Saturday, May 24, 2008
Paul Washer - The Great Privilege
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The Kingdom Of The Devil
(Excerpts from: Visions Beyond the Veil)THE KINGDOM OF THE DEVIL
No careful observer could have been with us during those weeks of the mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit and doubted that there are two Kingdoms in constant conflict.
As surely as angels minister and the Holy Spirit leads to a real Kingdom of light, so surely do demons hinder, while the devil presides in a realm of evil spirits in a kingdom of real darkness. One kingdom was made as certain to us as the other. Man was clearly revealed as the battle ground.
The Bible teaches that there are "the lower ranks of evil spirits and the higher" (Rom. 8:38. Weymouth) and that our conflict is not "with mere flesh and blood but with the despotisms, the empires, the forces that control and govern this dark world" (Weymouth Eph. 6:12) . Both Old and New Testaments teach the reality of a Kingdom of darkness and the reality of demons.
Demons
We related how demons were cast out of one man and how the larger demon was seen to rush about the room in great anger, finally seizing upon an unguarded school teacher, who was looking on, and throwing him to the floor. In this instance two boys saw this big, black, man-like demon enter the man of his possession. Several children saw the cast-out demon, chased out of the room by a Spirit filled young man, take temporary refuge behind some small trees in our court. This demon and the accompanying one about half his size were seen by children who were praying with closed eyes and by some whose eyes were open. But all saw the same things at the same time. The appearance of the demons was the same to each individual.
In the Adullam Rescue Home we had a young girl who very evidently was open to demon activity. She said that before coming here she was subject to "fits," or spells of unconsciousness. A short time after she came she and some of the other girls went for a walk outside the city. On the way back one of the new girls who was half-blind and half witted lingered behind and lost her way. The older girl, having gone to find the one who was lost, was returning home with her when she saw three demons before her, a few steps away. One was "as tall as a door" and was accompanied by two others about the size of a boy twelve years old. All these demons were dark in appearance, with big eyes and awful faces. The two smaller demons being apparently subject to the large one, obeyed and followed him. The girl was frightened at what she saw. The large demon, coming near, seized her by the head. She became dizzy and almost unconscious. She could scarcely walk. She could hardly see the street and had to be led home by the other girl whom she had gone to seek. Upon reaching home she was better for a time. A little later, while we were at supper, some one came in saying that the afflicted girl was in her room unconscious. We found her prostrate on the floor, breathing as if in a peaceful sleep, but we could not awake her. After praying for her we all assembled in the regular evening prayer meeting. Soon the girl came in perfectly well.
She said that she seemed to be bound by chains and dragged by demons farther and farther down a great dark road, while all the time she was silently praying; then she suddenly realized that the Lord had set her free and she was able to rise. At once she became conscious, and her mind clear. As she sat on her bed alone in the room, she saw the three demons whom she had met on the street now in the room. But now she felt no fear, for she knew that the Lord was Conqueror. Accordingly, she drove the demons out of the room in "the name of Jesus." As they reluctantly receded step by step she followed in the name of Jesus until she drove them along the walk out of the large Chinese door at the entrance of our compound. In the several succeeding months that she was here she had no more "fits" or unconscious spells.
I have given these two instances somewhat in detail, because the effect of demon activity in both cases was so evident that any kind of an observer could have told that something supernatural had taken place. We might tell of many instances of demon activity that have come under our observation the last few years, but these two are sufficient in this connection; we want to tell something of the demon activity in connection with the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
When there were manifestations we did not understand we kept praying and trusting the Lord, but decided not to interfere unless we clearly saw something that was harmful or sinful. After eight weeks of wonderful manifestations of the Holy Spirit we were most thankful that we had allowed such liberty among the children. We saw how marvelously the Lord had led them, and things we did not understand at first proved to be part of the Lord's plan in giving us some of the most wonderful and precious revelations.
Among these unusual revelations were those of the demons the children saw.
While some of the children were having a blessed time in the Holy Spirit, others went to sleep when they tried to pray. Those under the anointing could often see demons by those who were drowsy and could not pray through. They saw demons coming in through the open window or the door. Sometimes they saw demons lazily reclining under the table or upon a couch that was in the room. Under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the children, with closed eyes, in the Name of Jesus would rout the demons out of their places and follow them until they went out of the door or window.
They frequently followed these demons out of the room, opened a front or back door to the compound, and chased the demons off the premises. When demons appeared on the scene they were often seen by several persons at the same time.
Some of the children had seen demons before. We found that in spite of all our teaching about the Lord they were still so afraid of demons they dare not go to their rooms alone at night, and they covered their heads when they slept. Through these revelations, however, the children found that the largest and fiercest demons were unavailing against the smallest child covered by Jesus' blood, so that, for the first time, we had a happy lot of Chinese children who had lost their fear of demons, were not afraid in the dark, and were not afraid to sleep with uncovered heads.
You may wonder what the demons were like.
The demons seen are best described as resembling the demon idols in Chinese temples. According to the Bible34 and according to the Chinese much idolatry is demon worship. Making idols of the demon type is an attempt to reproduce the likeness of demons that have been seen.
The children saw demons as "high as a door," with pointed chins and warty heads. There were others of different appearance too, some half this size. There were smaller ones two or three feet high and little ones a few inches high, following the larger demons about.
The large, big-eyed, fierce-looking demons are the ones to be feared as having power to bind and take captives to hell.
The Principalities and Powers of the Air
The hosts of the powers of the air and their works of darkness in co-operation with demons on earth were seen by various Adullam witnesses, whose testimony is as follows:
The government of the hosts of evil is in mid-heaven. Here are thrones from which the devil's angels exercise their Satanic government over the earth. These rulers of darkness vary: some are larger in stature than others; there is variation in dress, crowns, facial expression, disposition, and authority. In all respects they are as devilish in appearance and acts as the hosts of Satan are expected to be.
