1

EGYPT OR ZION?
Exposing the Devil's Counterfeits
by
CAROL BALIZET
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INDEX
1. UPDATE FOR THE SECOND EDITION...........................
2. THE BEGINNING OF OUR STUDY..............................
3. THE TWO REALM CONCEPT...................................
4. THE VEIL................................................
5. THE WORLD SYSTEMS OR THE KINGDOM OF GOD.................
6. THE NATURE OF THE COUNTERFEITS..........................
7. THE SEVEN SYSTEMS.......................................
8. CHARACTERISTICS THE SYSTEMS HAVE IN COMMON
COMMON GOALS...........................................
COMMON MESSAGES........................................
9. LET'S CROSS OVER!
THE RENT IN THE VEIL...................................
THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN......................
10. WHAT'S COMING NEXT......................................
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UPDATE FOR THE SECOND EDITION

MARCH, 1999
On Tuesday, February 16, 1993, I wrote this in my journal: "My new
baby, EGYPT OR ZION, has arrived, and he is little and dear, but I see he
really needs some copy editing." Anyone who read that book will agree.
Indeed he did need some work; and he never got it. Until now, finally,
after six years, he's getting it. As we prepare this second edition, we
will straighten his margins, correct his typos and clean up his pages.
And I will take this opportunity to make a couple of observations.
If it escaped me at the time, I now see clearly that we don't go
directly from Egypt into Zion. There is a wilderness in between them. The
passage of the nation of Israel from Egypt, through the 40 years of desert
wanderings, then the passage through the Jordan River into Canaan, is a
pattern; it shows the natural journey of God's natural children to a
natural land. Their natural Promised Land from God.
And we conclude from what the Bible says about their wanderings to
gain insights into our spiritual trek. As Christians, we also can migrate
from a land of slavery toward a Land of Promises from God. We are God's
spiritual children and we journey from a spiritual slavery within the world
system (typified by Egypt) through a spiritual wilderness till some few
arrive on the "other side Jordan" - where we receive the spiritual
blessings promised by God.
The goal in writing this book is not to try to get folks to come out
of any of the various systems. I want to make the point that the world
system and the kingdom of God are different realms. They are opposites.
The way we relate to these seven world systems has a profound impact
on how we relate to God and to His commandments that we come out of them.
This book was written about the natures of the counterfeits; a whole lot
about the "Egypt" part but almost nothing about the "Zion" part. Originally
I wrote a few things about how to "come out" of the world, and in this
edition I've added just a bit about how we "come in" to the Kingdom. (Of
course, I don't know it all; I only know just a bit.)
This separation from the world must begin with our recognizing that
God's command is not to try to make the world holy, nor even comfortable
and safe. We have not been put here to improve it. God's command is to
leave it.
I want to quote from a character in my first book, THE SEVEN LAST
YEARS. "This world is a sinking ship. Our role is not to try to patch up
the leaks. We need to get the crew off safely."
As I write this, I am beginning another book; its topic is the
Christian's migration from the world to the kingdom. It will probably be
titled CROSSING THE JORDAN, and it will contrast the experiences of the
Israelites during their natural exodus - how God dealt with them, what they
learned, how they sinned, why so few of them succeeded in completing the
journey - with our spiritual odyssey.
I now see that the concept of coming out of the various world systems,
while still valid and still commanded by God, is only one of many
components in the development of people who will boldly jump into that
raging, flood-tide river Jordan, full of love for God, faith in God and a
willingness to die.
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I believe now that coming out of the systems, important as that is, is
only one of many experiences we will need to embrace if we are to finally
arrive in Canaan - in Zion - on the "other side Jordan".
There are also other requirements we must fulfill to make this
journey: casting out the bondwoman and her son; learning to embrace
suffering; avoiding distractions and diversions; adjusting our focus so
that we concentrate on eternal, spiritual things rather than the temporal,
fleshly things; and pulling down the strongholds and conquering the enemy
forces within us before attempting to deal with enemy activity in others
and in the world. All of these things - and more - are at least as
important as coming out of the systems.
And having said that, let me add that I cannot - I do not - profess to
be completely out of all these systems. It would be hypocritical of me to
imply that I never dabble a toe in any of the murky waters of the world.
Certainly there are some things I have escaped - the medical system is one
which has absolutely no strings on me - but some of the others still cling.
I mention this because often the state of our separation - or lack of
it - is sometimes used as a way of being evaluated by others. When I go to
speak, I'm often asked things like, "Do you have a bank account?" or "Do
you use a Social Security number?" People want to know if I read fiction,
own a television, always wear skirts, drink coffee, have a driver's
license, tithe to and submit to a pastor in a standard, recognized church.
They want to know how I relate to the world and to the Body of Christ. I
answer willingly, but I often add that none of this data will reveal the
state of my heart (which is where God looks); nor does it touch the
question of whether or not what I say is true.
So please don't let these ideas about separating from the world and
entering the kingdom become another weapon of division among us. We are
accountable for the light we have received, for our response to that light
and for the timing of that response. In one way, it's nobody else's
business, unless we're in leadership and we're holding others back by our
refusing to leave the systems and counterfeits of the world.
We see the end of the age coming upon us. We are, as I write this, in
the midst of what can be called "Era Transition". We can study other
profound changes like this in the past - for example, the change from the
era of Moses to the time of Joshua; from the age of the Judges to the
period of Kings - and we are now experiencing a shift which is at least as
significant. We are moving from the Church age into the Kingdom age.
And before too long, I think we'll find that living in this world as
we have known it will no longer be an option. The systems which are the
subject of this book will become so polluted and so dangerous that we won't
be able to use them. We need to move out of them and then move into Christ.
I pray the ideas in this book will help clarify our current situation
and help Christians in making decisions about how to adjust to the future.
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THE BEGINNING OF OUR STUDY

Science tells us that everything in existence is either matter or
energy. That's their way of expressing this spiritual reality: everything
extant is either flesh or spirit. Nothing new or startling here. We've all
known this for ages. The thing that needs stressing isn't the fact; it's
the significance of the fact.
I was first introduced to the implications of this flesh-spirit
concept during a long Sunday afternoon discussion with my sister Katharine.
I asked her a sort of out-of-the-blue question.
"If the original word meaning 'church' means 'called-out ones',
exactly what is it we're supposed to come out of?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "Babylon, I guess. There are several
Scriptures about it."
We found a couple right off. In the Old Testament, the Lord told His
people to "come out" many times.
"And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, [and]
get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and
go, serve the LORD, as ye have said... And they baked unleavened cakes of
the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened;
because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had
they prepared for themselves any victual." (Exodus 12:31,39).
"Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of
singing declare ye, tell this, utter it [even] to the end of the earth..."
(Isaiah 48:20).
"Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of
the Chaldeans..." (Jeremiah 50:8).
We found the idea followed through to the New Testament. II
Corinthians 6:7 says, "Wherefore come out from among them and be ye
separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will
receive you."
And finally Revelation 18:4 says, "And I heard another voice from
heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her
sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."
But who is "she", and who are "they"?
Katharine and I continued talking. One of us recalled the commandment
about being "in the world but not of it..." ("I pray not that thou
shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them
from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."
(John 17:15,16). Could this be what we were to come out of?
Then the other one mentioned the Scripture about "Who hath delivered
us from the power of darkness, and hath translated [us] into the kingdom of
his dear Son..." (Colossians 1:13). That sounded good. Maybe it was all
done, and we were already out. Our discussion continued.
At that time, our Sunday afternoons were spent in the study of God:
His word, His nature, His goals, His methods. We were both eager for truth,
thirsty for more and more of God. Our study usually took this form: one of
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us would be curious about something, we'd ask a question, and off we'd go,
looking up Scripture, praying for insight. It was a glorious time.
Katharine took notes. She was a secretary most of her life, and she
was always one of the world's greatest note-takers and list-makers. I
looked up the Scripture. I've read a book or two a week for over fifty
years - I read while I'm cooking, bathing, washing dishes, waiting at red
lights - and I'm one of the world's greatest readers. So we assumed our
usual duties and we began to learn about this separation God requires. I
can't recall now just how God spoke this particular day, but I know He led
us line upon line and precept upon precept during the rest of that
afternoon. We were guided to an amazing understanding of how this universe
operates.
There exist currently on this planet earth two separate realms.
"Alongside worlds", to use a science fiction term, which occupy the same
space at the same time, without really touching. These realms are the
Kingdom of God and the World System. They are totally different - different
rulers, different laws, different goals and different destinations - yet
without the Spirit of God we can't tell them apart. They are in constant
warfare for dominion over the earth and its inhabitants, even though the
outcome of this warfare is already determined and the leaders of both sides
know it.
The most important decision any human can make concerns which realm he
will inhabit. Which ruler will he yield to? Whose laws will he obey? And
when the two realms separate, as they will someday, which destiny will he
share?
The Bible was full of it: two realms, a veil between. Within an hour
or so, we had this outline:
WORLD SYSTEM KINGDOM OF GOD
Sight Faith
Temporal Eternal
Things seen Things not seen
Flesh Spirit
Matter Energy
The curse The blessing
Sinful nature The righteousness of Christ
Bondage Freedom
Nakedness Robes of righteousness
Heaviness Garments of praise
Earthly Heavenly
Mt. Sinai - law Mt. Calvary - grace
Kingdom of darkness Kingdom of God's dear Son
Terrestrial Celestial
Sickness, diseases Healing, health
Condemnation Acceptance, adoption into family
Law of sin and death Law of life in Christ Jesus
Satan is god Jesus Christ is Lord
Hunger Fullness, satisfaction
Thirst Living water
Born from below Born from above
Burdens Benefits, blessings
Labor, striving Rest
Deception Truth, reality
Dead works Fruit of the Spirit
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WORLD SYSTEM KINGDOM OF GOD
Slavery Dominion
Tree of knowledge Tree of Life
Carnal mind The mind of Christ
Sons of the bondmaid Sons of the free woman
Guilt Forgiveness
Death Abundant life
Foolishness Wisdom
Walking by sight Walking by faith
The old nature A new creation
Sorrow Joy
Defeat Victory
Sacrifice Priesthood
Field City
Destination: hell Destination: heaven
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THE "TWO REALMS" CONCEPT

