In the Spirit, pt. 2

“In Thy presence is fulness of joy.” (Ps. 16:11).

What is it like to be in the Spirit of Christ? Is it boring? Is it depressing? Does it cause sadness? Is it “an horror of great darkness”? (Gen. 15:12).

No. It is pleasant and wholesome. It is life-giving, health-giving happiness. It is fullness of joy and peace, hope and power. “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” (Rom. 15:13). “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: …at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Ps. 16:11).

This fullness in the Spirit by the presence of Jesus is not something we can manufacture. It is “the gift of God.” (John 4:10). It is sent from above. “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again [G509 anōthen, “from above”], he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

Like “living water” (John 4:10), the Spirit is refreshing. It brings back hope to our hearts and brightness to our minds. We are born anew. “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5). And the invitation to all is to drink without reservation of this heavenly gift from Jesus. “And the Spirit [of Christ] and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Rev. 22:17). “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 7:39).

All the privileged seekers after Jesus “have tasted of the heavenly gift, ...were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come.” (Heb. 6:4,5). “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?” (Luke 11:13). “The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek Him: your heart shall live for ever.” (Ps. 22:26).

Nothing good will be withheld from all who have come to Jesus for His justification and peace. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (Jas. 1:17). “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.” (Ps. 84:11).

The encouraging and emboldening gift of Jesus’ Spirit from above He abundantly showers upon His children during times of trouble and persecution. “Ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost.” (1Thess. 1:6). He comes that, by His own Spirit, “they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10). Therefore, the endangered church can say, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” (2Cor. 4:8-10).

God’s Spirit has always enthralled the hosts of heaven, evoking from them praise, only joyful praise. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14).

“And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isa. 6:3).

“And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” (Rev. 5:11-13).

Like the sweetness of honey, the “righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Rom. 14:17) has filled every prophet. The infinite acceptance and forgetting of past sins leave the prophet in possession of great happiness. The love from the Spirit of Christ constrains such a person to go into any amount of danger. “The Spirit driveth him into the wilderness” (Mark 1:12) of persecution and perplexity, tribulation and trouble. But, none of that difficulty weakens the constant happiness and peace of the messenger of the Lord. Nothing gives more pleasure to that blessed soul than to go where the One sends him who is constantly anointing him with peace. He has special discernment and senses that God is near to protect.

“And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” (Isa. 6:7,8).

“And the Spirit entered into me when He spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard Him that spake unto me.

And He said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against Me: they and their fathers have transgressed against Me, even unto this very day.

For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD.

And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.

And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house….
 

Moreover He said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.

So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that roll.

And He said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.

As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.” (Eze. 2:2-6; Eze. 3:1-3,8,9).

Despite the dangers, the person who has God’s wonderful Spirit lives constrained to give his life for those God is trying to save.

The Spirit of God transforms the heart of sinful man. “And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.” (1Sam. 10:6). Drinking of the water of life freely, Saul couldn’t hold back his confession of the goodness of God. He was on a high that was not damaging to his nervous system or brain. It came from the Source of life, and increased health came to Saul as a result.

“And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day. And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.” (1Sam. 10:9,10).

This is the power of the Spirit that the Lord Jesus has over those He gifts with His divine nature. Even after King Saul’s permanent falling away from that beautiful experience, and finding it impossible “to renew [him] again unto repentance” (Heb. 6:6), God could choose to give a demonstration of His Spirit for a teaching moment. After an “evil spirit from God came upon Saul” (1Sam. 18:10) which drove him to spend the last years of his remaining probation trying to destroy David, at his final attempt the king was stopped short by the joyful, strong hand of the Lord upon him.

“And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.

And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also.

Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah.

And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?” (1Sam. 19:20-24). Saul’s heart and soul were tickled. He was temporarily converted.

This is significant. God will pour His holy Spirit upon even His enemies. And when His Spirit thrills them, they completely lose their devils. They sit in heavenly places in Christ. Isn’t this transformation from a carnal nature to a heavenly what conversion is about? The Son of the Highest is raising a standard against His adversary. He is wrestling not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. “Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.” (Rom. 7:20). “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? ...God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 7:20).

“And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away. Jesus...rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.  And the spirit cried....” (Mark 9:18).

“When the even was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick.” (Matt. 8:16).

“And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God.

And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.

And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.

And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth He even the unclean spirits, and they do obey Him.” (Mark 1:23-27).

“And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And His fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto Him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and He healed them.” (Matt. 4:23,24).

The fierce, proud demons were stumbling over themselves to get away from Jesus, but the goodness of God forced them to remain, long enough to request His permission to leave.

“And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.

So the devils besought Him, saying, If Thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.

And He said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.” (Matt. 8:29-32).

Polite demons? Submissive evil spirits? Devils constrained by righteousness? Converted for a moment? They were made submissive because of the presence of the meek One. Just like the possessed King Saul.

This throws light on a statement of Paul’s that I have often wondered about:

“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted [Jesus], and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:9-11). 

Even Lucifer bows? Listen to Ellen White’s statements on Satan’s strange behavior:

“In that vast throng are multitudes of the long-lived race that existed before the Flood; men of lofty stature and giant intellect, who, yielding to the control of fallen angels, devoted all their skill and knowledge to the exaltation of themselves; men whose wonderful works of art led the world to idolize their genius, but whose cruelty and evil inventions, defiling the earth and defacing the image of God, caused Him to blot them from the face of His creation. There are kings and generals who conquered nations, valiant men who never lost a battle, proud, ambitious warriors whose approach made kingdoms tremble. In death these experienced no change. As they come up from the grave, they resume the current of their thoughts just where it ceased. They are actuated by the same desire to conquer that ruled them when they fell.

     Satan consults with his angels, and then with these kings and conquerors and mighty men. They look upon the strength and numbers on their side, and declare that the army within the city is small in comparison with theirs, and that it can be overcome. They lay their plans to take possession of the riches and glory of the New Jerusalem. All immediately begin to prepare for battle. Skillful artisans construct implements of war. Military leaders, famed for their success, marshal the throngs of warlike men into companies and divisions.  

     At last the order to advance is given, and the countless host moves on--an army such as was never summoned by earthly conquerors, such as the combined forces of all ages since war began on earth could never equal. Satan, the mightiest of warriors, leads the van, and his angels unite their forces for this final struggle. Kings and warriors are in his train, and the multitudes follow in vast companies, each under its appointed leader. With military precision the serried ranks advance over the earth’s broken and uneven surface to the City of God. By command of Jesus, the gates of the New Jerusalem are closed, and the armies of Satan surround the city and make ready for the onset.

     Now Christ again appears to the view of His enemies. Far above the city, upon a foundation of burnished gold, is a throne, high and lifted up. Upon this throne sits the Son of God, and around Him are the subjects of His kingdom. The power and majesty of Christ no language can describe, no pen portray. The glory of the Eternal Father is enshrouding His Son. The brightness of His presence fills the City of God, and flows out beyond the gates, flooding the whole earth with its radiance.  