These rulers of evil are in constant contention among themselves, each resenting the authority of those higher in power, each jealous of the other and all covetous of the seats of highest rank. Those in higher rank hold their positions, not by consent of the lower orders, but solely through their own superior fierceness and power. Cliques and individuals are in constant conflict and quarrels.
All have crowns that represent various orders and ranks. All desire to sit on the thrones above and supervise the work of evil on earth, rather than descend on delegated duties to further the demonical powers below. Those of highest rank sit on thrones in the mid-heavens, ruling over innumerable hosts of evil spirits, from whose number delegations are constantly dispatched to earth to entice its inhabitants, to withstand the forces of righteousness, to strengthen weak places in the demonical forces of earth, and to bind and to drag the souls of evil men to hell when they die.
Although these wicked angels fly in high heaven to the very gates of the New Jerusalem and although they descend to earth and fly in its air, the center where they congregate in countless numbers is in the region of the thrones of authority in the mid- heavens. Here evil hosts of wicked spirits of all sizes fly hither and thither or move about more deliberately. A certain halo surrounds the wicked angels of higher rank.
All are similar in some respects: All have wings, all have crowns, all belong in the heavens. The delegated messengers go to earth only temporarily. Their evil errand finished, they again return to the heavens. The hosts of evil spirits on earth are very different from the devil's angels. These on earth do not have wings; they can walk and run rapidly; and they move freely but apparently do not leave the earth. They vary in size from a few inches to ten feet in height, wear gaudy colored clothes of many stripes, and have fancy caps of various shapes and colors; some, on the other hand, wear rags or filthy garments.
Some of these demons on earth have very little power and are of a rather harmless order. Others, however, are large in stature, fierce in appearance, and have great power. These on earth withstand the work of righteous men and the work of angels among men. In one of their conflicts with an angel, earthly demons of highest rank, assisted by others of lower rank, gathered about the angel, trying to strike him with clubs, swords, and other weapons. Through faith and praising the Lord, the angel so with stood this onslaught that no blow fell upon him nor could an evil hand touch him. The demons of less power, standing at a little distance and watching the conflict, upon seeing their companions unsuccessful in their attack, besought the powers of evil in the heavens to send a re-enforcement of the devil's angels from the air. In response to this entreaty a detachment of ten angels were sent down. As these approached the earth the demons below clapped their hands in joyous welcome. When the wicked angels from above reached the scene of conflict these less powerful demons, receding a distance, stood in respectful quietness in the presence of the Satanic delegation from above, who now took up the conflict with the angel. These forces the angel also withstood with praises and faith until suddenly the Glory of God descended and entirely routed all the hosts of evil.
The boy who saw a christian die also saw what takes place when the unconverted die.
When one man who did not know the Gospel died, his soul, after being liberated from the body, wandered about unhindered from place to place on earth, until one of the devil's angels, descending from the sky with chains, bound him and forced him down to hell. The death of a professing Christian who had known the Lord, but had not truly repented, was still more terrible. When this man was dying, demons by his deathbed waited in fiendish delight for the liberation of the soul of this hypocritical, one-time professing Christian. The demons began to bind him before he was entirely out of the body and completed the binding of their captive the minute he drew his last ungodly breath. The hypocrite did not enjoy one moment of freedom to wander about the earth. An object of ridicule to his demon captors, in terror he was at once dragged and pushed into hell.
One such ungodly man was the special sport of demons who, having bound him in chains, dragged him along on the earth, again and again jerking him up on his feet only again to drag him down and haul him along like a dead dog. After furnishing amusement for his captor the man was dragged down the dark road to the infernal regions.
There was a boy dragged from Adullam to hell because he had been so bad he was discharged as errand boy by an officer in the army. After seeing him begging on the street for several days we took him into the Adullam Rescue Home. He promised to reform, made an outward showing of decency, heard the Gospel for a considerable time, and professed repentance.
Different articles disappeared from the Home, but the thief was not found until this boy was caught on his way to sell the stolen plunder. We then put him out of the Home.
After several months of beggar life, during which time this boy repeatedly promised to reform if only we would allow him to return, we gave him another chance. The Lord also gave him another chance, for there were manifestations of the Holy Spirit and supernatural revelations sufficient to make the way of life clear to the most simple. This boy himself had anointings of the Holy Spirit, when the Lord dealt directly with him about his sins and showed him the better way. In spite of all this the boy ran away and joined a street gang of beggar-thieves. A few months later he fell and broke his arm, infection set in, and he was about to die when he was picked up by a hospital worker. In the hospital he was so hopelessly disobedient that he was thrown out and was soon in a dying condition on the street. Coming to us with promises of repentance, we pitied him and took him in once more.
Day by day he neared the end of the way. The night before he died I was awakened by unearthly shrieks that sounded like uncanny howls of some wild animal or of some fiend. The next day when the boy died I was away from home. As he lay in death throes, delighted, awful hellish demons gathered about him. When his soul was leaving his body the boy seeing his captors, wept, yelled, shrieked, and cried at the top of his voice in wildest terror; "Mr. Baker, help! help! help! O, Mr. Baker, come quickly ! Mr. Baker, Mr. Baker, Mr. Baker! Help, they are all about me with chains! They have come for me. Help, help, Mr. Baker, help! Oh, oh, oh, help! help! help! They are binding me with chains. Help! help! Oh, oh, oh, help! Oh—h—e—l—"
Visions of Hell
Over and over again children had visions of hell and the lake of fire. The first time any one was under the anointing of the Spirit he usually had a vision of hell. He was bound in chains by demons and taken through a region of darkness. Some children could hear demons all about them in this region. If taken far, they could see a dim light in the distance which proved to be reflections from the lake of fire. Some children were forced so near they could see the lake of fire ahead. All the time they were pleading the blood of Christ, asserting that they would not obey and would not be subject to the slavery of their captors. They believed Jesus would surely save. We have already told how at this climax, before the lake of fire was reached, the Lord did intervene with His blood- bought salvation.