We could see a huge division: it was actually bigger than the World
System vs. Kingdom of God. It was also flesh or spirit, sight or faith,
temporal or eternal. The idea of two separate realms seemed to us an
essential concept for understanding not only our walk with God, but the
universe we inhabit.
Everybody on earth lives in one realm or the other. Christians have
the choice of which realm they will inhabit. I think most of us go back and
forth from flesh to spirit to flesh again. In Revelation 3, the Lord tells
Overcomers that, "...Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple
of my God, and he shall go no more out..."
At that time, we will live and move and have our eternal being in Him,
and we will never leave that realm again. But for now, for a while yet, we
go back and forth.
Once we start looking at Scriptures with this concept in mind - that
there are two along-side realms, separated by an uncrossable barrier - we
see all kinds of illustrations. In fact, the whole of the Old Testament is
written in a language designed to handle such a concept. The Hebrew
language with its inherent "parallelism" is perfect to deal with this.
Parallelism is a fundamental element in Hebrew, especially in poetry
written in that language. Most poetry in English is based in rhyme and
meter; Hebrew poems are based in repetition.
This style consists of saying what is essentially the same thing two
different times, with slight alterations. Very often this repetition of the
same thought, with small differences, occurs not just because of the nature
of the Hebrew language, but also because one iteration applies to the
natural realm, the other to the spiritual.
God says something, for example: "For nation shall rise against
nation..." and that can be interpreted to mean natural, geographic,
political nations. Then He follows this with, "... and kingdom against
kingdom..." (Matthew 24:7). Is He just repeating Himself, or is there a
difference? Can it be that there is a spiritual interpretation here? Maybe
He is saying that there will be natural wars and spiritual wars.
The whole world will stand united against Israel; God's natural land
and His natural children. We will see all of the world's systems, armies,
governments, states and people fighting against the nation of Israel. And
in the spirit realm there will be increasing war against the church. All
the forces which are not flesh and blood, the principalities, powers,
thrones and dominions, demons and fallen angels, will war against the
saints.
Israel represents God's natural children, "as the sand of the
seashore"; and the church is His spiritual progeny, "as the stars of the
sky." (Hebrews 11:12). Two different realms, in parallel. Nation against
nation and kingdom against kingdom.
That is just one example of what I said about the Bible being full of
passages which speak to the two different realms.
Here a few more illustrations:
"I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee
among the nations." (Psalm 57:9).
The people are the children of God, while the nations are the
Gentiles. Two different realms.
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"If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword!
and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with
famine!..." (Jeremiah 14:18).
The Lord has said, "The field is the world" in explaining the parable
of the sower, and we know that the Lord referred to the church, the people
of God, as the New Jerusalem, the city of God. Both the world (the field)
and the church (the city) are under attack, but one group is dead, the
others only sick from hunger.
"Blessed [shalt] thou [be] in the city, and blessed [shalt] thou [be]
in the field." (Deuteronomy 28:3).
The promised blessing - for those who walk in a "blessable" state -
includes city (the kingdom) and the field (the world). This also implies
spiritual blessings and natural blessings.
"He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts to the children of
Israel." (Psalm 103:7).
Moses had a higher level of revelation and communication with God than
the other Israelites; he was in a different realm.
"... the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his
peculiar treasure." (Psalms 135:4).
Jacob refers to the natural man. He became Israel, the Prince of God,
after the wrestling with the Angel at Penuel. (Genesis 32:24-28). That is
the spiritual dimension. Jacob was chosen; Israel was a treasure.
"He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto
Israel." (Psalm 147:19).
Again, it's the contrast between Jacob and Israel, the natural man
and the spiritual son, and the difference in what God has revealed of
Himself to the two different groups.
"And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife, because she [was]
barren... and Rebekah conceived. And the children struggled together within
her; and she said, If [it be] so, why [am] I thus? And she went to enquire
of the LORD. And the LORD said unto her, Two nations [are] in thy womb, and
two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and [the one]
people shall be stronger than [the other] people; and the elder shall serve
the younger." (Genesis 25:21,23).
Jacob and Esau, Jew and Arab, spirit and flesh, from before birth!
Just like Ishmael and Isaac in the preceding generation; two realms, two
natures, two destinies. (That one is expounded clearly in Galatians 4.)
"Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird
from the hand of the fowler." (Proverbs 6:5).
The roe is a land-animal, the bird inhabits the skies. They have
different enemies: the hunter (a man) and the fowler (another sky dweller)
a predator. Natural and spiritual enemies.
"For she hath cast down many wounded; yea, many strong men have been
slain by her." (Proverbs 7:26).
The harlot attacks both groups, and even those who are strong can fall
prey to her, just as the wounded do.
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"... See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the
kingdoms..." (Jeremiah 1:10).
Two different ways of classifying groups of people. God gave Jeremiah
(and us) dominion in the spirit.
"Ye shall give three cities on this side Jordan, and three cities
shall ye give in the land of Canaan, [which] shall be cities of refuge."
(Numbers 35:14).
There were six cities of refuge, God-given places of safety for those
who would otherwise be vulnerable to the Avenger of Blood. There were three
on the east and three on the west of the Jordan. The Jordan River is always
a type or symbol of the division between two realms.
"And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of
Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time...
and they served other gods." (Joshua 24:2).
A division here of dispensation, or at least of era. The flood in
Noah's time separated the human race into two disparate groups: before and
after the cleansing.
There are literally hundreds more of these. The parallelism of the
Hebrew language makes it easy for God to speak of both realms in the same
passage, but the method isn't limited to the Old Testament. Even in the
Greek of the New Testament, the duality continues. More examples:
"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it
is] in heaven." (Matthew 6:10).
His will is always and perfectly done in heaven; our prayers should be
directed toward establishing His will in our realm. That's "earth", the
natural, temporal, sight realm which we inhabit in the flesh. And it
involves knowing His will, believing it's possible, releasing faith for it
to be done, praying to empower God. Having HIS will done is a good deal
more important than getting our will done.
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust
doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves do not break through nor steal; For where your treasure
is, there will your heart be also." (Matthew 6:19-21).
The Lord makes it clear that we can choose the realm in which we "lay
up" treasure. And whichever realm we choose, our hearts as well as our
treasures will be there.
"Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water
shall thirst again: But 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 4:13,14).
Two kinds of water were available from Jacob's well, and they still
are. There's the cold, clear, clean natural water which Jacob drew for
Rachel, his intended bride. (Genesis 29). And there is also the living,
spiritual water which Jesus has for His intended bride - us! In both cases,
there was the rolling away of a stone, and a willing bride-to-be. The well
is still there; it's one of the usual sites to visit when you go to Israel;
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they give you a little cup of the natural water. You can get the Living
Water any time, anywhere. Just ask.
"Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is
the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and
not die." (John 6:49,50).
This is just like the water from Jacob's well. There is natural water
which quenches natural thirst temporarily; and there is natural food which
satisfies natural hunger and maintains life temporarily. And there is also
living water and living Bread. Two different provisions for the two
different aspects of our beings: natural and spiritual.
"I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which
ye have seen with your father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is
our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would
do the works of Abraham. Ye are of [your] father the devil..." (John
8:38,39,44).
Two realms, two fathers, two families.
"For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid,
the other by a freewoman. But he [who was] of the bondwoman was born after
the flesh; but he of the freewoman [was] by promise. Which things are an
allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai,
which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in
Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her
children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us
all... Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as
then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him [that was born] after
the Spirit, even so [it is] now. Nevertheless 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. So then, brethren, we are not
children of the bondwoman, but of the free." (Galatians 4:22-31).
Paul shows the two realms here as two covenants. Two mothers, two
sons, two nations.
"Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven." (Matthew 18:18).
It's simple here: earth and heaven. Natural and spiritual, sight or
faith, temporal or eternal. And Jesus says they are connected. If we pray
it here, it works there as well. (And that side of the veil is where it
matters!)
"For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are
in earth, visible and invisible... all things were created by him, and for
him..." (Colossians 1:16).
Paul is proclaiming the glorious attributes of Jesus, and He was
Creator of it all in both realms.
"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean
the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of
extortion and excess. [Thou] blind Pharisee, cleanse first that [which is]
within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also."
(Matthew 23:25,26).
This is the clearest Scripture I have found which says that
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righteousness is of the inner, spiritual man - of the heart - not of the
appearance. Laws of dress and diet and even (to a certain extent) of
behavior may or they may not affect the spiritual dimension of our being.
And God looks on the heart. This passage shows the reality that when the
inside (the heart, the spirit man) is clean, then the appearance, the
words, and the behavior of our lives will also be clean, as a natural
result.
"There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can
defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that
defile the man." (Mark 7:15).
This is the same division, the same message. The inner man is not
really defiled by the externals of an evil society; he is already tarnished
and corrupted. He was born that way. What needs to be changed is not the
external, but the internal. Not flesh but spirit. Not behavior but the
heart.
"And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his
elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the
uttermost part of heaven." (Mark 13:27).
God's people are on both sides of the veil, in both realms. At the end
of the world, He gathers all of us, here and there.
"Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise
up and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon
earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto
thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house." (Luke
5:23,24).
This is the story of the impotent man - he was probably a paraplegic -
who was let down through the roof by four friends; they were seeking
healing for his body. But Jesus did two things for this man: He forgave his
sins (a spiritual work) and He healed his body (a physical work).
Both realms needed Jesus. The witnesses were unbelieving and offended
at Jesus' statement of forgiveness ("Only God can forgive sins!") and so
Jesus did a natural work as well, something they could see with their
natural eyes. "If I do something you can see, something in the natural
realm, will you believe that I have done the unseen, spiritual work?"
The lame man was healed physically. And this sight-realm feat was
proof of two things: one, it proved that the man's sins were forgiven and
two, it proved that Jesus was God (They had said it: "Only God can forgive
sins!"). He worked restoration in both realms for that man, bringing health
to the spirit as well as to the body.
"The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him
that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them,
When it is evening, ye say, [It will be] fair weather: for the sky is red.
And in the morning, [It will be] foul weather to day: for the sky is red
and lowring. O [ye] hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can
ye not [discern] the signs of the times?" (Matthew 16:1-3).
The natural "sky", visible and to some degree tangible, is the sight
realm equivalent of the spiritual "heaven". Jesus was rebuking these
religious leaders because they had no spiritual focus or understanding. All
they discerned was the natural, and He was displeased.
"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the
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stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and
the waves roaring..." (Luke 21:25).
End time signs shall abound; we see many of them now. And they are in
heaven (the spirit) and on earth. There is a parallel behind the veil for
every upset in weather, every conflict between nations, every increase of
violence and sin, every religious counterfeit, every increase of evil. He
is shaking the heavens and the earth.
"Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give
I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. (Acts
3:6).
The lame man wanted a handout, an alm, and the disciples had no money.
But Peter had something so much better than that! He had within him, in his
spirit, the power of the Risen Christ and he ministered healing. He was
flat broke in the natural realm, but incredibly rich in the other realm. "I
have no money, but what I have - in the spirit - is not just better. It's
infinitely better!"
"[There are] also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the
glory of the celestial [is] one, and the [glory] of the terrestrial [is]
another." (1 Corinthians 15:40).
Two realms again; and this passage is a promise that the spiritual
will transcend the natural. Pretty soon, maybe?
"For to be carnally minded [is] death; but to be spiritually minded
[is] life and peace." (Romans 8:6).
Paul is telling us here that we have a choice. Do we walk "after the
spirit" or "after the flesh"? One is life and peace, the other death. It
should be easy to decide.
"Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer...". (1 John 3:15).
"... whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed
adultery with her already in his heart." (Matthew 5:28).
These two passages show us the sin in the spirit realm (the emotion in
the heart, hatred and lust in these particular cases) and the sins in the
natural realm (murder and adultery). The real sin is the spiritual portion;
the physical outworking is far less significant. God looks on the heart,
and He sees our intentions and our attitude, not just the behavior we
display on the outside - which may be a facade. That's why behavior imposed
from the outside is of so little eternal value. You can live a celibate
life a still be an adulterer. You can never lift a hand against another
person, and still be a murderer.
"Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with
his deeds; And have put on the new [man], which is renewed in knowledge
after the image of him that created him..." (Colossians 3:9,10).
Here again, Paul is saying that we have a choice. We can "put off" the
flesh and "put on" the spirit. But first we have to believe it.
"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."
(1 Corinthians 15:22).
Death or life. Adam or Christ. Flesh or spirit. A simple choice.
"What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with
the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with
 14
the understanding also." (1 Corinthians 14:15).
Two realms, two aspects to our nature. We are flesh, we are spirit. We
can pray and sing in either realm. We can live in either realm.
"...For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual
things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things." (Romans
15:27).
Paul uses the word "carnal" to describe the flesh realm. It's from the
Latin word "carne" which means "meat". The things which we can see, touch,
taste. The flesh realm includes money, and that is what we owe those who
minister spiritual things to us.
"Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made
perfect by the flesh?" (Galatians 3:3).
This is one of my favorite scriptures because it is one of my favorite
truths. Our life with God is spiritual. He is the Initiator, the
Controller, the One who charts the course. Our role is to obey. The works
of the flesh are vain; all the little lists and rules and programs to make
ourselves more spiritual are so pitiful. We do nothing of value in the
flesh but suffer. "... He that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from
sin;" (1 Peter 4:1). And that particular activity - suffering - is not
usually on anyone's list.
There are lots more of these, but I've made the point, and we'll get
back to what God showed us about the division between the two realms.
 15

