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Prophetic Words Direct From God In Visions Must Be Dealt With

Most of the prophetic visitations Jeannette has received have been issued to the church at large. Sometimes the message has been addressed to the unregenerate larger mass of the church and sometimes to the true church only. It is when this last group is addressed that we find it extremely hard to put forth the Word of the Lord. We have worked hard over the years to report the message of God without pointing fingers because we do not consider ourselves judges of God's servants. All His people answer to God alone. However, what does a prophet or prophetess do when chosen as a spokesperson for the Lord? He or she dares not prophesy deceitful illusions (Isaiah 30:10) out of his or her own heart for the sake of tranquility among the sheep.

All true prophecy seeks to establish the supremacy of God. The details involved in the scenario of any vision, dream or prophetic utterance views them in sync with the divine plan of the ages, which plan is to bring about complete supremacy of God's will among men and to bring His children into conformity with the image of His Son [Romans 8:29]. The redemption of Jesus, then, was to transform men into the very image, nature, and maturity of adults with whom God could associate – people living on His plane with the highest level of understanding, people who could comprehend completely His marvelous grace, love, and awesome power.

Given that the foregoing encapsulates why God created mankind, and given that Adam was created in the image of God, an exact duplication in kind as the Hebrew Bible renders 'image', is it glorifying to God for man to act like animals, to participate in drunken stupors, and to become reliant on other people for handouts of blessings? Satan works tirelessly to deface and humiliate men because he hates God, and that is his way of getting at His Maker whom he cannot touch.

God is not opposed to parties, celebrations, joyful entertainment, and merrymaking, for He is arranging a tremendous extravagant banquet for the wedding of His Son. Note that the 'prodigal' Father, who represents our heavenly Father, ordered His servants to prepare a gala, festive welcome home party with music and dancing for His beloved wayward son who was lost. Yes, God is a 'prodigal' Father who is extravagant in all His ways especially when it comes to His children. Our Father created the sounds of music and all that is associated with festivals so He is not opposed to merrymaking. What He opposes is debauchery, gluttony, and drunkenness, whatever enlarges sensuousness at the expense of holiness and love.

The Father wants each of His children to become like Jesus and walk in the integrity of his own heart, in his own ability to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor [1 Thessalonians 4:4]. He wants us to learn about the riches of the glory of our inheritance among the saints [Ephesians 1:18]. In short, He wants us to attain the highest level of perfection, which is to be independent of anything or anyone except Jesus, walking in love, joy, and peace and looking to Him as our only source for all things. Therein will we wisely walk having the mind of Christ and not chase after 'experiencing' every wind of doctrine [Ephesians 4:14], and therein we will understand what the will of the Lord is for ourselves [Ephesians 5:17].

Can experiences transform our minds into the mind of Christ? They can titillate the emotions and give us spiritual highs, but they cannot produce the mind of Christ. Paul tells us that we have the mind of Christ in the Word of God [1 Corinthians 2:16]. Therefore it is important that the Word in all of its fullness be taught and preached – the whole counsel of God from Genesis to Revelation, not just certain texts and favorite Scriptures.

Only in the Bible will you learn about the marvel of Jesus' great power, the glory of His victory, might, and dominion over the forces of evil, the joy of His grace, love, and peace towards men. Knowledge of this glory belonging to Jesus alone is what is being stolen from God's people. Angels are usurping what only belongs to Jesus and are taking it for themselves as has been testified to by witnesses and participators in this revival.

The new thrust of the church for the 'New Age' of Christianity in this New Millennium encourages believers to seek experiences with angels as well as take guided journeys into heaven itself before the time of the church's translation. This extreme spirituality is subtly bleeding God's glory away from Him. Is that perhaps why the red letters Jeannette saw elevated on the tablet were dripping blood? Holy angels would never allow themselves to be venerated and acclaimed, which is a form of worship.

Taking center stage in seminars and meetings, angelic visitors siphon off the glory belonging only to God. The Lord has emphatically declared, I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images [Isaiah 42:8].

Is imagery created through guided journeying in the mind equivalent to carving graven images? Could Christian transcendent meditation, an oriental religious practice, overarch God's original purpose of meditation as a bona fide mental function for problem solving which aids one in changing circumstances? There is no question that new inventions stem from imaginations of the mind. Joshua was told to meditate in the Scriptures in order to succeed in all that he did [Joshua 1:8], and everywhere David mentions meditation, he is referring to meditating upon God, His works, and His Word, statutes, ordinances, and precepts [Psalms 77:12; 119:15,23,148, et al].