The Bible pictures hell as a place of blackness and darkness,35 and it teaches that part of the devil's angels are now reserved in chains of darkness awaiting judgment. The children saw not only darkness in hell, but also the lake of fire that was always approached through a region of stygian darkness.36 In vision they were led to the edge of a great lake of molten fire in a semi-dark pit from which arose clouds of smoke. When the smoke settled low the fire in the lake was less distinct. When the smoke lifted a little, the burning lake with red and greenish flames and its inmates could be distinctly seen.
When the children were peering down into this pit in hell we saw them taking a firm hold on some piece of furniture or getting down on their hands and knees, cautiously bending forward to peep into the infernal regions. They looked a moment and then drew back, afraid lest they fall in. They were horrified at what they saw. Then very cautiously they looked again and drew back. Sometimes the children lay flat on their stomachs, lest they slip and fall while looking over the brink of the lake of fire.
The lost were seen going into hell. Some fell in, some walked over the brink, and some were bound by demon chains and cast into hell by demons. One boy saw groups of the wicked bound in bundles, ready to be cast into this furnace of fire. 37
When the fire abated and the smoke settled down the moans of the miserable could be heard. When the fire at intervals increased in intensity and the smoke lifted a little there were shrieks and wails of agony.
One person was rolled on the floor and caused to cry out as would a suffering soul in hell.
In the lake of fire were oceans of hands reaching up for help. Those below appealed to those looking in upon them to come to their rescue. We could hear the children talking to them just as you can hear some one talking over the telephone and get but one end of the conversation. We could hear one end of a conversation like this: "I can't help you." "No, I cannot do anything for you." "But when you were alive you would not obey the gospel." "No, it is too late; before you got here I preached to you, but you made fun of me and despised Jesus. Now you know I told you the truth." "No, I cannot do anything; this is the judgment of God." "If you had obeyed, you would now be enjoying heaven with us." After some such conversation the children were led away to enjoy the presence of Jesus in heaven or the glories of the golden streets of the Paradise of God.
Lazarus could see the rich man in hell tormented in flames, and the rich man could talk with Lazarus, but he could not cross the gulf. When Christ reigns as King of Kings upon the earth the redeemed nations will look upon the lost. 38
One boy saw his grandmother in hell, whom he had tried to win to Christ. She was once a sorceress and murderer who had withstood the gospel she heard in her village and caused many to refuse the light. Other children also had visions of relatives in hell. This tribal boy who saw his grandmother in hell was the boy who saw his little sister and his believing aunt in heaven.
There was no vision of any one in heaven or the name of any one on the mansions by the golden streets who did not trust in Jesus. Those in hell were all unbelievers. One night when the Lord spoke through a small boy in wonderful prophecy, among the things he said was, "There will be no one in heaven except those who believe the gospel."
End Of This Age And The Return Of Christ
H. A. Baker was a missionary to China operating an orphanage in the Yunnan Province beginning in the early 1920s. One day the Lord unexpectedly did a mighty outpouring of His Holy Spirit in their midst. As a result, the Chinese beggar children from his orphanage had visions that fill page after page of H.A. Baker's book, Visions Beyond The Veil. Mr. Baker purposefully did not copyright the original book so that it would live on and bless generations to come.Rolland Baker and Iris Ministries
H.A. Baker was Rolland Baker's grandfather. Rolland, along with his wife Heidi, is currently a missionary in Mozambique. Following in his grandfather's footsteps, Rolland runs an orphanage. The Lord has given Rolland and Heidi Baker "the nation of Mozambique" in the form a powerful revival that is sweeping that nation, and the Baker's ministry has currently planted over 5,000 churches (all populated by new converts) in the last ten years. The Baker's oversee an orphanage on their main complex, in Maputo, which has over 500 children it in. Some of the children their orphanage have had divine encounters with God, similar to the visions described in his grandfather's book.
If you would like to know more about Rolland Baker and Iris Ministries, please see their www page at http://www. irismin. org . Rolland Baker wrotes a forward to his grandfather's book in April of 2000. If you would like to read that forward, please click here .
(Excerpts from Visions Beyond the Veil)
CHAPTER 8
END OF THIS AGE AND THE RETURN OF CHRIST
During the mighty out pouring of the Holy Spirit, by vision and prophecy we were repeatedly warned that the end of the present age and the return of our Lord is at hand. The Holy Spirit made this great climax at the consummation of the present age so vivid and real that no doubt was left in any of our minds that the Lord God was bringing last and supremely important messages to his people. The Scripture teaches that the present age will end in the greatest tribulation the world has ever seen and that immediately after that tribulation the Lord will return to destroy the wicked and reward the righteous. 41
The Scriptures also teach that this age will reach its climax at its "end" in the harvest when the tares will have reached full fruition and when the wheat will have passed from the leaf and the blade to the full grain in the ear. When both the wheat and the tares are ripe the angels will come with the Lord to gather the harvest and to separate the wheat from the tares. In other words, when the Kingdom of the devil is at its worst and the Kingdom of God on earth is at its best, in its purest form the evil ripe and the good ripe—then will come the harvest.42 The Bible further teaches that evil will reach its climax in the incarnation of the devil in control of a demon-deceived and tormented world and that this devil-possessed world ruler, the super-man, will be destroyed by the Lord at his coming. 43
There may be those who take exception to the above remarks, but, without detailed discussion of these matters, I will relate, as best I can, the visions and revelations given Adullam children, who knew little or nothing of the theology involved.