     Nearest the throne are those who were once zealous in the cause of Satan, but who, plucked as brands from the burning, have followed their Saviour with deep, intense devotion. Next are those who perfected Christian characters in the midst of falsehood and infidelity, those who honored the law of God when the Christian world declared it void, and the millions, of all ages, who were martyred for their faith. And beyond is the ‘great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, . . . before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.’ Revelation 7:9. Their warfare is ended, their victory won. They have run the race and reached the prize. The palm branch in their hands is a symbol of their triumph, the white robe an emblem of the spotless righteousness of Christ which now is theirs.  

     The redeemed raise a song of praise that echoes and re-echoes through the vaults of heaven: ‘Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.’ Verse 10. And angel and seraph unite their voices in adoration. As the redeemed have beheld the power and malignity of Satan, they have seen, as never before, that no power but that of Christ could have made them conquerors. In all that shining throng there are none to ascribe salvation to themselves, as if they had prevailed by their own power and goodness. Nothing is said of what they have done or suffered; but the burden of every song, the keynote of every anthem, is: Salvation to our God and unto the Lamb.

     In the presence of the assembled inhabitants of earth and heaven the final coronation of the Son of God takes place. And now, invested with supreme majesty and power, the King of kings pronounces sentence upon the rebels against His government and executes justice upon those who have transgressed His law and oppressed His people. Says the prophet of God: ‘I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.’ Revelation 20:11, 12.” Great Controversy, p. 664-666.

“As if entranced, the wicked have looked upon the coronation of the Son of God. They see in His hands the tables of the divine law, the statutes which they have despised and transgressed. They witness the outburst of wonder, rapture, and adoration from the saved; and as the wave of melody sweeps over the multitudes without the city, all with one voice exclaim, ‘Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints’ (Revelation 15:3); and, falling prostrate, they worship the Prince of life.  

     Satan seems paralyzed as he beholds the glory and majesty of Christ. He who was once a covering cherub remembers whence he has fallen. A shining seraph, ‘son of the morning;’ how changed, how degraded! From the council where once he was honored, he is forever excluded. He sees another now standing near to the Father, veiling His glory. He has seen the crown placed upon the head of Christ by an angel of lofty stature and majestic presence, and he knows that the exalted position of this angel might have been his.  

     Memory recalls the home of his innocence and purity, the peace and content that were his until he indulged in murmuring against God, and envy of Christ. His accusations, his rebellion, his deceptions to gain the sympathy and support of the angels, his stubborn persistence in making no effort for self-recovery when God would have granted him forgiveness --all come vividly before him. He reviews his work among men and its results--the enmity of man toward his fellow man, the terrible destruction of life, the rise and fall of kingdoms, the overturning of thrones, the long succession of tumults, conflicts, and revolutions. He recalls his constant efforts to oppose the work of Christ and to sink man lower and lower. He sees that his hellish plots have been powerless to destroy those who have put their trust in Jesus. As Satan looks upon his kingdom, the fruit of his toil, he sees only failure and ruin. He has led the multitudes to believe that the City of God would be an easy prey; but he knows that this is false. Again and again, in the progress of the great controversy, he has been defeated and compelled to yield. He knows too well the power and majesty of the Eternal.

     The aim of the great rebel has ever been to justify himself and to prove the divine government responsible for the rebellion. To this end he has bent all the power of his giant intellect. He has worked deliberately and systematically, and with marvelous success, leading vast multitudes to accept his version of the great controversy which has been so long in progress. For thousands of years this chief of conspiracy has palmed off falsehood for truth. But the time has now come when the rebellion is to be finally defeated and the history and character of Satan disclosed. In his last great effort to dethrone Christ, destroy His people, and take possession of the City of God, the archdeceiver has been fully unmasked. Those who have united with him see the total failure of his cause. Christ’s followers and the loyal angels behold the full extent of his machinations against the government of God. He is the object of universal abhorrence.  

     Satan sees that his voluntary rebellion has unfitted him for heaven. He has trained his powers to war against God; the purity, peace, and harmony of heaven would be to him supreme torture. His accusations against the mercy and justice of God are now silenced. The reproach which he has endeavored to cast upon Jehovah rests wholly upon himself. And now Satan bows down and confesses the justice of his sentence.  
      ‘Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest.’” Ibid., p. 670.

“Notwithstanding that Satan has been constrained to acknowledge God’s justice and to bow to the supremacy of Christ, his character remains unchanged. The spirit of rebellion, like a mighty torrent, again bursts forth. Filled with frenzy, he determines not to yield the great controversy. The time has come for a last desperate struggle against the King of heaven. He rushes into the midst of his subjects and endeavors to inspire them with his own fury and arouse them to instant battle.” Ibid., p. 671.

The enemies’ moments of conversion don’t last long, for conversion was put upon them against their will. They never strove to enter in through the strait gate; they never wrestled against their sinful natures in order to be converted. Like King Saul who stumbled upon his conversion, the whole host of the wicked know the fullness of joy only long enough for them to glorify God at their very end. They taste of the goodness that they could have enjoyed all their lives--“the Spirit of the living God.” (2Cor. 3:3). Theirs could have been the very same diet for their soul that fed Jesus. “Butter and honey shall He eat, that He may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.” (Isa. 7:15).

And the ingestion of that holy manna would have overthrown their idols and changed their lives. They experience “the powers of the world to come” (Heb. 6:5), but only long enough to realize their big mistake. They will know what they lost, and “there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 22:13).

“Then said the King to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness.” (Matt. 22:13). Let’s not have that happen to us. Let’s strive to submit to the righteousness of God and His rightful chastisement of our peace. Then when He gives us to His Son (who “will in no wise cast [us] out”), let’s strive to know His Son. Let us strive to abide in Him; let us live in His Spirit. Let us refuse any other Spirit than “the Spirit of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:19). And our wrestling will never end until we are safely sitting on the walls of Zion looking out over Satan and his hosts.

“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into His rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” (Heb. 4:9-11).

The spirit of Moses

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.
And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.…

And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle.

And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.

But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.

And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.

And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.

And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD’S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!

And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.” (Num. 11:16,17,24-30).

I have always found this intriguing that the Lord would take of Moses’ spirit in order to anoint the 70 elders. Why didn’t He take of His own Spirit to anoint them? Because, Moses’ spirit was the Lord’s Spirit. Moses had been “filled with all the fulness of God.” (Eph. 3:19). “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.” (Ex. 33:11).

“Hear now My words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make Myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all Mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold” (Num. 12:6-8). “(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)” (vs. 3).

Moses had been anointed with the Spirit of God. He was more than a prophet. And the anointing the Lord gave the 70 elders was taken from Moses because the Lord needed to place the people’s trust in him as the designated leader from God. Moses was chosen by God to be their tutor and governor.

“Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.” (Deut. 33:4,5).

Like his Lord, “Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” (Ps. 45:7). Surrounded by 70 others with the same Spirit, Moses could lead Israel to the heart and mind that would be required to take Canaan, and re-establish the holiness and righteousness of God in His land.

What does this say about the Spirit? It was super-natural. But that didn’t necessarily mean it was from God. This concept is what made Joshua implore Moses to forbid the prophesying that happened to the 70 elders, especially by the two out in the camp. The prophesying was out of the ordinary and he must have suspected an Egyptian-style apostatizing. It defied good discipline and order. The elder men shouldn’t be full of “light, power, …and sweet love, joy, and peace.” Early Writings, p. 55. The men shouldn’t be so happy and noisy about it.

“O God, when thou wentest forth before Thy people, when Thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah:

The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby Thou didst confirm Thine inheritance, when it was weary.

Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: Thou, O God, hast prepared of Thy goodness for the poor.

The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.

Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoil.

Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.

When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was white as snow in Salmon.

The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan; an high hill as the hill of Bashan.

Why leap ye, ye high hills? this is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the LORD will dwell in it for ever.

The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.

Thou hast ascended on high, Thou hast led captivity captive: Thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.” (Ps. 68:7-19).

But, the 70 elders only tasted a little of what Moses and David had drunk to the full. “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Ps. 16:11). When we continue in the Lord’s word and keep His commandments, we are His disciples indeed and His truth will make us free from earthly limitations and human-invented restrictions. Without any bondage we love the Law and soar above the sin-imposed constraints of this dark world.

Moses was a type of Christ. As Moses only spoke face to face with Christ and heard Him in the shekinah cloud, “from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto Him.” (Num. 7:89). Likewise has only Christ forever spoken face to face with God the Father. As Moses laid down his eternal life for his beloved rebellious people in Exodus 32:30-32, so did Christ in Gethsemane. And as Moses’ life of service was consummated on Pisgah because of the provocations of the people, so did Christ on Golgotha, yet without sin. “This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me.” (Acts 7:37). “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken;… I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put My words in His mouth; and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him.” (Deut. 18:15-18).

Moses was Christ in similitude. And as Christ took of Moses’ Spirit, which He had bestowed upon him, and gave it to the leadership of the children of Israel, so did God the Father take of Christ’s Spirit and gave it to His newly established church of the remnant Jews. Without measure He had bestowed His Spirit upon His Son to give it in all power to His apostles, for the leadership of the Gentile children of God, even for the most unclean lepers and devil-possessed who wanted to receive the mercy of God through His Prince Messiah.

“But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Wherefore He saith, When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

(Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.)

And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” (Eph. 4:7-13).

This abundant Spirit was the gift from Christ in His heavenly sanctuary. “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.” (1Pet. 1:10-12). This same dispensation of the Spirit of Christ upon the prophets in the Old Testament was the Holy Ghost that was sent down from heaven. “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2Per. 1:21).

Notice that Peter makes the Spirit of Christ synonymous with the Holy Ghost. It is the Spirit of Christ that poured down upon the prophets of old, just as It did upon the New Testament church. We see this also in the symbolism of Revelation. “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” (Rev. 5:6).

But, the idea of Moses losing some of his spirit undermines the idea that what Moses had was a person, the third person of a Trinity and co-equal with the other co-equals, Father and Son. The Spirit in Moses lends Itself more so to being spiritual fruit of meekness, the “the gift of God,… living water.…”, a blessed rest from Jesus, “His rest” (Heb. 4:1,10,11) for the soul; and not a third being of a Trinity. Of the Spirit Jesus said, “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:10,14, cf John 7:37-39). That is what the 70 elders received. They received the water of life, the “refreshing…from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19). Refreshing from the presence of Christ, not the presence of a third person.

“And the Spirit [(of the Bridegroom)] and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Rev. 22:17). At His wedding, the Bridegroom turns earthly water into heavenly wine, earthly life (which is death) into eternal life. This He does when we’ve finally grown weary of this world’s abundant fraudulent promises of happiness and the good life.

Disillusioned with this world, we say to Him, “Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but Thou hast kept the good wine until now.” (John 2:10). Jesus saves the best for last; and the best He gives comes straight off His fiat winepress. The best is what Moses, David, and the 70 elders drank. And they couldn’t keep quiet about it, not even Eldad and Medad could be shushed among the multitudes. Out in that hot desert the 70 were drinking something refreshing they had never had before. They were drinking salvation from “the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 1:19). “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” (Isa. 12:3). The Spirit that He gave them was springing up into everlasting life.

“Every true disciple is born into the kingdom of God as a missionary. No sooner does he come to know the Saviour than he desires to make others acquainted with Him. The saving and sanctifying truth cannot be shut up in his heart. He who drinks of the living water becomes a fountain of life. The receiver becomes a giver. The grace of Christ in the soul is like a spring in the desert, welling up to refresh all, and making those who are ready to perish eager to drink of the water of life.” Ministry of Healing, p. 102.

The transfer of “the Spirit of Christ” (Rom. 8:9) from Moses to the elders we see in the New Testament also. Paul knew Timothy “to be [a leader] of the people, and [an officer] over them” (Num. 11:16). He wrote, “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.” (2Tim. 1:5). When this New Testament Moses had laid his hands on Timothy the youthful elder received a free, indomitable mind. “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the Spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2Tim. 1:6,7). The Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of “power, and of love, and of a sound mind”. The prophecy concerning Jesus was that “the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.” (Isa. 11:2). Paul passed Christ’s Spirit on to Timothy.

Another recipient of the Spirit from Christ in Moses was Joshua.

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him;
And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight.
And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.
And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.
And Moses did as the LORD commanded him: and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation:
And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.” (Num. 27:18).
“And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.” (Deut. 34:9). 

But, Joshua didn’t receive the Spirit of Moses until he could recognize the full and true manifestation of the Lord’s Spirit. Joshua must know the word of the Lord for himself, through his service to the Lord. The up and coming leader must learn to not deny His God’s presence whenever He chooses to manifest Himself through His designated servants, as in the case of the 70 elders. “And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them. And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD’s people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!” (Num. 11:28,29). It seemed to Joshua that the 70 were robbing Moses of his glory and competing for his power. But, Moses wasn’t the least concerned, because he knew that the Lord had directed it.

 “And [Moses] said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; He shined forth from mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints: from His right hand went a fiery law for them.

Yea, He loved the people; all His saints are in Thy hand: and they sat down at Thy feet; every one shall receive of Thy words.

Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.

And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.” (Deut. 33:2-5).

The Lord wants all of His people to be prophets as soon as He can justify, sanctify, and unite His people under His statutes and laws. He has always desired a kingdom of prophets and a holy nation. 