THE VEIL
We see that the two realms are constantly contrasted in Scripture. We
see the choice, over and over: this or that, never the mixture. We wear
linen or wool, sow one kind of seed only, serve one master. We are male or
female; things are sacred or profane. Ecclesiastes 3 is full of opposites;
love/hate, birth/death, plant/harvest, gather/scatter.
Elijah said this to the children of Israel On Mt. Carmel, "... How
long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD [be] God, follow him: but if
Baal, [then] follow him." (1 Kings 18:21).
Gather or scatter, hot or cold, in or out, truth or death, faith or
sin, Jesus or Barabbas. No gray areas in our choices about the Lord.
Existence is divided into two realms.
The story of creation, in Genesis, uses the verb "create" only three
times; other times it's "made", which is really "restored". And the rest of
the time, five separate times, what God is said to do is "divide".
He separates light from darkness, waters from waters, day from night.
He is disconnecting, splitting apart, establishing the difference between
the two realms.
I never really believed that heaven is "up" or "above", a physical
site, despite the Bible's routine use of those prepositions. I believed the
"high above" kinds of descriptions referred to heaven's spiritual
superiority or supremacy, not its geographical location. This was confirmed
when I realized that in Scripture, people always go up to Jerusalem, even
if they're going south. And when they leave, they "go down" no matter which
direction they travel. The "up" isn't according to maps or globes, but
refers to a spiritual dimension.
And after we began looking at things with the idea of two co-existing
realms, it became clear that what the Bible meant by "heaven" wasn't some
after-death piece of real estate where we'll all perch on clouds, playing
harps and wearing wings, looking down toward earth with great interest.
Since the phrases "Kingdom of Heaven" and "Kingdom of God" seemed to be
synonymous, they couldn't mean something which would apply only after we
die; Jesus said almost two thousand years ago that this kingdom was already
"among" or "within" His followers.
Maybe it was simply the other side of the rent veil.
So the next few times I read through the Bible I substituted the
phrase "the spirit realm" wherever the Bible said "heaven". It made things
so clear!
For example the Tower of Babel, in Genesis 11. "And they said, Go to,
let us build us a city and a tower, whose top [may reach] unto heaven; and
let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the
whole earth." (Genesis 11:4).
They built it to reach "unto heaven" but of course it wasn't really
planned to be so tall that it would literally extend into the sky. No,
these people had far too clear an understanding of astronomy to believe
that! They had enough skill to map the stars' orbits and chart the Zodiac,
so surely they knew better. They had a different goal for their tower: they
hoped would reach into the spirit realm. And it almost certainly did extend
into a dimension of spiritual activity.
Do we doubt the supernatural dimension of the Zodiac, horoscopes, the
casting of celestial charts and reading the stars? It's not godly, but it
 16
most certainly is spiritual. That tower reached - and still reaches - into
the spirit realm - into heaven.
Since so much of our faith is typified and symbolized by the
Tabernacle which Moses built, I considered next how this two realms theory
fit into that pattern. And it fit just fine.
In the physical Tabernacle there was a veil: man on one side, God on
the other. The veil divided the Holy Place (where man could come) from the
Holy of Holies (where God dwelt). This veil was the curtain which was rent
from top to bottom when Jesus died, symbolizing perfectly that Jesus has
made a way for us into the Holy of Holies. The veil was rent and the way
was open for all of us, all the time, not just for the High Priest on the
Day of Atonement. We have an open door into the throne room of God.
The only veils left between us and God are the ones we have built up
within ourselves; all the fig leaves, the masks, the armour, the
strongholds we have structured to protect ourselves from the Lord. As with
Adam and Eve, our response to the awareness of our sin is to hide! So we
build our own walls.
We have sinned! God is offended! We run away and try to conceal
ourselves among the fig leaves. Francis Thompson put it like this in his
marvelous poem "The Hound of Heaven":
"... Heap me over from this tremendous Lover!
Float thy vague veil about me, lest He see!
Lest He see!"
Praise God the veil is rent from the top. God's part is done! And
slowly, as we increasingly trust God, we rend the veil from the bottom. We
tear down our walls; we uncover more and more of our vulnerable, wounded
areas, and allow Him into our throne rooms. Then, maybe, we get off the
throne of our lives and allow Him to reign.
So on to the next question; was the veil in the Tabernacle a picture
of something real, or something merely symbolic? Is there a real, albeit
invisible and spiritual, veil between the two realms?
We found there is considerable Scriptural basis for believing the two
realms are separated by something, something so real we can hardly
comprehend it. There is still a barrier, or fence, or wall, between the two
realms. It wasn't abolished at the Cross; merely breached - for some of us
- and it's the thing we must cross to get from one realm to the other.
This divider is called by various names in the Bible:
Jacob's ladder (Genesis 28:12,17).
The Red Sea (Exodus 13:18 - 14:9,16).
The veil (Exodus 26:33).
Jordan river (Joshua 1:2).
Noah's flood (Joshua 24:2).
A wall (Nehemiah 2:17,18).
A hedge (Job 1:10).
Gates, everlasting doors (Psalm 24:7).
A lattice (Song of Solomon 2:9).
A border (Isaiah 54:12).
A hedge (Ezekiel 22:30).
A window (Daniel 6:10).
A stone (Matthew 28:2).
A door (John 20:26).
A gate (Acts 3:2).
A glass (I Corinthians 13:12).
 17
A veil (Hebrews 6:19).
A door (Revelation 3:7,8 - 3:20).
All these scriptures and many more are used to describe the division
between the two realms, and they show us something about its nature. This
barrier is the thing which we, in this covenant, must "pass over" to leave
the world (the natural realm) and enter into the kingdom of the spirit.
The so-called Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, the surviving western wall of
the destroyed temple, is the separator for God's natural people. Without
their accepting the benefit of the Atonement, the Jews come and pray before
an immovable, impassable stone wall. God's spiritual children have instead
a rent veil; the way is open for us into the spirit realm, into the throne
room of God. We can truly "pass over" from the world into the Promised
Land, because of the blood of our Lamb.
The element of division between God and man, between temporal/natural
and eternal/spiritual was eliminated with the Atonement. For those who
believe, and who surrender their lives to Jesus, there is a way. We are
told: "For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the
everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:11).
But until we appropriate the work of Jesus on our behalf, and apply
the shed Blood, we all face that immovable, impenetrable, unscalable
obstruction, still opaque and permanent.
 18