Pestilence and Wars
Time after time they spoke in prophecy, saying that a time of famine, pestilence, war, and desolation is coming and that it will be attended with persecution of the people of God, whom He will especially equip and protect in this crisis. One boy saw our school teacher trying to buy a measure of rice. So great a crowd surrounded the granary that the teacher could only hope for success in making his purchase by pushing with the crowd. Only one measure of rice could be bought by each man. 44
In vision one ignorant, uneducated boy was transported to our civilized lands and saw the peoples getting ready for war, making bombs, cannon, and implements of destruction. The coming of the devil and his incarnation in the Antichrist was prophesied many times, as well as seen in vision.
Visions of the Devil and Antichrist
The children saw the dragon, the devil with seven heads. One boy saw angels fighting with him and seven of his angels. The devil and his angels were overcome and flung out of heaven to earth.
45
Adullam boys saw the super-man the world is wishing for, the great subject of worship that Buddhism, Theosophy, Mohammedanism and other religions expect. In him they saw the devil incarnated as a handsome, strong man in the beauty and strength of young manhood. They also had visions of the image that in due season this God-defying Antichrist will erect according to prophecy as an object of worship, the image that will be able to speak and to deceive the world.46 I asked how they knew this handsome man of power was the Antichrist. They said that a host of demons followed him everywhere, obeyed his every command, advanced at his word, and halted at his order.
This Antichrist was also seen upon a plain as a beast with seven heads. Again I asked how they knew this was the Antichrist, and the children said the angels told them. I have already explained that, as to John, these revelations were given through angels when the children were "in the Spirit" in a trance and that, like him, they carried on conversation with the angels and by these heavenly messengers were told the mystery of many things they did not understand themselves.
The Saints Under Persecution
During the reign of this super-man in his God-defying power the saints of God were standing true and bearing faithful testimony in spite of every hardship and every danger. They saw the two witnesses in Jerusalem, and they saw the saints, as well as these two, endued with mighty supernatural power to fight with and to resist the power of darkness in that awful time, the like of which has never been upon the earth—the time when the devil and all his angels and demons will be turned loose upon the earth, having great wrath, knowing their time is short. During this time, when no one but a true Spirit-filled saint could stand for a day against such Satanic power and supernatural Satanic miracles and manifestations, the children saw the saints filled with the still greater supernatural power of their God, the Spirit of him, who is greater than "he that is in the world." They had visions of preaching the gospel in the midst of great persecution; but they were given such power that by a word from them, enemies smitten by plagues47 or death. This power seemed to issue from within and came out of their mouths; with it they rebuked and slew their enemies. They were exercising the power the Lord had promised his disciples, power to do the works He did and greater works.48 In some cases, after giving a testimony in a town that rejected them and having left it a distance, fire from heaven descended and destroyed the wicked place, even as Sodom and Gomorrah were swept away. When persecution was bitter they were some times caught away bodily by the Holy Spirit as was Philip49 and as the prophets supposed Elijah had been (II Kings 2:16). They were thus by the Spirit carried away to a place of safety. In time of hunger and need food was miraculously provided—manna, fruit, and other food. Angels ministered. Strength and boldness were given to bear a fearless testimony. The Christians had power to speak with tongues in the languages of strange and unevangelized tribes. When in vision the boys or girls were thus preaching in the Spirit we ourselves could see how this might be true, for while one speaker preached to the people of a strange language whom he saw before him, another interpreted for him (I Cor. 14:28). Both spoke in other tongues. One spoke a few sentences, then the other interpreted. They were preaching to some of those of every tribe and language. John saw an angel flying in heaven with the everlasting gospel to be preached to all tribes and tongues, just before the fall of Babylon the Great. 50 He also saw a great multitude no man could number, people of every tribe and language, who had washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and had come out of Great Tribulation. 51 Must it not be in accord with the Scripture that, as the children saw in these visions, the gospel will be preached again under angelic ministration in the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit in a supernatural way, far exceeding that of the early Church in the days of its persecution? May it not be that the harvest outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the latter rain, will far exceed the seed-time outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the former rain, the outpouring on the Day of Pentecost?
The Final World War
At the conclusion of the final testimony of the most perfect and supernatural church the world has ever seen, in the midst of the greatest persecution by the greatest concentration of Satanic demonical power and devil-controlled human power that any age on earth has ever experienced, the Adullam children saw the Antichrist, the devil- man, the super-man world leader, marshalling his forces for the final world war of the age.