We may not be a prophet on the order of Moses and Joshua, David and Solomon, or Paul and Timothy, but “in the Spirit” (Rev. 1:10) we can “sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever” (Ps. 89:1), especially on His seventh day Sabbath. We will have a new song in our mouth, “even praise unto our God.” (Ps. 40:3). Like the sons of the prophets, we will come “down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp,” and with them in song we “shall prophesy” (1Sam. 10:5) and “be turned into another man” by “the Spirit of the LORD” (1Sam. 10:6).

“Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.… He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.… He that prophesieth edifieth the church. I would…that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.… Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.… If all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: and thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.” (1Cor. 14:1,3-5,12,24,25).

The spirit of prophecy that Paul wanted to be seen in the churches was the Spirit had fallen upon Moses’ 70 elders. It was such a new thing that to Joshua it looked like blasphemous Egyptian demon possession. Yet it was not a cacophony; they acted in concord. “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”(1Cor. 14:33). And, even though they were outside the confines of the tabernacle, the rejoicing and expressions of Eldad and Medad from the presence of God were graceful and edifying. We don’t have to be confined to a church building to testify of the goodness of God. We can tell of His goodness out in the world. That’s what Jesus wanted to teach Israel, and it is what He did when He walked among us in the flesh.

Jehovah pouring His gift upon some among the unsanctified multitudes was a preview of the free gift falling on the first believers among Gentiles. Peter got Joshua’s same reaction by the church leaders. “When Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him.” (Acts 11:2). But, then he explained. “…And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that He said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as He did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” (vss. 15-18). The church elders who still emphasized circumcision hadn’t yet heard what Peter had heard, “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.” (vs. 9). Similar to Joshua, the circumcised leaders still needed more circumcising of the heart and understanding of what the will of the Lord was.

The supernatural Spirit of Moses was the same Spirit of prophecy, and the same Spirit from Paul upon Timothy. Paul called it a cooperative element—“my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Cor. 5:4), “the Spirit…of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” It was the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. It is all that Jesus has to offer us. That is why Paul counseled, “covet to prophesy” (1Cor. 14:39).

“Those who take God’s word with reverence, seeking to learn His will that they may obey it, all is changed. They are filled with awe and wonder as they contemplate the purity and exalted excellence of the truths revealed. Like attracts like. Like appreciates like. Holiness allies itself with holiness, faith with faith. To the humble heart and the sincere, inquiring mind the Bible is full of light and knowledge. Those who come to the Scriptures in this spirit are brought into fellowship with prophets and apostles. Their spirit assimilates to that of Christ, and they long to become one with Him.” Testimonies for the church, vol. 5, p. 705.

As much as John was we should be “in the Spirit”. We should have the Law in our hearts so that it humbles our pride and brings us to Jesus for His Spirit. “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” (Gal. 4:6). And if we’ve been “kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed” (Gal. 3:23) then we can fall on the stone Law and be broken. And being broken, God will send to us the Spirit of His Son into our humbled hearts.

 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Rom. 8:1,2).

“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit....

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.

And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Rom. 8:5-10).

To be “in the Spirit” (Rev 1:10; Rom. 8:9) is to be “in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24). It is to be “in the Lord.” (1Cor. 7:39; 11:11; Eph. 2:21; 5:8). “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him.” (Eph. 1:10). “A new heart also will I give you, and a new Spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be My people, and I will be your God.” (Eze. 36:26-28). When “we shall all be changed” (1Cor. 15:51), then we will forever be in the Spirit. “And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads.” (Rev. 22:4).

“My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in Thy salvation.” (1Sam. 2:1). “That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” (1Cor. 1:31). “And now, little children, abide in Him.” (1Jn. 2:28).

“The anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him.” (1Jn. 2:27). “And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us.” (1Jn. 3:24). “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.” (1Jn. 4:2). “Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit.” (1Jn. 4:13). “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” (1Jn. 4:15,16).

We love God because He has given us the Spirit of love and power and of soundness of mind. We have a sound conversion. “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love Him, because He first loved us.” (1Jn. 4:17-19).

The Spirit is, Pt. 7

True, Matthew 28:19 requires baptism by water under the Holy Spirit’s full authority and involvement. That is because It is the earthly representative of Christ, the earthly manifestation, the divine presence and power from the hallowed Father through His Son to change the sinful heart. (It is the divine counterpart of the apostle’s spirit in 1 Corinthians 5:3, 4; but Paul’s spirit present was not a second person in the Corinthian meeting. It was a sense of Paul and his guidance there.) As the conceivable fruit of the inconceivable Godhead, Their Spirit must be reverenced along with Them, and Its control of the fallen human nature required; or else we have no part with Them, and we are not saved. Mentally assenting to a third Being of the Godhead cannot give us the required divine nature and supernatural control by the heavenly agencies. A mental assent only squanders the lifetime of the world’s masses and leaves their souls unprepared for eternity.

But, Satan has remade the Holy Spirit to appear to be a third being so that the evil one has a place to insinuate himself into Christianity’s conception of the Godhead. Thus, the spirit of darkness can give the mark of the Beast to all who never receive from the Creator the biblical Holy Spirit state of being, the holy spirit of the Godhead that comes through patiently enduring all of the condemnation of God and then receiving the mercy and comfort of His Son. The Spirit is the faith of Jesus born in everyone who finishes the metamorphosis to the new creature in Christ.

Having remade the Holy Spirit into a third being, Satan can eclipse the Father and Son and leave his own vicar as his earthly representative. Then, when the son of perdition is revealed from the sky imitating Christ, he will exalt his Vicar’s empire as the eighth and final king of Revelation 17:11. He will completely blot Jehovah from human thought by exalting the Holy Spirit/Queen of heaven/Mother Nature. Images of Mary, the Mother of God, will be resigned to ancient archives, as the Holy Spirit/Queen of heaven/Mother Nature worship will supersede Mary worship, and give birth to the visible manifestation of “Jesus” when he has arrived from Her cosmic womb. The most ancient occultic animism will make perfect sense to the world, as everyone will see it blended with the visible reality of Ecumenical “Jesus”. The whole world will be happy; everyone will find temporary relief from the overwhelming, supernatural chastisement of peace and the distressing natural calamities that have ravaged the earth.

Holy Spirit worship, within which Satan hides, is an accomplice with Spiritual Formation in the counterfeit revival that we currently see spreading its abominations over Christianity’s desolate landscape. Its gift is empty of tangible, helpful instruction in righteousness and redemption from sin, and is full of flattering, imaginary, emotion-laden counterfeit redemption under a lawless guise of “Grace, grace, God’s grace”. By mysterious popular vote from a carnal Christendom, the Holy Spirit’s graduation into the worshiped Godhead is the omega of apostasy of which we’ve been warned. “An host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered” (Dan. 8:12). “Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice” (Dan. 9:11, cf 2 Ki. 17:16-20). By a strange worship and a mysterious proxy practiced upon minds and hearts, Satan substitutes the worshiped Holy Spirit for himself, and the whole world worships “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4). They worship “God” (John 16:2) under the delusions of the ancient Dragon. They eventually sacrifice the children of the one true God to that abominable ogre (see Jeremiah 19:5; 32:35; Deuteronomy 32:17, 19). They do this without regard to the severest condemnation of Christ,

Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea (Matt. 18:6).