THE WORLD SYSTEM or THE KINGDOM OF GOD

So that's what might be called "the big picture". But it's a bit too
broad for our purposes here. There is another way of looking at this
division; there is the flesh/spirit, sight/faith, temporal/eternal division
of course, which we have just discussed. But in addition to that framework,
we can narrow our focus and look specifically at our civilization, human
life on this planet, and separate things this way: the Kingdom of Darkness
and the Kingdom of God.
The enemy involves himself in our affairs via what we will call "The
World System". It is his organized, structured edifice, designed for his
purposes, and by it he gains entry to our lives and our beings.
I repeat what I wrote earlier:
There exist currently on this planet earth two separate realms.
"Alongside worlds", to use a science fiction term, which occupy the same
space at the same time, without really touching. These realms are the
Kingdom of God and the World System. They are totally different - different
rulers, different laws, different goals and different destinations - yet
without the Spirit of God we can't tell them apart. They are in constant
warfare for dominion over the earth and its inhabitants, even though the
outcome of this warfare is already determined and the leaders of both sides
know it.
The most important decision any human can make concerns which realm he
will inhabit. Which ruler will he yield to? Whose laws will he obey? And
when the two realms separate, as they will someday, which destiny will he
share?
Grasping this concept, and comprehending some of its ramifications,
was the beginning of what the Lord opened up to us that particular Sunday
afternoon. We wanted to know what we have to "come out of". What did the
Lord mean? He wanted us to come out of the cosmos; come out of dependance
on man's systems.
As the Lord began to talk about the World System and the Kingdom of
God, we looked up lots of the words in a concordance. "Kingdom" was
"Mehlek" in the Old testament - "Reign, dominion, as a throne". It was
"Basilica" in the New Testament, essentially the same meaning. We looked up
"Nation" and "World", trying to get a better understanding of these two
contrasting domains.
It was the "world" part that was confusing to us. How DO we relate to
the world? God "so loved the world" in John 3:16, but He tells us in I
John 2:15 that "...If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not
in him." God loved it, we shouldn't. Sounds paradoxical, doesn't it?
"...Friendship with the world is enmity with the Father..." (James
4:4)l; "... but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but
your sorrow shall be turned into joy..." (John 16:20); "... In the world ye
shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world..."
(John 16:33).
We know God created it, and the purpose of the Atonement was "that the
world through Him might be saved" (John 3:17). We are to shine as lights in
it (Philippians 2:15). We are commanded to go into it to evangelize (Mark
16:15). Hundreds of references to the world and how we are supposed to
relate to it. Confusing and often contradictory.
The answer is simple, of course. There are three different Greek words
 19
which are translated in the Bible into the English word "world". Three
different meanings.
aion = Age or period of time marked by spiritual or moral
characteristics.
okomene = The inhabited world, or the inhabitants of the world
kosmos = Order, arrangement, adornment.
We're not considering the first two which basically mean an era, or
this planet and/or the people who live on it. We're dealing with number
three.
The third one gives us our English word "cosmos": an orderly
arrangement, decoration, adornment. It's from a root word which means to
tend to, care for, carry away from harm. It's structure, organization,
systems. Establishments. Towers to heaven; man's building himself a place.
It's the combination of ungodly forces and institutions, Satanic and human,
which deny the need for a Savior. It's "the orderly arrangement, the
structured systems, and the organizations of human society, which enable
men to live independently of God."
And that's the one we're supposed to come out of.
But it was still all blurry. Ok, we'll come out. But how? You can't
just sit in a closet the rest of your life. Can't we just come out of the
bad parts, like maybe bars and cults and R-rated movies?
Then God spoke to us. He told us about the cosmos by explaining the
Counterfeits.
Satan is not a creator. Only God can create. Satan must steal his
ideas from God, counterfeit what God has done. And that's exactly what the
World System is.
It is a counterfeit of the Kingdom.
God revealed Himself seven different times in Scripture as Jehovah-
Something. He was saying, "Jehovah" (which can be translated "I am the
Lord") then He completed the promise with seven different things: your
Peace, your Righteousness, your Banner, your Shepherd, your Healer, etc.
He was saying, "I AM whatever you need."
God knew how much help we'd need to get through this life after Adam's
fall. On an earth which had been cursed, our souls full of sin and pride
and wickedness, with intellects which had been darkened, hearts which had
been hardened against God, bodies which were destined for the grave - how
desperately we would need help! In His great love, God made a way to meet
all these needs. God Himself was to be the way!
Jehovah-Jireh of course is "I AM your Provider". Jehovah-Rapha is "I
AM your Healer"; Jehovah-Tsidkenu is "I AM your Righteousness" and so on
seven times. Our needs would be met by God, through His merciful provision.
If we needed righteousness - and we certainly would! - He would
provide it. When we needed healing, He would be our Healer. He would be our
Good Shepherd, our peace, our rest, our total source. But Adam had opened
the door, yielded his dominion over this world to the enemy, and Satan was
- and still is - an active agent, a factor to be considered.
Satan has built himself a seven-headed system (or a system built on
seven mountains) as counterfeits for these seven revelations of our need-
meeting God. Seven intricate, self-perpetuating, man-glorifying, unholy
organizations: government, commerce, education, science, the arts, medicine
and religion, which claim to provide all the things God has promised. This
is the COSMOS which Satan has built, like the Tower of Babel, in order to
substitute for, to render unnecessary, and to displace, the kingdom of God.
 20
These kingdoms are his; they belong to Satan. He said this to Jesus
during the temptation in the wilderness: "And the devil, taking him up into
an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment
of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and
the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will
I give it." (Luke 4:5,6). Jesus didn't deny Satan's claims. The worldly
kingdoms are his. Jesus merely asserted the primacy of God's claims.
Satan's systems are available; we can use them instead of releasing
faith to walk in God's provision. Almost everybody does, because it's the
normal, customary usual thing. But they are not God's Plan A; they are
counterfeits.
The counterfeit - the substitute - for Jehovah-Jireh, the Provider, is
our whole system of commerce and banking. Mammon's system. Satan
counterfeits Jehovah-Tsidkenu, the Lord Our Righteousness, with an
elaborate religious system whereby man can earn his way to heaven by his
own efforts; no need for a Redeemer. We have a huge, expensive, powerful
and dangerous medical system, which has made Jehovah-Rapha unnecessary. And
so on seven times.
These systems comprise the cosmos. This is what we are commanded to
come out of. Here's the list.
THE KINGDOM AND ITS COUNTERFEITS:
1. JEHOVAH-NISSI (I AM the Lord thy Banner. Exodus 17:15.) GOVERNMENT
2. JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU (I AM the Lord thy Righteousness. Jeremiah 23:6.)
RELIGION
3. JEHOVAH - SHAMMAH (I AM the God who is present. Ezekiel 48:35.)
EDUCATION
4. JEHOVAH-ROI (I AM thy Shepherd. Psalm 23:1.) SCIENCE
5. JEHOVAH-SHALOM (I AM thy Peace. Judges 6:27.) THE ARTS
6. JEHOVAH-RAPHA (I AM thy Healer. Exodus 15:26.) MEDICINE
7. JEHOVAH-JIREH (I AM the Lord thy Provider, or My provision will be seen.
Genesis 22:14.) COMMERCE AND BANKING
Of course, this was appalling to us! "Coming out" would mean calling
evil most of the things which made up our lives. How do we do that? If
banking and commerce are evil, does that mean we can't have a bank account?
Use money? Go shopping? If Satan controls the arts, can we still watch
television, listen to music or read books? Write books? If the educational
system is wicked in nature and goals, does God require that we keep our
children out of its schools? Not teach in them?
If all these systems are the world, and "...we know that we are of
God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness..." (1 John 5:19). How can we
possibly survive? We must be educated, we must earn a living. After all,
we LIVE here. We can't rush off into monasteries, or form ourselves into
communities-within-the-community like the Amish; how could we then be light
and salt and living epistles to bring the world to Christ?
The answer seems to lie in the Scripture which says we are to be "in
it but not of it" (John 14 through 16). We don't love it, we don't need it,
 21
we never allow it to substitute for God, and above all, we never, never,
never call it "good". "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil;
that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for
sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20).
That's one of the things King Saul did - in I Samuel - and it cost him
the kingdom.
Saul had been commanded by God to kill all the Amelekites; God said
there was nothing of value to be saved. Saul, remember, kept alive what
HE considered good - some sheep, some cattle, and King Agag. The prophet
Samuel (who stands as a type of the Holy Spirit) was horrified, and as
God's agent he rebuked Saul and killed Agag.
God had said it was all suitable for destruction, and the result for
Saul's independent judgment was the loss of the kingdom. Saul thought he
knew better than God what was good and what was evil.
That forbidden tree in the midst of the garden of God, the one which
Satan beguiled Eve to taste, is the one which gives us false "Knowledge of
Good and Evil". It allows us to accept an ungodly opinion - our own, the
world's, the Enemy's - about what is good and what is evil, and allows us
to disagree with God. That is the forbidden fruit: our own estimation, our
own judgment, about good and evil.
Saul's failure here is clear: God told him all concerning the
Amelekites was evil. Saul disagreed. He considered his own opinion more
valid than God's. The same principle is true for us; we must agree with
God in HIS assessment of this World System. We must call it "evil" as God
does, or like King Saul, we'll lose the Kingdom.
It's a great simplification, an oversimplification, but here it is: if
we want to inhabit the kingdom, we must not call the world "good". Calling
something good which God has called evil brings "woe" upon us. And part of
that "woe" is the loss of the kingdom.
This whole book is about what that involves.
 22

THE NATURE OF THE COUNTERFEITS

When new Treasury Agents are being trained, and they are learning
about counterfeit bills, they spend hours - days - examining real
currency. They look at it, handle it, smell it, count it; they become so
familiar with real money that when they contact counterfeit bills it is
immediately obvious to them. On an almost instinctive level, they can spot
the phony because they have become so very familiar with the genuine.
That's the way we should relate to the Devil's works. We should be so
accustomed to God's realm that we know at once when we meet its
counterfeit. We know the real; we don't need to spend too much time and
thought on the spurious. But it might be wise to look at the counterfeit
just a bit.
To begin with, counterfeit the perfect word to describe Satan's
system. It is "made in imitation, with intent to be passed off as genuine".
The world system copies, imitates and reflects the genuine, but these
things, all the various aspects of God's kingdom, are twisted and
distorted.
For example, the hallmark of God's kingdom is love, agape, a selfless,
volitional, God-given desire for another's good. Satan's counterfeit of
agape is tolerance. Maybe there's a slight resemblance to the undiscerning
eye - they both speak of acceptance - but they are not the same. Agape
involves hating the sin as well as loving the sinner; it doesn't require us
to compromise what God says about right and wrong; it makes room for
responsibilities as well as rights. It involves laying down our lives and
counting others better than ourselves.
Tolerance, on the other hand, requires that we call evil good, that we
accept it without criticism, and that we leave the sinner in his lost
state. Tolerance abhors absolutes as it accepts sin and talks of
enlightenment, sensitivity, not judging. Tolerance says sin is acceptable;
agape says there's a way out of sin - not the same thing at all.
Agape is the character of God's kingdom; Satan is the god who preaches
tolerance. And because it's a component, an element, of the world, we must
not consider tolerance good. The world approves of tolerance; God doesn't.
The pattern of surface similarity with great internal difference is
the heart and soul of the counterfeit. There's a resemblance: it may appear
they share the same goal, even the same route to this goal, but at their
foundations they are opposites.
No matter how much they may appear to be God's route for meeting our
needs, every one of the world systems will reveal ungodly foundations if we
look closely enough. Upon examination, they will prove to be counterfeits.
It's helpful to look first at what the system IS. This will help us
determine whether or not it is of God.
So our first question is: is it done as a profession or as a ministry?
Secondly, is it Egyptian in origin - that is: is it worldly, from the
world, a part of the world? Or did it come to us by way of the Jewish
nation?
Question number three, is it sustained and perpetuated by the power of
God, or is it merely a tradition?
Four, is it done for the glory of God, or do humans receive praise for
its endeavors?
Number five is: what does this system use in its performance? The
world systems will consistently use things which God has forbidden.
 23
As time progress and this age draws to a close, it will be
increasingly impossible for us to function within these systems without
offending God. Remember, we are commanded to come out and separate
ourselves from them, and God says this is in order that we "touch not the
unclean thing". We ask: am I required to touch anything unclean by being in
this system? Will anything unclean touch me?
Our coming out and being separate, and our refusal to touch any
unclean thing, is commanded by God so that we do not partake of sin - and
then of plagues - of these systems. So Number six is: What does the system
DO? Are any of its activities things which God has forbidden? Are we
required to sin by complying with this system?
And finally, number seven, we ask: is this system filling a role which
God has assigned to Himself?
These seven questions will help us determine the nature of the system,
organization or group we're considering. We ask, is this institution a
ministry or a profession; is it Egyptian (worldly) or from God; is it done
by the power of God or the fleshly power of man; is it done for the glory
of God or the enrichment and esteem of man; is any part of it unclean; is
any part of it sinful; and finally, is it encroaching on territory God has
called His?
Sometimes it's hard to tell the counterfeit without some analysis.
Remember, the systems wear a mask. They are all dressed up, covered with
false robes of righteousness, false faces of goodness, and false sanctity.
They pretend to be godly, but in origin, function, power source, nature and
destination, they are evil.
God says so, and we disagree with Him at our peril.
There are dozens of Scriptures which describe the goals, methods and
nature of the Kingdom of God. Here are just a few:
It is within us (Luke 17:21).
We must be born again to see it (John 3:3).
It comes not with observation (Luke 17.20).
We must seek it first (Matthew 6:33).
It suffers violence (Matthew 11:12).
It is not meat and drink (Romans 14:17).
Flesh and blood can not inherit it (I Corinthians 15:50, Galatians
5:21).
It is hard for an rich man to enter it (Matthew 6:10).
We enter it through much tribulation (Acts 14:22).
It is like a seed (Mark 4:25).
It Is like leaven (Luke 13:44).
It is like a pearl (Matthew 13:45).
It is like a net (Matthew 13:47).
It is like ten virgins (Matthew 25:1).
John the Baptist was the greatest born of woman, yet the least in the
kingdom is greater than he (Luke 7:28).
Jesus Christ is Lord of this kingdom, and it is eternal. The kingdom
of God reflects His nature: righteousness, peace, joy in the Holy Ghost. It
is full of life, of riches, blessings, benefits. The God of this system is
benevolent toward us.
Satan's kingdom, however good it may look, is the realm of death.
Cursing and mourning and slavery are its lot because the god of this world
is malevolent toward us. We live in one realm or the other; we yield
allegiance to one lord or the other. And one of these two supernatural
 24
beings will control our destiny.
We don't have the option of being our own god. If we think we're in
the driver's seat, we're mistaken. We're mortal, fleshly beings with no
inherent supernatural power. And there are these two forces out there, two
different beings, both with the goal of permeating our lives and conforming
us to their image; one of them will win.
We know God's goal is our union with Him. He wants us conformed to the
image of His Son. More than our happiness, our comfort or our
"fulfillment", God is focused on our holiness.
What is Satan's goal?
Everything Satan does is for this one purpose: to convince us that we
do not need Jesus Christ and His cross. Satan wants to "evangelize" us into
his domain, and he uses lies, deceptions and counterfeits to accomplish his
goal. He tries to convince us that we can have a millennial kingdom without
Jesus. He tells us that we humans can, by our own efforts, achieve a
society without poverty, crime or hatred; we can all live lives of love,
joy, health and prosperity, achieving world peace and control of nature...
total fulfillment for everybody. And we can do all this without needing to
exercise faith in that bloody old Cross or that boring old Bible. His goal
is to distance us from the realization that we need God desperately,
constantly, totally. Without God we are doomed, and Satan does whatever he
can to keep us from recognizing that fact.
And he has had some considerable success here lately.
To summarize: God's goal is our salvation; Satan's goal is to prevent
salvation. How can we possibly confuse the two?
Perhaps if we examine the similarities within the different
institutions which make up the cosmos it will help us in recognizing it
when we meet it.
 25