They also saw the war in the spirit realm. In this they saw a man on a white horse, leading his army of angels dressed in white.52 They also saw a rider on a red horse, the rider dressed in beautiful dark colored array and followed by his host of demons in black. Some visions of the war on earth were also seen. Children saw battleships destroyed by bombs thrown from airplanes, and they saw the ships with all aboard enter their watery grave to be seen no more. Armies were seen gathered from all the earth, engaged in the great and terrible struggle. The children watched the awful battle. Poison gas and deadly instruments of war slew their victims in countless numbers. At first the dead were buried, but later the slain, being so many they could not be taken care of, were piled in heaps or left to decay as manure upon the face of the earth, as the prophet has foretold. 53
In the midst of all these things everything was interrupted by The Sudden Return of Christ. The sun became dark and the moon red like blood.54 The stars fell in showers. The heavens shook and seemed to roll together as a scroll. There was a great earthquake that rent the earth asunder. Great crevices opened and people were swallowed alive. Buildings were shaken down, collapsing like children's toy houses, killing and burying the inmates. While these things in heaven and earth were taking place the Lord appeared in the heavens. Old and young, rich and poor were overcome with deadly fear. They fled in every direction in wild confusion. Men fled from their shops empty handed, without a thought of their valuables that a few moments before had seemed of great importance. Families rushed from their homes without even a glance back upon the luxuries that had been their life passion. In one moment all men became one in purpose; they had only one desire; they sought only one thing. That one desire was to flee from the face of the returning Judge; they sought only a place of refuge to hide from the visible King of Kings. Some who were not killed by falling houses or who did not tumble into the opened earth tried to flee to the mountains for safety; some leaped into the rivers and perished; some slew themselves with their own weapons.
Everywhere was wailing and shrieking. Everywhere was riot and terror. Anything to escape from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of His wrath was come. After this there were visions of The Great Supper of God, where the beasts and birds were bidden to eat the unburied dead that lay scattered over the ruined earth. Dogs and wild animals were seen feeding on the carcasses of men. Birds and scavengers of the air joined in this supper prepared by God.
While the boys were witnessing this great feast we could hear their remarks and see their movements as the scene was described and acted out before us. One would say, "Look at that eagle eating that rich fellow. See it picking his fancy clothes from his body. Look at that! It has taken a piece of his flesh and flown away.''55
Another said, "O, look over there; a vulture and a crow both eating at that man. The vulture has the most courage. He just picks and picks away, gorging himself, never taking time to look up, but the crow is afraid; he takes a bit and looks around to see if he is in danger. 'Ai ya,' do you see that? Look at the birds standing on that well dressed fellow and digging into him." Then the boys suddenly with one accord wheeled around with their backs toward the repellent scene, while their remarks, as well as their motions, made it clear enough the sort of abhorring scenes that will characterize the final feast of the earth. Here will be the rich and mighty, the captains of the earth, the captains of industry, the captains of wealth, the captains of war, and the captains of all Christ-rejecting enterprises and religions. They will not be there as honored guests, but as the food for the scavengers of the earth over which they have lived in selfish luxury.
Thus the Adullam children have already seen and described in terrible reality the culminating scenes of our boasted material civilization. They have seen the fruit of godless sowing and the answer to the question of our Lord, "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" The Word of God says, "All the nations that forget God shall be turned into hell." These simple children believe without a doubt, because they have been shown by God and the angels what is also written in the Word of the Lord, that the climax and consummation of the present world with its human systems of education and its boasted organization and wealth will be "the great supper of God," where the flesh of the dead will be more of a prize than will be the splendor and culture that is now the pride of the living.
The Antichrist Bound and the Devil Cast into the Pit The children saw the Lord and his angels bind the Antichrist hand and foot, preparatory to casting him alive into hell. 56 There were visions also of the devil taken alive to the mouth of the pit; a box-like lid was lifted up, and he was cast down into the black well-like shaft of the abyss; the lid was shut down, and the Lord locked it with a great key. 57
The Descent of the Lord and the Last Trumpet
We have written of the visions of the return of Christ as related to the wicked. There were equally clear visions relating to the saints. Adullam saw the heavens open and the Lord descend in glory attended by His angels. On either side and following the Lord was this great army of attendants in white. Those in front blew beautiful trumpets as with the blast of trumpets the Lord and His army descended in perfect order, every one keeping in his proper place and rank.
As the Lord thus descended toward the earth there were wonderful visions of the Resurrection and Rapture of the Saints. Graves burst open as from an explosion. Bodies came out of the graves and were suddenly clothed upon by the heavenly tabernacle of the resurrection glory life. In some cases bones were seen to come together as the children expressed it in Chinese idiom: "one bone from the east and one from the west." These scattered bones, having become clothed with flesh and transformed into the resurrection body, were caught up to meet the Lord in the air.58 One boy saw a funeral procession where a Christian was being carried to his burial. On the way to the burial ground the trumpet sounded, the Lord descended, the coffin opened, the dead sat up, arose transformed, and ascended into the air.
I have already told how our children had visions of some of our Adullam people already dead and now in heaven, clothed in white and enjoying Paradise and of their seeing the saints of old clothed in white. The Scripture teaches that between death and the resurrection the saints have spiritual bodies and that the saints are clothed in white before the time of the resurrection.59 When I cross-questioned the children as to how they knew whether the saints they saw in heaven had been resurrected or not, they said they did not know until the angels told them that they saw only the souls of the saints and that their bodies had not been resurrected. I questioned and cross-questioned in some of these matters and always got a uniform testimony: the children always saw the saints in white; the saints never had wings; all of the angels had wings; there was no difficulty in distinguishing between saints and angels.
In summary, then, Adullam saw the saints in white now in heaven, with access to Paradise, and enjoying the fellowship of Christ and the angels; they saw the descent of the Lord with "all his holy ones"—all his angels—at the sounding of the last trumpet; they saw the resurrection and transformation of the bodies of the saints and their ascent into the air. They also saw The Marriage Supper of the Lamb. 60
Great tables were spread in Paradise in the midst of its magnificent trees, its wonderful flowers with enchanting fragrance, its glorious birds of every plumage that sang their carols of praise, where all redeemed animal and vegetable creation was one harmonious, spirit-filled, God-praising whole. Here, then, in this indescribable Paradise of God in open spaces were spread the tables for the great Marriage Supper. Angels and the glorified saints skipped about everywhere playing harps, blowing trumpets, singing, and praising the Lord. Some of the children acted out these scenes before us. They hurried to their jewel bedecked home to get their harp or trumpet and joined the spirit inspired music of the greatest of all festival scenes, the climax of all the hopes of the ages. Great companies sang, and danced, and praised the King. Others hurried about preparing the tables or the seats and carrying the golden dishes of food.