So, by their flattering and lawless praise to God, people worship the Dragon through celebrating the Baal religion. In the place of the imprint of Jehovah’s Spirit upon their spirit (see Romans 8:16), they are receiving the stamp of the Dragon’s trampling footprint. Therefore, Jehovah abhors their worship.

They did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues.

For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant (Ps. 78:36, 37).

In their lawless, flattering praise to Jehovah through the lawless “grace” from a mediatrix, full-of-grace “Holy Spirit”, the worshipers have much light and power, but no sweet love, joy, and peace from Jehovah. Instead of being justified and at peace with God, they receive Satan’s exacerbated chastisement of peace through the Beast power (see Isaiah 14:6) and later are swept into Satan’s arms when he arrives from the sky with his empty peace. Until that day their separation from God constantly harasses their consciences. “The smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name” (Rev. 14:11). They blame His tormenting condemnation of sin on Satan, and thus seek a comforter in the ancient familiar spirit, called the Devil and Satan. By worshiping Beelzebub in the name of Jehovah they blaspheme God, essentially calling Him Beelzebub (see Revelation 16:9). Their insulting prayers to Satan in God’s name do not go unnoticed by Him, and He finally stirs up His wrath against a world following Baal and Ashtoreth (see Revelation 16:2; 13:4, 15; Isaiah 1:6; Proverbs 28:9).

While worshiping the pagan Queen of heaven in the name of God, in the name of God the Queen of heaven blesses their soul with Her unholy influence. She lays claim to their heart by means of Her lawless blessing, and this way the entire person comes under Her control through their unguarded and wide-open, most sensitive avenue of the soul, their conscience. By peace She destroys humanity (see Daniel 8:25; Jeremiah 6:14; Deuteronomy 29:18-20). By this means Satan led Israel to give Jehovah the faked, flattering worship that Satan savors, he knowing that it would be a slap in God’s face and the total loss of His children. The devil continues the same today through making the Holy Spirit a being within the Godhead whose role is only comfort and grace, a very nice person to be worshiped compared to God and the Lamb.

They worship the Dragon who gives power to this insinuator into the Godhead, the third person of a Trinity. If Lucifer cannot actually sit on the Father’s throne relishing the praises of Israel, he has ingeniously thought to change church doctrine, and to lead the generous human creation to believe that they must give him worship. Thus, through gushing, sentimental love to God, being forced out of a hopeless, pained heart (see Malachi 2:13; Revelation 16:2) Satan’s conglomerate Baal and Ashtoreth molds their conscience and puts his mark in their forehead. His Baal aspect takes God’s condemnation to the extreme, thrashing the conscience by justice without mercy (see Isaiah 14:6). Then, his Ashtoreth mask takes Christ’s grace to the extreme, enabling the conscience by grace without Law. Thus, he destroys the mighty and holy people, turning them into powerless, groveling and prostrating ascetics before Ashtoreth, and into careless, angry militants before Baal and toward each other.

Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account:

Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found.

Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions (Ecc. 7:27-29).

Ashtoreth is the abomination in the holy place (see 1 Kings 11:7-9; Ezekiel 8:3, 9-18; Leviticus 10:1, 2), “the image of jealousy” (Ezek. 8:3) spreading her wings within men’s soul temple that makes Jesus a jealous she-bear. “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation…stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)…” (Matt. 24:15). “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (2 Thess. 2:4). This aberration of Christ’s true religion that desolates His people repeats just before He returns in power, when “all the tribes of the earth mourn” and wail to the rocks and mountains, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Matt. 24:30; Rev. 6:16). All around us today we see this new celebration of lawless grace, and it is a sign of the shaking and the approaching Latter Rain. 

True, biblical worship is of only the Father and Son Creators of truth and grace. The biblical command is to “Worship God” (Rev. 19:10) and “Christ…, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen” (Rom. 9:5). “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God [theos], and him only shalt thou serve” (Matt. 4:10, cf 19:17).

The Father and the Son descended upon Mount Sinai, and there the precepts of His law were spoken in awful grandeur in the hearing of all Israel.― Manuscript 3, 1885 Christ Triumphant, p. 109.

 From the top of Mount Sinai the Father and Son, and only those Two, defining the Godhead, proclaimed,  

Thou shalt have no other gods before me… I the LORD [Jehovah] thy God am a jealous God (Ex. 20:3, 5).

“And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever” (Rev. 5:13). From the context of Revelation 5 we see that the seven Spirits which come from the Lamb (see verse 6) never receive the adoration of heaven. The praise of the angelic hosts focuses only on Him who has ever sat upon His throne and on the Lamb.

Many, both of ministers and people, will gladly accept those great truths which God has caused to be proclaimed at this time to prepare a people for the Lord’s second coming. The enemy of souls desires to hinder this work; and before the time for such a movement shall come, he will endeavor to prevent it by introducing a counterfeit…. Multitudes will exult that God is working marvelously for them, when the work is that of another spirit [emphasis mine]. Under a religious guise, Satan will seek to extend his influence over the Christian world The Great Controversy, p. 464.

Therefore, because the denominations “know not me, saith the LORD” (Jer. 9:3, cf Rev. 8:7-13), the “Spirit” being given them for unauthorized worship so commonly seen today is the same abomination of desolation from the most ancient worship. It is the conqueror of Baal, Ashtoreth the Queen of heaven, who purports to fill heaven and earth. He is the third person of the ancient Trinity who conquered the second Person; he is the unholy “spirit” who has eclipsed the Lord Jesus. The unholy spirit has “magnified himself even to the prince of the host” (Dan. 8:11). This “another spirit”, quoted above, laid his plans early, warring against Jesus while the apostles were still alive, and craftily moving into Christianity with the insurgence of Nicene dogmas. He silently laid wait within those manipulated creeds of human philosophy until, by papal bulls and doctrine, he could bring in the Dark Ages and later the New Age.

In his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant (Dan. 11:21, 22).

He shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence [H2194 zâ῾am, “be cunning”] with them that forsake the holy covenant. And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries (Dan. 11:30-32).

In Spiritual Formation, this imposter to the Godhead has already made his bold move to abrogate the holy, just, and good Law of God, and the self-sacrificing cross of Christ. The apostasy away from true righteousness by faith, with Jesus at its center, has prepared for another period of darkness and ignorance of the Bible. Today, there is no longer a need to search out the ever-unfolding revelation of Jesus in the Old and New Testaments when all one needs is to walk into a church where the sounds and lights call forth a mantra, and the voice of “God” fills the mind and conscience.

Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down (Dan. 8:11).

The power of darkness has substituted the smooth and lustrous idols of humanism that cannot allow for the condemnation of God’s Law, and therefore never can their smooth religion offer the deliverance from God’s condemnation through His only Intercessor, His beloved Lamb. “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). God needs no other intercessor than Jesus, working before His majesty bodily and working in human hearts by His Spirit (see Revelation 5:6). We desperately need the Father and Son, and Their gracious Spirit to provide our access to Them. But, we need no third being. “We would see Jesus” (John 12:21). The Spirit is empty without Jesus because It does not exist apart from Him. And we must see Jesus in His Law; we must have the Spirit and life of the Law in Christ Jesus.

The “eternal Spirit” is the sealing that God gave Jesus, that Jesus gave His apostles, and that He will give to His final church. Our sins will be “blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ” (Acts 3:19, 20). The eternal Spirit in the soul is the constant, perfect emancipation from the curse of God’s Law. That liberation comes by means of giving up our rebellion against the Law’s righteous condemnation of our sin (see Galatians 2:19). The refreshing from the presence of the Lord is the Lord’s merciful sprinkling of the eternal Spirit that He causes to fall upon and wash away the evil conscience from every soul who thus submitted to the righteousness of God (see Matthew 9:2-6). Each soul humbled and surrendered to the Law of God and then to the cross of His Son have certainty of salvation “as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil” (Heb. 6:19). Standing guilty under the Law and under the Spirit of Prophecy counsels, and yet seeking a grace from Jesus, justifies them before God. He declares them righteous, and “out of the throne [proceed] lightnings and thunderings and voices” (Rev. 4:5). His kingdom is restored in them, and He sends to their hearts the Spirit of His Son in a packet of glory that sets them free from their past. They are His little ones, and their spirit receives the witness of His Spirit that they are the children of God. Having labored under the Schoolmaster and submitted to His Law, they are forever settled and at home under the Law’s jurisdiction. They sucked honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock. They have “no more conscience” “of sins that are past” (Heb. 10:2; Rom. 3:25). The Law of God is written in their hearts and their hope is worthy to enter in within the veil of the Most Holy. They have obtained the victory, and it calls forth from them the deepest gratitude and holy, sacred joy.

“Labour…for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed” (John 6:27). Row for your life with the disciples in the pitch black storm. Labor together with the Mother of all living in your own Gethsemane under the scourging Law and Spirit of Prophecy writings. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? “Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?” (Jer. 30:6).

Under heat of God’s anger strive to succumb to His will and to obtain His acceptance until He has resurrected you with Jesus into the liberty of the sons of God (see Romans 8:11). Only those who labor and surrender to the Law and to the Testimony can need a big Saviour; and only they genuinely receive Jesus and a sound conversion (see Luke 7:29, 30). They have an altar, and the right to eat from it. They have partaken of the Mother’s multiplied sorrowful rite of passage, they are virgins; therefore, only they are worthy to see the Son on His cross. And as many as receive Him receive the packet of joy and acceptance from His Father’s eternal Spirit (see John 14:23). They labored for the gift of God (see Hebrews 4:11); they accepted to be kept under the Law by God until He finished their purification. Dead to the curse of the Law, now their exceeding great reward is to “live unto God” (Gal. 2:19), and they keep His commandments naturally. They have feared before God and His Law, so He pities them (see Psalm 103:13). Therefore they “are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:26). They are “Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17). These overcomers are powerful sons of God, unstoppable men and women, boys and girls.

“The blood of sprinkling” (Heb. 12:24) is the eternal Spirit of Christ, “as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38, cf John 19:34). The sprinkling of the eternal Spirit that the apostolic church had was the Early Rain of the Holy Spirit. And that sprinkling will come again in the Latter Rains of the last days. It comes to all who “waited on the Lord” (see Psalm 27:14), whose mediation saved them from their Father’s condemnation (see Hebrews 12:24; Romans 7:24). They rested in the LORD, and waited patiently for him (see Psalm 37:7). They “through the Spirit” waited “for the hope of righteousness by faith” (Gal. 5:5), while they worked out their “own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). They trusted in Jesus and He brought their obedience to pass. The Father’s mighty Spirit of truth condemned them, called them, and chose them. Then as Comforter, He justified them before Him and sanctified them. “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied” (1 Pet. 1:2). “Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:28). Here are they who keep all the commandments of God and all the faith of Jesus (see 1 John 4:3, 4; Revelation 14:12). Only those who submitted to the mighty hand of God had the patience and got the victory over sin.  No one else qualifies. And only their minds are fortified with the words of truth, and can stand through the last great crisis.

The eternal Spirit is the never ending love and approbation between the holy, divine Pair that They bequeath to everyone striving to share in Their holy, gracious fellowship. “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed…. The servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:31, 35, 36). Jesus was sealed in communion and perfect obedience. His holy Father and His angelic influences were sealed within His heart; Satan and his world of sin were sealed out and could find no access to Him. So will everyone be who stands in the day when Jesus returns to receive them to Himself. “Satan could find nothing in the Son of God that would enable him to gain the victory. He had kept His Father’s commandments, and there was no sin in Him that Satan could use to his advantage. This is the condition in which those must be found who shall stand in the time of trouble” The Great Controversy, p. 623:1. They will have His perfect acceptance, unmixed with His rightful indignation of their sin. They will abide in the Son’s house free, no longer under the wrath of God, and never again slaves to sin. They will have Christ’s testimony (see John 8:29). Jesus will call each of them what He called Abraham: “My friend” (Isa. 41:8, cf John 15:15; Rom. 5:8-10).

After enduring all the agony in order to give us the second birth, the Lord is very jealous toward any other spirit being (see Ezekiel 8:3; Exodus 20:4, 5) which attempts to gain even a toe-hold into His place as man’s Saviour and Lord. The “mother of all living” (Gen. 3:20), who “made the earth and the heavens” and “all the host of them” (Gen. 2:4, 1, cf John 1:1-3), protects His own as ferociously as does a she-bear her cubs (see Exodus 19:4; 15:1, 4, 5, 8-10; Matthew 23:37). Devil, beware of the She-bear.

“For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty” (Rev. 16:14).

The Spirit is, Pt. 6

The only two beings of the Godhead are in Christ’s prayer: “O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self” (John 17:5). The glory between Father and Son is the “eternal Spirit” (Heb. 9:14) which remained unbroken even though the Father at the cross left His Son for the purpose of redeeming us and for testing His resolve as our eternal Intercessor. “God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart” (2 Chron. 32:31). Notwithstanding, Jesus never left His Father. Their holy, eternal communion is “the Holy Ghost…the power of the Highest” (Luke 1:35), the Father always powerfully initiating the communion and the Son always powerfully responding. Restored communion with Them is the power of the Christian life. Restored communion brings the victory. It will seal us and get us through the staggering troubles before Jesus return.