THE SEVEN SYSTEMS

1. GOVERNMENT
This system meets our need to be covered by authority, to be
protected, to be part of a society, a tribe, a people. The covenant name of
God which embodies this promise is: JEHOVAH-NISSI (I AM the Lord thy
Banner. Ex.17:15.)
Banners were used in ancient times to designate different nations, or
even more specifically to indicate particular tribes. During warfare,
soldiers rallied to their particular banner. Today's parallel would be
flags for nations, and for divisions within nations, like our states.
Jehovah tells us that He is our banner. We belong to His nation, His
tribe. He is the rallying place in time of danger or war. America's
government is based in a constitution; Christian government is based in a
Being. This Being, since He is God, is not a representative, not an elected
official. He is an absolute monarch.
He is also Commander in Chief of the military. The armed services are
His provision for our protection in the natural realm. He endorses the
military for national security, and we have police officers, on all levels,
to protect and serve, to keep the peace, within the national borders.
We need to be governed. We are selfish, poorly-controlled beings.
Without some acknowledged authority over us, anarchy and chaos will reign.
So God ordained that some form of government should regulate society.
The ancient nation of Israel was ruled by kings, who were basically
autocrats. Although the one-world government is just around the corner, at
this point we are still citizens of a sovereign nation, and the crowd in
Washington is what most of us think of as our government. Some nations
today are ruled by dictators, but in what is called "western civilization"
there is usually a more representative form of government.
We are familiar with democratic rule; for example, America is a
republic. And our experience is: those who rule over us do so with our
consent, and of course one hallmark of Americans is the gut-level
conviction that we have rights!
The most telling political differences in our country stem from the
questions about how much control government should exert over our
individual lives. Reading from left to right, the political "wheel" places
us as communist, socialist, liberal, moderate, conservative, reactionary,
libertarian and such, based on this one issue: how much government do we
advocate? The farther to the left we move, the more government control we
support; and we move farther to the right as we increasingly oppose
governmental control.
Our Constitution assigned the federal government the rights to coin
and print money, to regulate interstate commerce, to establish a post
office, to make war - things like that. A lot of what the Constitution
talks about is what the government cannot do: infringe our rights to bear
arms, search our property or seize our persons without due cause, etc.
But over the years, the federal government has taken upon itself
additional responsibilities (and thereby has gained for itself additional
control) in the areas of education, health care, safety, the courts,
communication, transportation, care of the aged, regulation of the
workplace, of banking, even when and where we may pray. Big Brother
intrudes into our homes, schools, jobs and churches, telling us how we must
behave and how we should think. (This is only my personal, radical right-
 26
wing viewpoint expressed here, but I will gladly defend it against those
who disagree.)
But even so, no matter how intrusive, our God-given role relating to
government is to submit and to pray.
This is the only one of the seven systems to which we, as Christians,
must submit. It is God's will and His plan that we be governed, but the
system is easily corrupted, and therefore we are admonished in Scripture to
pray for those in authority. We must pray for our governmental leaders that
God will manifest His will through secular authority.
"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers,
intercessions, [and] giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and
[for] all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable
life in all godliness and honesty." (I Timothy 2:1,2) [Emphasis mine].
I find this staggering. One day I asked the Lord about it: "Do you
really mean that I should pray for the president before I pray for my own
children?" Astonishing! (Please don't ever ask me how obedient I have been
to His answer.)
The satanic strong man over this system is named Caesar, and
throughout history many rulers have taken his name (Caesar, Czar, Kaiser,
etc.) Just as Jesus instructed the people of His day, we still have an
obligation to render to "Caesar" the things that belong to him. But if
Caesar's law requires our disobeying God, then our allegiance to God must
prevail.
And not only must Caesar not supersede God, he must not substitute for
Him.
The Israelites offended God when they insisted upon a king to reign
over them, but even so He gave them Saul. "But the thing displeased Samuel,
when they said, Give us a king to judge us..." (1 Samuel 8:6). And never
again was God truly free to exercise His sovereignty over that nation -
even when godly kings reigned. The desire for human authority between us
and God is natural to human nature, and we see it today when many people
expect government to fulfill various functions of God.
When people don't have God as ruler of their lives, then they demand
that government supply all their needs, answer all their questions, solve
all their problems, support them, be their source of truth, provide for
their healing. (The far left, radically liberal political position is at
root a religion, in my opinion.) The people who depend on government for
having their needs met, have actually made the state their god; it has
become an idol or antichrist, and it is doomed to failure.
A good example of this is the thrust of radical AIDS activists; they
say (or scream) to the governmental leaders: you must heal me, provide for
me, take responsibility for my life, by my guardian and champion, defend
me, protect me, supply my needs, answer my prayer. And most important: you
must not judge, criticize or condemn me; you must love me with unfailing,
unconditional, all-merciful love.
Of course, their hopes are vanity, doomed to failure.
COMING OUT OF EGYPT AND GOING INTO ZION - GOVERNMENT:
Because we're commanded to submit to the laws of man, this is the one
system we must stay in as long as possible. I realize the current
government is not holy, but nowhere is there an exemption clause in God's
dictate: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no
power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever
therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they
 27
that resist shall receive to themselves damnation." (Romans 13:1,2). We
submit whether the "powers that be" over us are godly or not. (I realize
that this ordinance applies to all those in authority; husbands, parents,
employers, etc. but for this writing, we will limit it to government.)
But, as I mentioned earlier, if man's law requires our disobeying God,
then our allegiance to God must prevail.
There is Scriptural precedent for acceptable disobedience to lawful,
God-ordained authority. When obedience to man's authority would result in
disobedience to God, then it is proper to disobey; but then we are required
to handle the consequences of that disobedience in a godly manner.
Just a few of these Biblical incidents are:
The midwives in Exodus 1 were commanded to kill the Hebrew babies by
the lawful authority of that time and place, a king named Pharaoh. They
disobeyed. This was acceptable to God, as shown in the following verses:
"But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded
them, but saved the men children alive... Therefore God dealt well with the
midwives... And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he
made them houses." (Exodus 1:17,20,21).
Rahab the harlot defied and lied to the king of Jericho (Joshua 2) and
the Lord saved her and her family. "And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot
alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth
in Israel [even] unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which
Joshua sent to spy out Jericho." (Joshua 6:25).
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, three Hebrew children carried away
into the Babylonian captivity, were commanded to bow to an idol by the
lawful authority of that time and place, a king named Nebuchadnezzar; and
they disobeyed. "[They] answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar...
If it be [so], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning
fiery furnace, and he will deliver [us] out of thine hand, O king. But if
not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor
worship the golden image which thou hast set up." (Daniel 3:16-18).
Our God can deliver, but even if He doesn't, we won't bow. Amen!
That's the attitude God loves.
In this case, He did not "deliver them"; He did something better.
They had a baptism of fire and a glorious result. They were thrown
into the fiery furnace, and "[Nebuchadnezzar] said, Lo, I see four men
loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the
form of the fourth is like the Son of God... [and they] saw these men, upon
whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed,
neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on
them... Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the
province of Babylon." (Daniel 3:25,27,30).
There are many such examples,but we'll just use one more. In Acts 4,
Peter and John were arrested for healing the lame man at the Gate Beautiful
(Acts 3:1-8). Those in authority made this demand of the disciples: "And
they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the
name of Jesus..." (Acts 4:18). Their reaction was: "But Peter and John
answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to
hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the
things which we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:20).
This sums it up: if we have to choose between the two, God or
 28
government (or any other Scriptural authority), secular government must bow
to God's word. We may disobey the laws of man only when they demand we
disobey God. However, we can't disobey the laws of man just because they're
annoying to us, or offensive, or opposed to faith. We disobey when our
obedience to man means disobedience to God.
Another aspect of our relationship to the system of government
concerns the efforts of many Christians to change government by political
activism. I see two problems with this.
One is: there is no place in the Bible when Jesus or His disciples did
anything political as a part of their faith. The Roman Empire at the time
of Christ and the early church was as wicked, pagan, and adversarial to
Christianity as any ever faced by God's people, but neither the apostles
not Jesus Himself advocated its overthrow. Jesus did nothing even remotely
approaching political activism; indeed He stated that His kingdom is not of
this world. Only if His kingdom is of this world are we supposed to fight.
(John 18:36). I think some of the people involved in political activism are
terribly sincere and innocent, but some are terribly dangerous, and would
gladly impose a second Inquisition.
My second problem is: political activism focuses on earth, not on
heaven. Even if it works, it does nothing whatsoever about the true
problem, which is not man's society, but man's heart. The people involved
in political activism apparently interpret "Go ye therefore into all the
world" to mean we're commissioned to improve the world, not to bring people
out from the world into the kingdom.
He didn't say, "Go ye therefore into all the world and make it a
better place."
Political activism can be as simple as picketing against abortion or
as deep as planning a takeover of government - by arms or by ballots - to
impose the law of God upon the unsaved. But at the very least, this has the
result of a natural, sight-realm point of view, and the goal is to change
laws and circumstances and society, rather than to change hearts by the
work of the indwelling Christ.
Improving the conditions under which we live has an appeal. Our
current society is perfectly ghastly, especially for those of us old enough
to remember the 1950s. They were great! An expanding economy, societal
agreement on morality, moms and dads fulfilling their separates roles
without rancor, schools which taught academic subjects without New Age
addenda. We had clean air and water, crime was under control, and almost
all kids were born and raised in two-parent homes. When we heard the word
"God" we knew without question which deity was meant. Everybody spoke
English, and the folks who immigrated into the U.S. loved this country and
wanted to become Americans. No hyphens, just Americans. There were safety,
peace, prosperity and righteous laws, and our kids could look forward to
something even better than what we'd had. But the most godly society man
could ever achieve has no power to get anybody into heaven. For that we
need the Blood of Jesus.
And this decent and upstanding society of the 1950s had no lasting
power. It could not stand against the onslaught of the 1960s. We got
Kennedy's "Camelot", and all the iniquity, all the drugs, deceit,
rebellion, sexual immorality and corruption which were now nesting within
the government, spread. These evils were reflected in American society. The
comfortable, stable 1950s didn't survive five years of Camelot.
And reason tells us that even if these politically active Christians
 29
succeed, and we repeal abortion, clean up television, fill all the
legislatures with honest conservative politicians, balance the budget, etc.
we still have the problem of humanity itself. We have desperately wicked
hearts, darkened minds, unbroken wills and we are "inclined to evil as the
sparks fly upward". Nothing external can deal with that; only the Holy
Spirit - working within willing vessels - can touch the real root of
society's problems.
Because the problem does not originate with our society; it originates
with us. Society merely reflects our many iniquities.
And in the long run, it's all vanity: the citizens of an improved,
safer, kinder, more righteous America would still go to hell.
In relating to this system, as to all the others, the course which
gives us the greatest likelihood of pleasing God and of walking in the
safety of His perfect will, is for each individual to hear for himself what
God is saying to do, and when and how to do it. For families and for the
individual believers, this is the answer. We can not trust the insight,
conclusions, opinions or even "words from God" of other people.
If we are forced to "come out" of submission to secular authority -
and this will almost certainly happen before the end - then it is
imperative that we be totally submitted to GOD. It would be the height of
folly and unspeakably dangerous to face the end of the age with only our
own will in dominion over us.