There was abundance of food, everything having flavor of its own, exceeding anything that could be imagined. When all was ready, the call was sent forth and the saints of all past ages gathered around the tables to celebrate the wedding of the King's Great Son. The consummation of all their hopes, the realization of all highest joy in heaven itself, came to its highest point when the harlot, the beggar, the sinner, and the one-time off-scourings of the earth came from the east and the west and sat down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at this festal table in the Kingdom of God.61 As all arose and expectantly reached its greatest height, the Son Himself came in and sat down at the tables surrounded by his blood bought and white-robe clad bride the redeemed of every nation, and tribe, and tongue and drank with them the fruit of the vine. 62
Adullam saw The Books Opened and the Day of Judgment. They saw the books in which the deeds of men are recorded and saw the Judge upon the throne before whom all men were judged out of the books. The righteous were set apart to stand in one great company on the one side, while those whose names were not in the book of life were gathered into another great company to stand on the other side. The one company was separated to enter the Kingdom of God and the life of the ages; the other group was doomed to go into the fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 63
A few were privileged to have visions of The New Heaven and the New Earth. The New Heaven was so filled with Shekina glory that the children could not carefully look into it. The New Jerusalem, the city four-square, occupied the central position in the New Earth. They saw the celestial city with its Paradise as it is now, but descended upon the New Earth. The whole New Earth was much like the Paradise that is now and will then still be in the city of God, the Bride of the Lamb.64 It was the earth God wanted for His children, more than restored by Him who is more than Conqueror. It was the New Heaven and the New Earth that had passed through the new birth65 and that will never pass away, the earth where God will again pitch his tent with men, where he will forever be called their God and they shall all and always be His Children. Amen.
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CHAPTER 9
CHINESE BEGGAR BOY PROPHECIES
In fulfillment of the Scripture that "in the last days. .. your sons . . . shall prophesy" (Acts 2 :17), one of the little ten-year-old beggar sons of China was used as the mouth-piece of the Lord to bring us a message by direct inspiration.
A few months previous this boy, ragged and dirty—in fact, more nearly clothed with filth than with garments—came to our door with his two companions to ask if he might come in. When bathed and dressed, the boy looked like a guileless little fellow, and such he proved to be. He at once took every Bible story and sermon to heart. He soon learned to pray, and we could hear him praying in bed very earnestly every night. When the Holy Spirit fell upon us this boy was among the first to receive the baptism of the Spirit, speaking with other tongues as on the Day of Pentecost.
As surely as ever God spoke in the past, when men were moved upon by the Holy Spirit, so that Scripture was inspired of God and prophets declared their message to be "Thus saith the Lord" with such assurance that they were ready to back their convictions with their lives, even so surely the living God still reigns and speaks to the children of men by direct prophecy, when the circumstances demand it, and faith and other conditions are according to His divine will.
One night the power of the Lord was present in an unusual manner. Heaven seemed not far away. Then it was that our one-time, little, friendless beggar-boy seemed to leave this filthy earth and to be caught up to heaven. Ushered into the presence of the Lord Jesus, he fell prostrate at His feet in humble adoration and worship. As a matter- of-fact, the boy lay prostrate in the middle of the room surrounded by his companions, who sat about him on the floor, listening intently to a message that came through him from the Lord. Such gripping, heart-searching words I have never heard. While the boy sobbed and wept with deepest grief the message was given, a sentence or two at a time, in a clear strong voice. The language came in rhythm; the choice of words was the simplest and purest. The intonation of the voice, the choice of language, the penetrating power of every word was such that no person who heard could ever doubt that this little simple minded Samuel was speaking by direct supernatural inspiration from God.
Prostrated in vision at the feet of the Lord, the boy said, "Lord Jesus, I am not worthy to be here or to be saved at all. I am only a little street beggar." Then Jesus addressed the boy. The boy did not know it at the time, but the Lord actually spoke through the boy as a mouth piece, using the first person and addressing us and the children sitting about him. Here is the "Thus saith the Lord" that we wish might grip your hearts as it still grips our own.
The Message from Christ
"I weep tonight. I am heart-broken. I am in deep sorrow because those who believe in me are so very few. I planned and prepared heaven for every one, having made room for all the people in all the world. I made the New Jerusalem in three great cities, one above the other, with plenty of space for all men. But men will not believe me. Those who believe are so very few. I am sad, so very sad. (This message was given between heart-rending sobs and floods of tears from the boy.) Since men will not believe me, I must destroy the wicked earth. I planned to visit it with three great calamities, but it is so wicked that I have added a fourth. "If you have any friends, tell them to repent quickly; persuade all men as rapidly as possible to believe the gospel; but if people will not listen and will not accept your message the responsibility will not be upon you. ..:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
"Get the baptism of the Holy Spirit. If you will tarry and believe, I will baptize you. The devil deceives you by making you think you will not receive the baptism, but wait and seek and I will baptize you, and give you power to cast out devils and to heal the sick. Those who receive the seal of the Holy Spirit are to preach and testify, and I will be with you to help and protect you in times of danger.