 

The Godhead are two persons, two beings, “one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). “There is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him” (1 Cor. 8:6, cf Heb. 7:9, 10). And, becoming one of us, the man Christ Jesus is God’s Intercessor; and He is such specifically because He tasted “death for every man” (Heb. 2:9). Only the Son of God can mediate for man because He became a man and died a man; therefore, He was crowned with “glory and honour” (Heb. 2:9). In the plan of redemption, there can be no other Intercessor.

 

Jesus alone could give security to God; for He was equal to God. He alone could be a mediator between God and man; for He possessed divinity and humanity [emphasis mine] (RH April 3, 1894) SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 914.

 

Isaiah knew about the Spirit (see Isaiah 63:10), for he was moved by the Holy Ghost (see Isaiah 48:16). Yet, he wasn’t shown that the Spirit would be exalted in the New Testament; instead, the One Isaiah saw exalted would be the servant Son of God, specifically because He went so low (see Isaiah 53:12). Should the third person of a Trinity be exalted to a place as our second intercessor, both second Person and a third person interceding for us, when this third person never went low? Can God have security by a third person mediator who never knew our infinite shame and damnation? Can such a person correctly represent God’s self-sacrificing nature to us? And, how can we need two intercessors working together between God and man, when God made One all-sufficient, with all power and authority, and we are complete in Him (see Matthew 28:18; Colossians 2:10)? Only one has died for me, Christ alone and once for all. “It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Rom. 8:34). He alone can I intimately trust (see Hebrews 10:20), and He alone can the Father perfectly trust. Does our one Intercessor need another intercessor to broker between God and man? Do we need an Intercessor in the third person of a Trinity to mediate between us and God’s biblically designated Intercessor, His atoning and adopting Son who lives for one thing—to intercede for us? “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25). “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). Does the Father love the Holy Ghost like He does His only begotten Son? No. It doesn’t say so in the Bible. Then, what kind of example do the Trinitarians learn from a Trinity? Loveless, Christless religion.

 

“Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin―; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written” (Ex. 32:32). A snapshot of the great controversy seen at Sinai, Moses beautifully interceded like the Son of God did in Gethsemane. But, Aaron, the third person in Israel’s intercession led out in the apostasy. Does our one biblically authorized Mediator need a mediator or mediatrix; does His redemption need a co-redemptress? Absolutely not.

 

As with Adam and Eve’s types, Abraham was a type of God, and Sarah typified the pre-incarnate Son of God. Another wife for Abraham could never be the mother of the Messiah and His redeemed. All that Hagar could produce would be enemies against His people. “What saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman” (Gal. 4:30). The third person of the ancient Trinity cannot sit with the Heir of God and must leave church doctrine at once, never to return (see Genesis 21:12).

 

Scriptural evidence indicates that Lucifer acted as high priest of the angelic hosts. As covering cherub and of perfect beauty, by his multi-colored glory and stones of fire as he approached God on His holy mountain, his musical instruments for worshiping God paint the picture that he was the organizer and leader of praise to the Highest. Peerless was his representation between God and angelic hosts, which rooted their loyalty to him deeply in their hearts. His mediation, though not perfect on the Father’s infinite scale, worked well to order the government of heaven. However, his role as intercessor was only temporary while the Son was preparing to take that scepter.

 

Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father (Gal. 4:1, 2).

 

Eventually the day arrived to exalt the Son to His eternally designated place as Heir to the throne and High Priest over the angelic hosts. This need not have been a demotion for Lucifer. He was to continue his work among the angels. But, now he would represent them before the Son instead of before the Ancient of days. Another more worthy than he was to go before the great King. Naturally, the Son of God should stand in that place. No one else knew the Father like the Son. No one else than the Son could the Father so deeply appreciate; and no one could better understand the Father’s plans than the Son. The heaven of angels deserved the Son of God to publically minister to His Father and to speak to them in His Father’s behalf. It shouldn’t be any other way.

 

Now, Lucifer had the privilege to demonstrate the spirit of God’s home—self-sacrificing love. He could offer such a gift to the King which would have struck a higher note of joy and thanksgiving among the hosts under his leadership. His Gethsemane of stepping down would have taught a lesson to the whole family in heaven, which would have gone down in eternal history. Self-sacrifice, the rule of law and citizenship would have been cemented more firmly than ever.

 

Nevertheless, when the Father’s providence made that arrangement possible for His mightiest cherub, emotion trumped reason in the mind of Lucifer.

 

My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation (Jas. 3:1).

 

Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall (1 Cor. 10:12).

 

The new under-secretary allowed envy toward Michael to destroy his service to God. When, he could have joyfully served the Crown Prince, Lucifer failed the great test from the Father. Pride had been silently sneaking into the motives of highest created being as he discharged his high office and won the acclaim of his brethren. Rather than pushing out errant thoughts of his high status and achievements, as enemies of the kingdom, he dwelt upon them and entertained them. All of this the Father and Son saw long before the dissention that erupted later. From the beginning of Lucifer’s creation the Son knew him. Michael discerned his strengths and weaknesses, his talents and wisdom and power to influence. While Lucifer had rapidly developed head and shoulders above the angelic ranks for his capabilities, Michael’s communion with His Father had, from the beginning of the kingdom, taught the Son that Lucifer would have to face a difficult test one day.

 

That test would be the day of inauguration of the only begotten Prince to His place before His Father. He who came out from the bosom of His Father must remain next to the Most High as co-Regent. The place which Lucifer held as prime minister must become secondary to the Crown Prince. The roots of pride which Lucifer had not disciplined now took their natural course, springing up into internal rage and hidden insolence. The spirit of sin motivating Lucifer was noticed by no one among the joyful sons of God. But, Father and Son sensed every heart-felt grumble in Lucifer’s discharge of duty. While the happy hosts accomplished his orders, Lucifer began weaving in a new familiarity undue to his office of justice and mercy. He created a new office for himself where self-pity dictated its commands and requests. Self-exaltation would replace self-abnegation. Self-indulgence would take the place of self-denial. Subtly, the old paths where is the good way was altered. The original religion was changed in those whose minds the most powerful angel could bend away from the true Rulers of the kingdom.

 

Ashtoreth, the Queen of heaven was born. “Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee” (Eze. 28:15). Lucifer competed with Michael for the office of Crown Prince and High Priest. She would be the mediatrix of God, and ascend even higher than God, to become the mother of God. This third person competing for divine honors is what the great controversy is all about. The contest between Christ and Satan is what made up the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. “Worship God”, “Worship Him who made heaven and earth.” “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is come.” These all speak to the dissatisfaction of Lucifer in the very courts of heaven. During the warfare after Christ’s successful accomplishment of the provisions for the salvation of mankind, Lucifer early on moved into his long sought-for place in the Godhead. Even as third person, he would manipulate the doctrines of Christianity to exalt his presence above the true Father and Son Godhead in the hearts and minds of the lukewarm, worldly, non-discerning Christians.