2. RELIGION
The Random House Dictionary defines religion as: an organized system
of belief in and worship of God or gods. This system encompasses all of
man's devices for finding, knowing and serving God. Of course, true
Christianity is a relationship with a Person, not conformity to some
organization.
This deceiving religious system was - and still is - based in a false
concept of God, in works, and in the efforts of man. This system
substitutes for JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU. (I AM the Lord thy Righteousness.
Jeremiah 23:6.) It repudiates the sufficiency of Christ's atonement, and
denies grace. It has the nature of a Harlot and its leaders have always
been God's fiercest enemies.
Every religion which has ever existed attempts to bring man into a
position of pleasing God, of being in right standing with God. The
particular route to this end may be as simple as "Just try to be good", or
as demanding as "Sacrifice your first born son". But whatever form the
command may take, it is always The Law; it is always man; it always fails.
God's heart is satisfied only by the blood of Jesus. Anything else is a
counterfeit.
Here's the first time this contrast was made, the contrast between the
works of the flesh and the shed blood: "...Abel was a keeper of sheep, but
Cain was a tiller of the ground. And...it came to pass, that Cain brought
of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also
brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD
had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his
offering he had not respect..." (Genesis 4:2-5).
Of course this doesn't mean that God hates vegetables; it's just that
there is no natural thing, no product from this cursed Adamic realm of the
earthy, which can atone for our sin. Sin is a spiritual problem, and for
that we need blood. Something has to die, shed its life's blood, and then
 30
that blood must be applied.
And that Something has to be perfect.
The religious system, like Education, had its beginning in the Garden
of Eden. When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of
Good and Evil, one of the results was a bondage to religious spirits.
Lucifer himself probably had authority in the sphere of worship, and the
desire of his twisted heart is to replace God and to be worshipped.
Two Scriptures to make this point:
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how]
art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou
hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne
above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation,
in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I
will be like the most High." (Isaiah 14:12-14).
"Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone [was]
thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and
the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the
workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day
that thou wast created. Thou [art] the anointed cherub that covereth; and I
have set thee [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast
walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou [wast] perfect
in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in
thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of
thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as
profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering
cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thou [wast] perfect in thy
ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee."
(Ezekiel 28:13-15).
The strong man over this system is BAAL, which means both "husband"
and "Lord". In his efforts to become lord and husband of the human race -
instead of allowing Jesus to fill these roles for us - Baal brings us into
a religious system which is the total antithesis of the Cross. He wants us
to believe we can work our way into God's favor. He knows this cannot
succeed; unfortunately, many people do not.
This system has many subdivisions, some of them "Christian". We don't
need to be a Moslem, a Buddhist, a Jew or a pagan to deny the truth of
Jesus' atonement. Our false god might not be named something like Allah,
Mohammed, Krishna or Ghia. Our false god may bear the name of our
denomination, or our pastor, or our pet doctrine, or our many churchy
works.
For us Christians, there numerous subtle ways that our enemy - or our
human imperfection - can distort the truth of Jesus' redemption. One thing
we may be told is that we need Jesus plus something (church attendance, a
dress code, minimum standards of prayer and Bible reading, commitment to a
particular denomination or church body, or any number of other man-made
rules). Or maybe we're told we can get by with something less than Jesus:
human agencies and abilities, sincerity, sacrifice, being a "good person",
meaning well, trying hard, etc., will do as well.
But our true Doorway into the presence and favor of God is a Person;
we need Jesus only and we need Jesus utterly. We need to embrace Him with
passion and total abandonment. He is our Sun, the Giver of all life. (Why
 31
do we need to light a candle when the Son is shining?) And He is our
Shield, the Protector. He is all we need. In Him, we are the righteousness
of God.
If our righteousness has any ground but the shed blood of Jesus, it
isn't good enough.
COMING OUT OF EGYPT AND GOING INTO ZION - RELIGION:
Before we address coming out of what might be called "regular"
religion, all the easily recognized religions of American culture, I want
to make an important point. We need to realize that we have a new state
religion in America. It is a non-official but widely accepted, state-
supported religion, infiltrating and permeating our society, supported by
all the systems.
It is the religion which worships man. Man is the god who is to be
loved with all the heart, soul, mind and strength. It is man whom we must
obey, sacrifice for, adore.
And man is also the believer who worships this new god.
We were told this would happen. Paul wrote, "...Because that, when
they knew God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but
became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory
of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man... Who
changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature
more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." (Romans 1:21,22,25)
Man is the god, the source, the wisdom, the goal and the empowerment
of this new religion. Man will meet man's needs by the power and wisdom of
man. And it's utter folly!
When God was taken out of our society, we needed a new god, and over
the past thirty or so years, this nation has been evangelized by a new
religion. This was the process, in chronological order:
1. We forgot God ("God" used to mean Jehovah; no longer.)
2. We forgot His laws (Tolerance replaced "right and wrong".)
3. We make a new god (The "evolved" human is now his own god.)
4. We make new laws (Political correctness - their code of
acceptable thought and behavior - means: we can be homosexual but
we can't disapprove of homosexuals; teens can commit fornication
but they can't smoke; we can abort our offspring but we can't
spank them, etc.)
One note of interest, to affirm my premise here: during the publicity
about a prominent politician's fall from grace I heard a group of people on
a news program discussing his morality - or his lack thereof. One of the
panelists made this statement, "Maybe he doesn't have a lot of the old
morality, but he cares about the poor, and about education, and protecting
the environment and about people's lives. That's a kind of morality, too."
So we have come from "One nation, under God..." to "One country of
fractured and antagonistic little groups, under no god but themselves..."
I am fairly sure that no one reading this is a true believer in the
"First Church of Man", but I'm also fairly sure that few of us are totally
free of all its doctrines and practices.
But let's turn now to address the question of "coming out" of more
traditional religious perspectives, if you agree that this may be what God
wants. What does it mean to come out of the religious system?
For Christians, coming out of the religious system may be as simple as
realizing that "Jesus" and "the church" are not synonymous. Of course we
 32
don't give up "church" to enter Jesus, but some of us do pretty well have
to de-throne "church". Because it's easy to stop there, with church
membership and attendance, and go no further.
And also we need to realize that we are the church. It is not a
building we enter, nor a club we join, nor a charity we support. It is not
an organization: it's an organism. It's not a corporation: it's a living
entity. The Bride of Christ, the Body of Christ, the Army of God; the
living, breathing, growing, fighting, praying, anointed representation of
God on this side of the veil. It is eternal, unique in all the world and in
all history, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
It's what we are, not what we go to.
But it - the church - can assume too much power and influence; it can
rival God Himself for our loyalty and focus. In many case, the relationship
with a church, either a denomination or a local body, can be so all-
consuming, so demanding and/or so fulfilling, so significant and profound
in the life and worship of a believer, that he can go for years without
realizing that Jesus Himself is not a very big factor in his spiritual
life.
Commitment to other Christians, singularly or in groups, must always
be secondary to our commitment and faithfulness to God. This is the
priority: "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first
and great commandment. And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and
the prophets." (Matthew 22:40) [Emphasis mine].
Our priorities are - at least should be - God first, then man. I am
convinced that this fact, this focus, this assignment of priorities, is the
most significant difference between religion and a relationship.
Here are some other distinctions; and I want to say clearly that all
of us are a mixture in this religion or a relationship question.
RELIGION: wants God to bless a natural life.
A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS: wants to die to the natural and live in the
spirit.
RELIGION: focuses of the needs of man.
A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS: focuses on the will of God.
RELIGION: meets God most powerfully in a group setting.
A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS: meets God most powerfully in private.
RELIGION: works from the outside in to become righteous; self effort.
A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS: rests, obeys; allows the Holy Spirit to
work from the inside out to produce righteousness.
RELIGION: is focused on here and now.
A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS: is focused on eternity in heaven.
RELIGION: receives most input from other people's teachings, books,
tapes, sermons.
A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS: receives most teaching from personal
study and rhema.
RELIGION: talks about the church ministering to mankind.
 33
A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS: talks about the individual believer
worshipping God.
RELIGION: talks about rules and principles.
A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS: talks about the Ruler and the Prince.
RELIGION: sings to each other, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full
in His wonderful face..."
A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS: sings to God, "I'll keep my eyes upon you,
Lord, look full in your wonderful face..."
RELIGION: does a lot of good works.
A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS: grows a lot of spiritual fruit.
I am not advocating an exodus from organized religion; I am merely
encouraging all of us to be sure we don't stop there. We must move beyond
the structure - denomination, building, hierarchy, programs, organization,
traditions - into Him. Into Jesus Christ, whom to know is life eternal.
We need to know Him - His Word, voice, nature, principles, goals. We
may have to fight to get through the clutter which hides Him, through the
people who would filter and diminish His intimacy with us.
We must know Him for ourselves and hear from Him personally. We can't
depend on anyone else to be our intermediary. The cry of the laity is: "And
they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God
speak with us, lest we die." (Exodus 20:19). How appalling! They didn't
want to hear Him!
Instead we must believe, and live, the reality of: "...He that
entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter
openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by
name, and leadeth them out... And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he
goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a
stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not
the voice of strangers. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they
follow me..." (John 10:3-5,14,27).
As Christians, we are heir to many past covenants which God has made
with others.
Like righteous Noah, we have been chosen to enter an Ark to save us
from a dying world. (Genesis 6:18, Genesis 9:9-12).
We are inheritors of the blessings of faithful Abraham, our father of
faith. (Genesis 15:18, Genesis 17:7, Galatians 3:6,7).
Like Moses, the friend of God, we can know His ways, not just His
acts. (Psalms 103:7).
We can partake of the "sure mercies of David", God's chosen, beloved
son. (II Samuel 7:3, Psalms 89:20, 34-36, Isaiah 55:3, Acts 13:34).
But more than any of these, we are eligible for the role of Bride. Our
blessed covenant, by far the highest, is that of marriage. Let me quote
from the best-known and most revered of all the marriage rites in our
language:
"I,___________________, take thee, Jesus, to be my lawfully wedded
Husband; To have and to hold from this day forward; for better or for
worse; for richer or for poorer; in sickness or in health; forsaking all
others; keeping myself only unto You, so long as we both shall live."
Now that is a relationship!
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3. EDUCATION
This system meets our need for a constant guide, a continuous revealer
of knowledge, wisdom and understanding. It counterfeits the aspect of God's
nature embodied by the name JEHOVAH - SHAMMAH (I AM the God who is present.
Ezekiel 48:35.) Even as Jehovah walked with Adam in the cool of the day,
our God is always with us, and we are always learning, deciding, choosing,
growing, conforming. One of the reasons the Holy Spirit was sent to the
Church was to lead us into all truth.
But for those who don't know our God, there is a second route to
truth. There is a second voice which proclaims, "This is the nature of
reality". From the time of the Garden of Eden, man has had available to him
two different trees: the Tree of Life (Jesus) and the Tree of the Knowledge
of Good and Evil. As is implicit in its name, this Tree of Knowledge gives
to mankind the opportunity of making his own choices, of deciding for
himself what is good and what is evil. It enables man to disregard what God
says about things; man becomes his own judge of truth.
In Satan's counterfeit realm, this educational system which man has
devised - in all its various aspects - is the route to this false truth.
The Scripture admonishes us to love truth, and to respond to illumination.
It also warns us of the results of being deceived.
Of all the world systems, this is the one least honored by God's
people; the easiest for them to renounce. In the past fifteen or twenty
years, the evil intents and practices of the educational system - at least
the school system - have been increasingly revealed to the church by
informed Christians, and by God Himself. But perhaps we need to look at the
bigger picture.
There is far more to the world's system of education than merely the
school system. Education is basically some humans receiving input from
other humans (the experts, professionals, authorities - those who know more
than we do) and accepting as true the already established body of knowledge
they impart. Both of these aspects of education are dangerous.
There are multiple influences which fight for dominion of
our minds. In a thousand different ways, we are continually conditioned,
guided, molded, conformed to the world's ideas and agendas. Remember, this
it the counterfeit of the God who is Present With Us. Its influence is
almost constant. Through multiple channels, they press upon our minds their
own prejudices and attitudes; and increasingly they say what beliefs are
acceptable. Almost constantly, by countless means, the enemy invades our
thoughts - to teach us what HE wants us to believe.
I have an advantage over most folks in observing the changes in
society. I can remember waaay back. My recollections include things like
the depression, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the first television. I am
older than penicillin, automatic transmissions, clothes dryers, consumer
debt, aerosol spray cans, dial telephones, air conditioning and public
opinion polls.
I point this out to claim some kind of expertise in reading changes.
My qualifications to make judgments and comments about modern times is
based in over six decades of observations.
I can look at something, like say public high schools, and I can
compare my experiences in the 1940s with what my children experienced in
the 1960s and 1970s, and with what my grandchildren face now in the 1990s.
(And I can tell you, things are not getting better. Thank God we can look
 35
at the increase of evil as a sign that the Lord's return is near; otherwise
it would be really depressing.)
And in addition to all the things everybody else is talking about, I
have seen this one enormous change that nobody is talking about much; a
wide-spread alteration in our society which is getting broader, deeper,
stronger and more menacing.
It is simply this idea I've been talking about: they increasingly tell
us how to think.
In every one of the seven systems, those in authority presume a
superiority, an expertise about how to live, raise children, become and/or
stay healthy, handle money, face old age, relate to each other and the
world, and most significantly, how to form opinions about right and wrong.
They try to control the details of our every thought, act and decision.
They force on us their fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good
and Evil. They almost force feed us. TIME Magazine recently had an article
on how to handle conflict between siblings. Not just rivalry; they were
talking about serious abuse between brothers and sisters. It's a big
problem in a society which refuses to discipline children. But what they
recommended as a solution was pitiful! "Try understanding; put yourself in
your brother's shoes; take a time out; etc." This is the world's solution
to handling the force which triggered a lot of the murders in the Bible!
And my question is: who cares what TIME Magazine thinks? They cannot
be correct because they're not saying what GOD says. But the world - and
most of the church - follows this kind of information as though it were
true!
All of this kind of thing is "education". They want to tell us how to
think, so that we will yield to their opinions about how we ought to live.
Some examples: when crises occur in schools (kids get murdered, for
example), they bring in counselors to "help the children adjust". They
assume a counselor will be wiser and more helpful than the parents.
Our area was threatened with a hurricane last fall; and the systems
joined forces to help us poor, helpless, dumb citizens survive. The
weathermen told us when it was coming. The government issued mandatory
evacuation orders. They told us exactly how to prepare: what foods to buy,
what supplies to organize for the crisis, how to deal with pets. The local
television stations had child psychologists on the air, telling parents how
to deal with their children during the crisis. ("They're afraid, but that's
okay. Let your children know that it's all right to be afraid." Of course
God says over three hundred and fifty times not to fear, but who is He to
argue with a licensed counselor?)
They all knew exactly how we should conduct ourselves (and they
figured we didn't). And they assumed without fear of opposition that we
would agree with them.
So several million dollars were spent, thousands refugeed to shelters,
fear prevailed, but the hurricane never came. We had less than an inch of
rain and no wind. My point? They were 100%, totally wrong!
Another example. I saw an ad on television the other day; long scenes
of a mother driving a teen-aged boy around, no conversation. At the end of
the silent ride, the screen read, "Another lost opportunity to talk to your
kids about marijuana." The next screen said, "Talk to your kids about
marijuana." And the final screen said, "We'll tell you what to say."
As always, my thought was, "What makes them think they know better
than I do what to say?" But they assume they know the facts, the dangers,
 36
the proper responses to the situation, to achieve a safe and happy
solution. And they assume we know nothing. That's the world system of
Education.
They seem to be totally unaware of how seriously their viewpoint and
their methods have failed! When they are hit in the face by their failure -
when statistics show that kids can't read, for example, or that suicide and
violence are increasing - their answer is to increase doing what they're
doing now - to do more of the things which have already failed. And along
with that, they usually want to increase governmental control, and spend
more money.
Of course the reality is, they don't know the answer. They don't know
the truth. They aren't speaking the oracles of God, so what they say is
wrong, dangerous, and possibly death. They go to college, learn what the
world says, and try to force it on us. And increasingly they are insisting
that we surrender control of our lives - and even more the lives of our
children - to their ideas.
It is my considered opinion - and remember, I've been forming opinions
for six decades - that this is the most serious attack against us. The
world has always hated our God, scorned Him, abused His children and
hindered His work when possible, but it really gets tough when they begin
to deal not just with behavior, not merely with words, but with thoughts.
In America today, in this supposedly free nation, laws regulate not
only conduct but also ideas. The beginning was the code of "political
correctness"; now there are laws labeled "hate crimes". This is not the
place for a detailed discussion of the subject, but I couldn't pass up an
opportunity to mention it. I suggest that this regulation by legislation of
what we think, what we believe, is as subversive, as ungodly and as
dangerous as anything standing in opposition to the church today.
We are admonished strongly by God to shun the counsel of the ungodly
and the wisdom of this world. (We're blessed if we don't, according to
Psalm 1:1). Unless these so-called experts are speaking the word of God,
their information is potentially hazardous. Even if their facts are
accurate, without God's point of view they walk in darkness, and we must
not look upon these people as a source of wisdom.
And the same is true of the pool of information from which they draw.
Their "data base" is faulty because not merely their conclusions but also
their foundations are based in a point of view which does not include God.
And the Bible calls them fools. "The fool hath said in his heart, [There
is] no God." (Psalms 14:1, Psalms 53:1).
If "God is not in all their thoughts", then their thinking is folly.
Most of what the world believes is wrong; we would be foolish to base our
lives on anything they say. Or on what they glean from their studies, their
deliberations, their technology.
We must first renew our minds, to cleanse them of all the wrong things
we're already been taught. Then we must gird them up; the Bible says gird
up the LOINS of our minds, to prevent being raped and impregnated by the
lies of the world.
COMING OUT OF EGYPT AND GOING INTO ZION - EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
In discussing both Education and Science, we have to consider the
nature of the fruit from the two trees in the Garden of Eden. Every single
thing we believe can eventually be traced back to one of those two trees;
either to Jesus Christ, Who is the Tree of Life, or to the Tree of the
 37
Knowledge of Good and Evil, which encompasses everything else.
And both the profession of science and its evangelistic arm of
education, harvest their opinions from the wrong tree.
Jesus says that He is truth (John 14:6), not merely truthful. He does
not simply know and speak truth: He isn't just part of the truth, with
other parts residing elsewhere. Jesus Christ is the truth. He is the only
source of truth in existence. If what we think or say disagrees with Him,
it's a lie.
And more than that, it is death.
That other tree, the Tree of Knowledge, wasn't just less true. Those
who eat from it aren't simply mistaken. The result of eating from that tree
is not merely being wrong: it's death! "But of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest
thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:17).
If we don't believe truth, we die. Period. And Jesus is the ultimate,
the only, source of truth. So when we are exposed to knowledge, facts,
viewpoints, research, ideas, teachings, data, opinions, statistics,
information, the only safe thing to do is: we immediately ask ourselves,
"What does God say about this?"
I submit that you'll find the world is always wrong, and frequently it
will hold a position which is diametrically opposed to truth.
Consider these subjects, contrasting what the world says with what God
says: the discipline of children; the source of true happiness; the end of
the world; the beginning of the world; the relationships of men and women
within marriage; death, and what happens to human beings after dying; how
to handle money; our greatest danger; eternity; facing fear. In each of
these subjects and countless others, what the world teaches is the exact
opposite of what God says.
We cannot order our lives in a way which pleases God if the world is
our source of truth. Coming out of this systems of both education and
science is as simple as not believing what they say. Instead, we must know
and believe what GOD says.