"If you think perhaps you will not get to heaven, that thought is of the devil. I will not destroy my own children; I will protect and save every one; not one of mine will perish. I will overcome. Pray for Mr. and Mrs. Baker and I will give them power to cast out devils and to heal the sick. The children in the home should obey. Do not fight. Do not lie. Live at peace. When you pray, pray from the heart. Do not let your love grow cold. "Tell other churches they, too, should seek the Holy Spirit. All churches must press forward.
"The devil is coming to earth in a few years, and there will be great tribulation. Do not worry; I will protect and care for you. "People everywhere will gather together and fight in one place, after which I will come to punish the earth. You must not fear, for those who believe in me will be caught up to blow trumpets and to play harps. "I will destroy two of every three. When I come everything must obey my voice (Chinese, "Yang yang du yao ting o dy hwa"). Houses will tumble down; mountains will fall; trees will be destroyed. There will be utter destruction where I will not leave one blade of grass (Chinese, "Ih gen tsao du buh liu".) Those who worship idols will perish. All sorcerers and spiritist mediums shall be cast into hell. Only those who believe the gospel will be saved.
"Thus hath the Lord spoken to Adullam and, we believe, to all to whom we may be able to pass this message of prophecy. This message from our risen Lord was given in Chinese as above recorded, the sentences spoken slowly and distinctly with pauses between. I wrote them as they were given, often repeated a time or two so there could be no mistake on the part of the hearers; there was ample time to record without mistake every word the Lord spoke through this little inspired prophet of His choice.
The message complete, the little boy arose and told us he had been at the feet of Jesus. He did not know that the Lord had spoken through him as well as to him in the first person. He repeated the prophecy, saying, "Jesus said that, Jesus said this," etc.
This prophecy already heard, already written, and then again repeated from the little prophet's memory item by item, made it easy to see how in days of old the prophets spoke as moved by God, how a scribe might record every word as it came from the lips of the prophet, or how the prophet himself could record his own messages, truly saying, "thus saith the Lord.
"In days of old, when religious and worldly men had departed from a simple faith in a personal living God who spoke to men and when their unbelief and wickedness was such that "in those days there was no open vision" (I Sam 3), God found a pure-minded little Samuel and spoke to him in an audible voice a message that was fulfilled to the very letter. Accordingly, we believe that God who is still the same living God that has spoken to and through others in the past has, in this day of wickedness and unbelief, given to us through our little Chinese Samuel a "Thus saith the Lord" that will shortly come to pass, a message to be heeded to our eternal joy or neglected to eternal sorrow.
The Miracle Healing of Delores Winder
"Jesus Set Me Free":The Miracle Healing of Delores Winder
By Linda Josef, Ph.D.
Delores Winder was dying. Although she was just 48 years old, the disease that had tortured her life was now poisoning her kidneys. Her esophagus was ruptured, a fractured bone was poking through her skin, organs were failing, and the doctors said they could do no more for her. Delores was granted permission to leave the hospital so that she could die at home. Death would bring relief from a life of terrible pain and disability, but she was.
With these mixed feelings, she went home and set about making her own funeral arrangements, but she didn't die as expected. Instead, she experienced what Sid Roth calls one of the greatest healing miracles of the twentieth century. Today she is 80 years young and busy ministering the healing power of the Holy Spirit from her home in Shreveport, LA. Delores told Sid all about her remarkable experience in a recent radio interview. I have paraphrased and summarized Sid's interview with her in two parts. Part 1 describes her own healing, and Part 2 gives some of her teaching about the Holy Spirit and healing.
A Rare and Painful Disease
Delores' symptoms began in childhood - she seemed to break bones very easily. Numerous medical tests were conducted to try to determine the cause of her fragile bones, but nothing was diagnosed. When she was in her late twenties, she experienced a collapse of several vertebrae that required a fusion of her spine. The spinal fusion failed and had to be repeated three more times. Her doctors realized that something was terribly wrong with her bones.
Delores was ultimately diagnosed with a rare disease in which her bones thinned out because they could not absorb calcium and other needed minerals from her bloodstream. This made them old and brittle and as easy to break as a twig. Her hip sockets were so fragile that she could barely walk and she lived in fear of them failing completely. She had to live in a full body cast with a neck brace to avoid more breakage.
Delores also had to take a lot of medication, and it made her sick and unable to eat. She weighed only 73 pounds, was almost completely disabled and required help for the most simple body functions. It is hard to imagine living for 15 years in such a condition. She could not walk without assistance, hold her own child or enjoy anything like a normal life.
One of the worst aspects was the excruciating pain. Delores described her normal pain level as "15 on a 10-point scale." Even the heaviest pain medications could not alleviate her suffering, so the doctors carried out an agonizing surgical procedure, called a percutaneous chordotomy, in which they went into the brain and burned out the nerves to the lower part of her body. The good news was that the pain level was greatly reduced because of the procedure. The bad news was that her lower body now could feel nothing and could not move on its own. This procedure was an extreme measure, taken only because she was at the end of her life.
Delores was not afraid to die. She had been a Christian since childhood. She loved God and believed in God, but she did not believe in healing. She belonged to one of those churches that taught that healing had passed away with the Apostles. In fact, people that believed in supernatural healing made her uncomfortable. She believed that everything that happened to her was God's will, and that her job as a Christian was to bear her suffering as best she could.
The idea of dying did not bother her, but she was deeply grieved about leaving her husband and 14 year old son all alone. She did not tell her son she was dying, but he knew, and she could hear him crying at night in his room. She said, "I begged God to tell me what would happen to my boy - how he would get along and be cared for after I was gone. I just wanted to be able to tell him it would be okay for him. That worry, along with the worry for my husband Bill - that was the main thing I thought about. I prayed about it almost constantly as I waited for the end to come."