 

As he had done throughout the Old Testament period, Lucifer used dissembling and flattery to God, and the same gushing and doting, unduly familiar, selfish, carnal love, which had been so successful to win holy angels, now to attract the weakened natures of fallen mankind. Ashtoreth and her many other guises in all the world religions wove that undue familiarity and love-sick sentimentalism into her new religion to simulate the only one, true religion founded upon principle and entrusted by Christ to Adam and the holy seed of Eve. The whole period of heavy truth and justice upon sin would be fought against until Michael the Prince Messiah would come. Christ would raise truth and grace to a higher standard; but Ashtoreth would then subsume Christianity and make the renovated, God-given system his own again.

 

But, the ancient Queen goddess of doting and persecution, would again arise among her peer saints and be worshiped on earth, even as the indefatigable angel Satan would take his Queen of heaven throne as the third person of the Godhead, again inhabiting the praises of Israel. “They worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?” (Rev. 13:4). The Queen would ascend again to the heights of heaven and stand up against the Prince of princes. She would again cast down and devour the faith of God’s people and persecute those whose faith would not be robbed by her captivating pagan mysteries and fictions, and by her complex sacraments.

 

There is more to the final test for humanity than the Sabbath issue; and simply whether or not to worship is not the issue of today. The final issue of worship today centers on who we worship; the issue is who gives the soul rest because both opposing powers, Christ and Satan, promise to give peace and rest. False worship through Spiritual Formation and celebration are looming higher and higher on today’s horizon of deception. Yet, our current dangers are deeper than Spiritual Formation and celebration. Those two new-comers are but the lying medium for Protestants to worship “they know not what.”

 

When no new questions are started by investigation of the Scriptures, when no difference of opinion arises which will set men to searching the Bible for themselves, to make sure that they have the truth, there will be many now, as in ancient times, who will hold to tradition, and worship they know not what Counsels to Writers and Editors, p. 39.

 

The very foundation of worship lies in these two diverging paths, either the doctrine of God or the doctrine of the Trinity. We were created with the strong propensity to worship God who is the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and to worship the Son of God who is the fullness of the Godhead manifested. But, the doting, grace-only Queen of heaven is alive and seductive, and particularly ravenous to receive worship from every religionist.

 

When the soul surrenders itself to Christ, a new power takes possession of the new heart. A change is wrought which man can never accomplish for himself. It is a supernatural work, bringing a supernatural element into human nature. The soul that is yielded to Christ becomes His own fortress, which He holds in a revolted world, and He intends that no authority shall be known in it but His own. A soul thus kept in possession by the heavenly agencies is impregnable to the assaults of Satan. But unless we do yield ourselves to the control of Christ, we shall be dominated by the wicked one. We must inevitably be under the control of the one or the other of the two great powers that are contending for the supremacy of the world The Desire of Ages, p. 324.

 

The deceiver wants to inhabit the prayers and praises of Israel. He salivates to exalt himself this way, as he did since the start of the great controversy (see Isaiah 14:14). By using the ancient Trinity, the seducer can insert an assent to another intercessor in the place of surrender to God’s justice and repentance for Christ’s mercy. Thus, he can minimize the gospel’s impact to the world by the 144,000 and attempt to derail the conversion of the “great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues” (Rev. 7:9). And thus, the worship of the Holy Spirit, which is sweeping the Protestant churches today, displaces the character study of, imitation of, and reliance upon, God the Father and His only-Begotten, both being the only Fullness of the Godhead.

 

The “new power” that gives the “new heart” is the Spirit of Christ, Christ Himself with His “heavenly agencies” being one of “the two great powers” that contend for the control of humanity. Much more than a casual, carnal assent to a third person of the Trinity, God’s Spirit must cause us to stand “guilty before God” (Rom. 3:19) and then “dwell” (Rom. 8:11) in us in order to make us subject to “my law” (Jer. 31:33), “the law of God” (Rom. 8:7). Therefore, to set aside the offensive Law and the bold Testimony, and to join with the whole world in assenting to a third person of the Trinity for fear of Catholic excommunication or Protestant ostracism, praying to and worshiping that third person, is a subtle denial of the biblical, transformational gift of God. It is denying God the surrender of our will to His Law and of our heart to His Son’s heavenly agencies (see 2 Timothy 3:5; John 4:10; Genesis 32:25-28; Matthew 21:44). Assent to a third being of the Trinity is the most ancient rebellion.

 

Such Ecumenical worship means to receive the pagan Queen of heaven into the heart and the mark of the Beast into the conscience (see Revelation 13:3, 4; 14:4, 9-11) until the last plagues result. The Trinity falsehood provides a sensual substitute in place of surrender to the true Spirit’s condemnation of sin and our “work of conforming…characters to the divine model” The Great Controversy, p. 464. The new source of peace in a global revival comes from empty emotion and love-sick sentimentalism. As warned of in the third angel’s message, in order to counteract the wrath of God’s justice unmixed with mercy, Spiritual Formation and Queen of heaven trinity worship will add drunkenness to the last days’ tremendous thirst. Worship deluded and drunken with imaginary peace (see Jeremiah 6:14; Daniel 8:24, 25) will overwork the world’s emotions until the soul is left dark in the fifth plague. Imaginary peace will gather the deluded masses of the world to accept Satan’s impersonation of Christ’s Second Advent. Trinity worship and Spiritual Formation reveries will be instrumental in leading the nations of the earth to obey the prince of darkness when he commands the masses to hunt down all who are sealed with the holy Spirit of Christ, who are wrestling with a unique depression by seeing God’s wrath against a world sunken in sin, and with uncertainty of being prepared for His return. The preaching of that lawless, “amazing grace”-only false gospel will preempt the true Spirit of holiness that clothes us with power to overcome sin in our battle for primitive godliness. But, the gift of the Holy Spirit will not be given in full until the true Jesus returns in unearthly, inconceivable power, and we are permanently changed. Until that day, we are not the church victorious over sin, but groaning for that victory and militant against our ungodliness.

 

Is the Spirit ever called Jehovah, as the Father and Son are? No. As the first man and his wife were named Adam (see Genesis 5:1, 2), so the Father and Son alone are named Jehovah. To call the Spirit, “God the Holy Spirit”, is extremely unbiblical, and blasphemous. The Holy Ghost is not a “being” to be worshiped. Jehovah alone is to be worshiped. “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Matt. 4:10). Neither the Bible nor the Spirit of Prophecy calls us to worship or pray to the Holy Spirit. Since the Spirit was never worshiped in the Bible, how can It be God or a member of the Godhead? But, nowadays we see such a worship practice running rampantly throughout the denominations, and in our own. Not only is this biblically unsound, but it is opening the door to the long foretold Baal-peor apostasy and spiritualism.