4. SCIENCE
The word science is derived from the Latin "scientia" which means "to
know". Science attempts to meet our need for a reservoir of information. It
proclaims itself the fountain of all knowledge, the possessor of all facts,
and it speaks with the authority of "Thus saith the Experts."
It claims to explain the universe. It is the counterfeit of
JEHOVAH-ROI (I AM thy Shepherd. Psalm 23:1.)
Science is a spurious authority; it is both the source which education
espouses, and the destination toward which education leads us. It
represents man's wisdom obtained from a study of observable facts. (It uses
instruments and technology which are basically merely some kind of
augmentation of the physical senses, or of natural capabilities.)
The Shepherd establishes the very foundations upon which the sheep
live; His influence is all-pervasive. In ways the sheep hardly recognize,
their lives are governed and controlled by their Shepherd. This is also
true of science; it builds the foundation upon which the inhabitants of
this world dwell.
Science's influence is pandemic; its opinions and point of view affect
all of the world and much of the church. There is an infinite difference in
the foundation of life which science espouses - the lie of evolution - and
 38
the Biblical statement, "In the beginning God created...".. Do we believe
that our universe was lovingly created, or that it simply happened? And
from these foundational convictions come other tenets of faith: it
naturally follows that our belief about ourselves - created or merely a
happenstance? - will be aligned with our belief about the physical
universe.
Lives built on these two different foundations are different both in
quality and in destination.
Because the universe these priests of science accept - and all that is
within that universe - comes as a result of time and chance and matter -
they believe that everything began as an accident! How different from a
God who forms us in secret in our mothers' wombs, who numbers the hairs on
our heads and who orders our every step. Our God is never random, never
chaotic, never without plan and purpose. Never without mercy, love, wisdom,
interest in His creation.
But because they have no Creator God, some people then form some
preposterous and futile merger with nature, with past selves, with an
"inner power", or with evil spirits, in order to find a sense of belonging,
purpose and meaning within the macrocosm. We were created for union with
God, to be His Helpmeet, and if we deny Him we must find another Husband to
complete.
Jesus said, "I am... the Truth." Not merely truthful, or the truth-
giver. He is the incarnation of truth. When a system claims to represent
truth, and yet it ignores the very embodiment of truth, it is in delusion.
We must not believe them, trust them, depend on them, look to them for the
solutions to man's problems.
When I hear, "Professionals say...", "A recent study shows...", or
"Experts claim...", or "Researchers now believe...", or "Scientists
warn...", I always just think, "What do they know?"
COMING OUT OF EGYPT AND GOING INTO ZION - EDUCATION AND SCIENCE
See page ========

