of 630 times. “Blessings and Curses” is the title of an excellent book by Derek Prince, excerpts from which can be read here:


Blessings and Curses
Occult and Cursed Objects List
The Disney Occult Deception
How To Help Those in the Occult
Should Houses Be Cleansed of Evil Spirits?
Can Physical Objects Be Vehicles of Curses?
Can a Born-Again Christian Have a Demon?
Refutation of Claims Made by Cessationists

Angels and Demons – A Survey of Biblical Doctrine
The Armour of God and Other Bible Pins I
How To Walk the Gospel Out by Milton Green
The Mystery of Jesus Christ
Various Levels of Faith

Renunciation Prayers
Deliverance Prayer To Break Witchcraft and Mind Control
Prayer To Renounce Generational Family Iniquity
Prayer To Break Unholy / Ungodly Soul Ties

Prayer for Repentance and Forgiveness
Prayer for Divine Healing and Health
Prayer for Cleansing the Home
Prayer To Break Curses
Prayer To Surrender Burdens (Short)

Posted in Blessings and Curses, Prayers for Release, The Occult and Cursed Objects | 13 Comments