Jesus Set Me Free
"One day I was lying in my bed and a lady I knew as an acquaintance came into my bedroom. She had come to pray for me and then she turned on the TV to a show with Kathryn Kuhlman, the miracle healing lady. I was just revolted by what I saw. I did not believe in divine healing at all, and I felt at the time that these television ministries were making a mockery of faith. I asked her to turn it off, and to please leave me. Well, she did turn it off, but she asked me just to pray about Miss Kuhlman and not close any doors.
"Later, after she left, I was pleading with God to tell me how He was going to take care of my son Chris and my husband. As I prayed, I clearly heard the name 'Kathryn Kuhlman' just as if someone had said it out loud. Then I knew that my answer about Bill and Chris would come through her."
It was not too long afterward that Miss Kuhlman came to a nearby town to speak on the Holy Spirit at a Methodist conference, and Delores knew that she had to go to this conference. Her friend Gail agreed to help her make the very difficult and painful ride to the conference. When she finally arrived, Gail was unable to get her out of the car. They had decided to give up and go back home, but fortunately a man came out of the meeting and helped her get out of the car. He carried her into the service and got her and Gail settled in their seats.
Kathryn Kuhlman began to teach saying, "I am going to introduce you to the Holy Spirit. If you call the Holy Spirit an 'it', you don't know Him. He is God here with us. He is the third person of the trinity." That is the last thing Delores heard, because she suddenly felt that she was in the presence of God. A great sense of peace washed over her, and she had a vision. In the vision she saw her son standing with a man that she recognized as Jesus. He told her that her son need never feel alone, that He would always be with him. Delores had her answer; she had what she had come to the conference to receive.
Delores later said, "I had been in church all my life, and had even taught Sunday School. I read my Bible constantly, but the reality of the Holy Spirit had always escaped me. He is so real, and He wants us to know Him as a person - to be conscious of Him in everything we do. He wants to use all of us to deliver gifts of healing. All we have to do is open our hearts to Him. Healing is the ministry of the church, and He wants to use all of us for this purpose."
Meanwhile, people in the audience were being touched. Some seemed to faint, some were getting healed and others were laughing. Although she had encountered the Holy Spirit, she wanted no part of a healing service, which she thought was a lot of bunk. She was ready to leave and was pulling herself to the edge of the seat, gathering her things. Suddenly, her legs started burning as if they were on fire. This made her even more desperate to leave. Delores did not realize that her legs were supposed to be dead, and medically speaking, they had no potential to feel burning pain. Something supernatural was happening to Delores, and she did not even recognize it.
Delores described what happened next: "I wanted no part of this sideshow. My friend was about to get me up to leave, when I noticed a man standing next to me. He said, 'Something is happening to you.' I told him, "My legs are burning like fire and I am dying, and I need to get out of here right now."
He helped her up, and as he helped her shuffle to the door, he asked her if she had had any surgeries. Then he asked how she could feel her legs burning if she had had her nerves deadened. She did not know it at the time, but the man had come off the stage to Delores because he knew she was being healed, and he told her this. At the bottom of her heart she thought this was just more of the sideshow, but there was something in his face that said, 'he knows what he is talking about' He persuaded her to take off her body cast, and then had her carried to the stage. There, her worst fear came to pass - she was standing with Katherine in front of 3,000 people, the center of a big spectacle.
Katherine told her to walk, and the men holding her up backed away. Terrified of falling, she tried to prove she could not move her feet. To her amazement her feet did move, and she started walking She could feel the floor! Then the feeling came back into her hands and arms, and she started shouting, I can feel! I can feel! Later they told her she began running around the stage. When she came back, Katherine told her to bend over, and she did so, finding her spine was completely healed. She could touch the floor with no pain and was able to stand up. Everything was different! Different! Katherine smiled at her and said, "There is work for you to do. God wants you to have a dose of the Holy Spirit." Then she went down from the power of the Holy Spirit.
Delores said, "When we left, I walked off that platform - no cast, no cane, no assistance. This was medically impossible. I had thought the woman was a kook, but I was healed. I was in such shock that I did not really know what had happened. But I was completely healed!"
When Delores finally arrived home, it was 2 AM. Her son had been waiting up for her, and came to the door. He saw his mother get out of a car unassisted for the first time in his life. He was so excited, he ran to her and picked her up, all 73 pounds of her, and began dancing around with her. Her husband was in shock, but really thought somehow it would not last. He made up his mind to enjoy it as long as it lasted. The next morning she got up and took a shower by herself for the first time in many, many years. She went to church and then went out to lunch where she ate a normal meal for the first time in years. She went back to the same doctor who had sent her home to die. When he confirmed that she was completely well, she said, "Is there any possible medical explanation for this?" And there wasn't. It was God.
Closing Thoughts
It took Delores a long time to process what happened to her. She had never believed in healing at all and was disturbed because she could not explain what had happened. Gradually she began to understand, however. As she got to know the Holy Spirit she started to have quite a number of supernatural experiences, signs and healing miracles coming through her.
Delores said, "God has given a healing ministry to the whole church, not just to special people. It is the work of the Holy Spirit, but we must step out and take a chance to pray for people. I often wonder what would have happened if that man had not stepped forward to help me out of the car. We should all be doing these works. If people will only open their hearts, God will do it. We just have to believe. And if we cannot believe, we can pray, 'Lord, I do believe in you, help my unbelief.' My belief was in Jesus not in healing.
Wherever she goes, Delores walks in signs and healing miracles. More details about her healing, her miracle experiences and her teaching are revealed in her book, Joy Comes in the Morning. Some of these ideas are summarized in Part 2 of this article.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright ©1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Joel Osteen: Christless "Christianity" (White Horse Inn)
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