Receiving attention only Jesus should have is tantamount to stealing His glory, and Paul classified it as worshipping angels. Hear him warn about engaging in the worship of angels:

The New Century Version translation is just as clear about the meaning of Paul when he wrote:

Here is a paraphrase on Colossians 2:18 found on this verse by the Biblical scholar Adam Clarke:

Let no man spoil you of the prize adjudged to you, who delights in mortifying his body, and walking with the apparent modesty of an angel, affecting superior sanctity in order to gain disciples; intruding into things which he has not seen; and, notwithstanding his APPARENT humility, his mind is carnal, and he is puffed up (proud) with a sense of his superior knowledge and piety.

From the above we have a parallel happenstance in the early church that is being effected today. In Paul's day, it was an error, which developed into the error of Gnosticism. Believers were voluntarily partaking of this error, but Paul warns them that it would cost them rewards in the hereafter. He explains why in the following nineteenth verse: not holding (fast to) the Head from whom all the body… fits into and joins together. He further says that unless believers hold the Head in greatest esteem and not angels who are mere intermediaries created to assist the family of God [Hebrews 1:14], they could not increase in the knowledge of God and become perfected.

The error consisted in not recognizing the full value of Christ's redemptive work and our partaking of His fullness. Seeking angels for fellowship berates Jesus' place as the full embodiment of the Godhead and reduces our esteem of Him as the only one who should receive glorification. It prostitutes a believer's acknowledgement that Christ is the only Mediator between God and men [1 Timothy 2:5].

When the believer's authority exceeds Biblical limits, it becomes idolatrous activity that feeds the lusts of the mind and flesh according to Adam Clark's paraphrastic reading above. Can you see how this could cause a person to become proud and puffed up leading to a false sense of humility as Paul warned? Is the new practice of guided imagery into heaven's domain an intrusion into things which men ought not see yet? Paul said it was not lawful for him to speak of the things he saw when he visited heaven [2 Corinthians 12:4]. The new Christianity teaching extreme spirituality via paranormal experiences appears to be exceeding the limits of Biblical instruction.

In that respect, persons engaging in extreme spirituality are at risk for becoming blinded by the deceptions of their hearts. He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered [Proverbs 28:26]. Complete compliance to the Word of God is still the mark of perfection. Extreme spirituality can entangle one in deception, which is why God warns against seeking experiences of the supra-normal kind.

Supernatural experiences per se are not forbidden so long as it is as the Holy Spirit wills. It is not wrong to want to see Holy Ghost power manifested in supernatural healings nor is it wrong to desire to walk in the miraculous day by day as the Spirit leads in the working of miracles. Why? It's because it is done by the Spirit of Christ, God the Holy Spirit, who is the Vicar of Christ Jesus. He is the One powering the signs and wonders that confirm the Word of God as it is spoken [Mark 16:20]. So what we want to be careful of is seeking the spectacular from counterfeit sources and miss the supernatural.

Why did Jesus say that an adulterous generation seeketh after signs [Matthew 12:39]? It is because when one seeks the spectacular in order to contact God, he is rejecting faith as the proper way to approach, connect, and receive from Him. We must have faith in His Word regardless of whether or not we see or experience anything.

Jesus said signs and wonders would follow the preached Word and confirm it [Mark16:20]. So it behooves one to find out how much Word is being preached at meetings. When the Word is preached, Jesus is exalted and signs follow. When signs and wonders are preached, signs are exalted and a mixture of experiences may follow. Could that be why God said the church is stealing His glory from His people? It certainly cannot be because miraculous things are happening. After all, Jesus Himself performed many miracles all the time and said that people who believe in Him would be able to do the same. But He always gave the glory to His Father whom He said did the works [John 14:10].

Attention has been drawn to the fact that this current revival is overrun with many angelic visitations both before and after people have had hands laid on them. It is claimed that a powerful anointing is felt in the meetings, more powerful than in any of the recent previous revivals. According to some reports, false anointings are being imparted as well as true works of the Holy Spirit, which is the reason the Father is burdened with what is going on. We welcome true impartations of Holy Spirit power, so we suggest that people test the spirits to see if they are of God as Apostle John advises in his first letter to believers. It is noteworthy that John's first letter to the church mentions the importance of testing spirits. The reason he does is because the Ephesians, where he dwelt the latter part of his life, were invaded by wicked spirits perverting the truth with bogus ideas through false teachers causing believers to leave sound doctrine. They started dabbling in Gnostic thought, which is a religious philosophy that deviates from the simple gospel of Christ – that the only way to contact God is through Jesus' redemption.

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Friday, June 6, 2008 8:01 PM