5. THE ARTS
God knew that man would need refreshing, restoring, a sense of
renewing and calm. He has made provision for us to receive serenity and
contentment in Him. The world's system of the arts, of entertainment,
sports, literature and music has become the counterfeit for JEHOVAH-SHALOM.
(I AM thy Peace. Judges 6:27.)
Most people are diverted, amused or entertained by the world, rather
than being restored and recreated through the Lord. Especially in modern
times and in technological societies, we have diversion ready at hand:
books, movies, records and tapes, radio and television, athletic and
sporting events. Much of this fare is done with great skill and
effectiveness, and can be very appealing.
Jesus told us: "Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."
(Matthew 11:28,29).
Even the old covenant hinted at this restoration and renewal from
fellowship with God: "For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel;
In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence
shall be your strength: and ye would not." (Isaiah 30:15).
Isaiah had it right when he said, "ye would not". We don't usually go
 39
to God for routine re-creation. We go to the world for recreation. This
system of the Arts cries out to us, "Come unto me all ye that are tired, or
bored, or seeking to escape, and I will give you rest." If we partake too
deeply of these dainties, there is danger, the danger of accepting the
world's value systems: their goal - even their definition! - of success,
their competition, their morals or lack of morals, their totally
man-centered point of view which denies God's very existence, their
dedication to the creation of images.
Much of this system embraces fantasy, and we can be lured into wicked
imaginations. Through books, movies, television, live drama, ballet, we can
enter into fiction: a different time, a different locale, different
characters. We can forget our own circumstances and enter other, less
demanding ones. The appeal of escaping from this world, with all its
stresses, vexations and disappointments, is potent. But the solution of
descending into another's fantasy demands caution. It may be destructive,
and is almost always at least counterproductive. (The better solution is to
rise up, into reality.) We can be strongly influenced by illusion, if it's
presented in a striking or convincing way.
We run the risk of believing them.
Current art - painting, sculpture, photography, even architecture -
reflects our evil age clearly. The most hideous, degrading and offensive
images are protected, even supported, by our government in the unbridled
rush toward "anything goes!" under the First Amendment. Can we, as
Christians, considered the National Endowment for the Arts' patronage of
Maplethorp's pornography, and not see judgment on the horizon?
Music is probably the most compelling force in the system of the arts.
Music is a component of worship; it enters directly into the spirit. Those
who know about such things say that music is a necessary ingredient in most
occultic and Satanic rituals, along with drugs, chanting and usually blood.
Music has a remarkable effect on those who experience it.
Our modern music, like our art, literature, drama and fashions,
reflect a truly astonishing evil. It seems nothing is beyond the pale for
many of these performers; the law-breaking, the drug-taking, the manifest
hatred, the violence and sometimes death which accompanies their lives and
their art apparently know no bounds. And appalling damage is done to those
who worship at this altar.
Sports and athletic competitions are another arena of false worship.
Millionaire athletes who are as famous as movie stars or presidents command
the attention and devotion of the public, as they exalt competition and the
deeds of the flesh.
Our society has become obsessed with physical fitness and beauty. It's
logical, I suppose: if they deny the spiritual dimension, then the flesh is
all they have and they need to tend it carefully. But a body which is fit
and healthy will burn in hell as readily as one which is sickly and weak.
Bodily exercise profits little, according to 1 Timothy 4:8. It won't get us
to heaven or keep us from hell.
I don't mean to imply that all sports, music, fiction and other
diversions are wrong, or even that they're all dangerous. But most are and
we must be on guard: Solomon told us that everything "under the sun" is
vanity! Everything on the flesh side of the veil is without eternal merit.
We have only so much time allotted to us, and we mustn't give too big
a chunk of it to vanity. Every morning promises "One more day", and every
night reminds us, "One less day". We have a finite amount of time here, and
 40
there probably isn't much in our interaction with the Arts which will pass
through the fire of judgment as a work of eternal gold.
COMING OUT OF EGYPT AND GOING INTO ZION - THE ARTS:
This is the system I really struggle with.
In writing this I find myself wanting to defend, and to call "good", a
lingering affection for fiction, fantasy, diversion and escape. I want to
write, "You don't have to surrender these things - television, fiction,
etc. - until you hear clearly from God that He requires it." And that's
because I would like for this to be true in my case. But I also know that
the stronger we cling to stuff like this, the harder it is to hear God if
He says, "Let it go."
I also wanted to mention that there's a lot of other stuff people do
which is called "good", which is just as debatable, if we're considering
how beneficial, how pleasing to God it is. Like hours and hours in front of
a computer, surfing the Web, chatting electronically with people we've
never met. Or how about hours and hours of physical exercise? Walking,
jogging, dancing? Paul told Timothy that this "profits little".
Next I battled with a desire to compare the "alternative worlds"
offered by the world's entertainment, and what danger they may pose, with
other things I see as more dangerous. I even considered talking about how
Jesus said He preferred cold to lukewarm. And the mixture within some
allegedly Christian novels and television - poorly done, unscriptural, an
obvious mixture, using His name but contradicting His nature, at best
lukewarm - must surely be worse than some movies.
And I repent of my carnality.
Even if all those things I said are true (and they really are, you
know; we need to obey only God, our husbands or our parents in this; other
things which folks call "good" are just as questionable; and sometimes
something flat-out worldly is less offensive to God than a so-called
Christian thing which is a mixture) even if that's all true, there's
something else to consider. All these activities I mentioned, books,
movies, television etc., as well as football, horse races, the Olympics,
hockey, baseball, golf, ballet, opera, concerts, boating, etc. are
consumers of time, and we need to be sure there isn't a higher call on the
hours we give to these activities.
Time is a capital asset. We have just so much of it, and then it's
gone. Forever. Everyday we go to bed with one day less; twenty-four hours
which can never be redeemed. It matters to God how we spend our time.
Here are a few Scriptures on that subject:
"Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house
cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the
morning..." (Mark 13:35).
"And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter,
Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?" (Mark 14:37).
"Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly [is] great, but the
labourers [are] few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he
would send forth labourers into his harvest." (Luke 10:2).
"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved."
(Jeremiah 8:20).
 41

"See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:16).
"The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off
the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light." (Romans
13:12).
So I see one real danger with this kind of thing is the theft of our
time and attention, and not merely the intrinsic evil in the activity. But
there is that aspect also; the dubious nature of some of these activities.
A lot of the things we're discussing really are inherently evil,
incompatible with the Christian walk and damaging to our souls. We can't
participate in many of the things which present themselves to us, and we
all agree on that.
So we need to make some decisions; what will we acquiesce to and what
will we not accept? How do we decide? By how offended we are? How affected
are we by the evil? Do we form little guidelines, such as: I won't watch X-
rated films, but I can see R-rated ones. I can read Tom Clancy but not
Stephen King. Or tightening it up a little, maybe I can just read non-
fiction but not fiction.
I'm going down a little rabbit trail now, but it will make the point
I'm working on; it will lead us to the conclusion I am drawing.
The division between fiction and non-fiction is a common Christian
guideline. I know dozens of people who read biographies and a plethora of
self-help books and such but shun fiction, and assume this is a safe way to
avoid contamination. I don't think it works.
Reading non-fiction doesn't ensure you're reading truth!
I've read Christian teaching books (and so have you) which were so
full of error, mixture, flesh, unbelief, deception and such that not only
were they not true, they were damaging.
"Fiction equals fallacy" and "non-fiction equals truth" are not
necessarily safe rules-of-thumb to judge reading material. Truth can come
through either fiction or non-fiction, and so can error.
I am persuaded that what is important is not so much the form as the
content. If what is communicated is truth, then the basket in comes in -
fiction, song, sermon, drama - is not to be despised.
An example of this is what happened to a friend of mine a few years
ago. One particular Sunday afternoon she was going through a real trial and
she wanted to go to church that night. She wanted to hear from God. But her
husband wanted to stay home and watch "Rocky" on TV, and he wanted her to
stay and watch with him. She felt like the Lord wanted her to honor her
husband and stay home, but she was not happy about it.
But the Lord met her gloriously, through that movie. I haven't seen
it, but she told me it was full of insight from God, at least for her. The
hero was named ROCKy, and that was representative of Jesus. The enemy was
named Apollo! How about that?! (Right out of Revelation 9.) There was a lot
of conflict and warfare, and much of what happened to Rocky depended on his
wife, who of course represented the Church, the Bride of Christ. He
couldn't really win the victory he wanted till she was fully on his side. I
don't know everything involved, but it was a strong, clear, timely word to
my friend from God - through a violent, maybe R-rated movie.
After it was over and she was thanking the Lord for meeting her so
gloriously, He told her, "I am always speaking. This universe resounds with
 42
my voice. If you listen, you shall hear."
This whole natural realm of flesh and sight is a parable of the
reality on the other side of the veil, and He can teach us in any way He
chooses. So, I'm not upset about fiction. Our God is bigger than that.
Now we'll let that rabbit go and return to the question: how do we
decide what aspects of the world system called the Arts can we participate
in?
If we're judging the nature of the activity, and not just its dominion
over us or the time it steals, then we'll have some very close calls to
make. It is wrong to play golf - which may have some health benefits - or
is it just wrong to watch others play? Is either one wrong? Where do we
draw a line between passive reception of the world's offerings and the
active participation in them? What about a hobby? Swimming? Crafts?
Building models? Sewing? Photography? Bird watching? Riding bicycles? Is
everything evil except prayer, Bible reading and gainful employment?
And on that question, can we work for evil corporations? Does it
offend God for us to give forty hours a week to IBM? The practice of law?
Can we sell insurance (which a friend of mine says is just making a bet
that God will fail)? Can we serve in the public school system, in
hospitals? The armed services?
Connected to these questions is this further question: what if
participation in the Arts is how we make our living? What if we are a part
of the arts not merely as a recipient but as a participant; if we don't
just listen to the music, we are paid musicians? If we not only read books,
we write them? Sell them?
As you see, if we carry things too far we can reach the realm of the
ridiculous. There has to be some wisdom and some input from God or we begin
to seek somebody else's law and that has no benefit. And we need to pull
back from the position that our righteousness is found in how we structure
of our behavior, or even worse in how we allow others to structure it for
us. We must agree with God that our righteousness is found in obedience to
Him.
I think we need to consider what is, and what is not, of long term,
eternal value, then limit the time and resources we give to the world's
diversions which have no lasting benefits.
More Scripture to illustrate this:
"All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all
things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of
any... All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all
things are lawful for me, but all things edify not." (1 Corinthians 6:12,
10:23).
"... the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy..." (1
Timothy 6:17).
"And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of
the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith..." (Philippians 3:9).
"Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made
perfect by the flesh?" (Galatians 3:3).
I'd like to make another point, and that is: this is probably a fairly
 43
modern problem. In many societies there were not the leisure nor the
resources to indulge in what we call "recreation". And probably they
weren't as vulnerable as we are to these fairly carnal pastimes. For
example, can you imagine Peter and James and John playing Trivial Pursuit?
Did Paul follow sports; maybe have his favorite gladiator, and discuss with
his friends the various bouts scheduled at the Colosseum, maybe put down a
couple of bucks (drachma, dinarius, whatever) to bet if the odds were
right?
And along the same lines, do you think Timothy or Silus or Barnabas
ever studied to discover their own particular ministry gifts, or their
personality types, or the significance of their birth order? Or did they
focus on God and others, not on themselves?
One further point on this subject. With some of us, a good deal of
what we do in relationship to these diversions and entertainments is based
is a desire to escape from our own lives. I think maybe we ought to figure
out why. Why the urge to evade or obscure the reality of our lives? What
is so painful, or boring, or disappointing, or threatening, or depressing
about our lives that we hide from the truth about them? Maybe a diagnosis
of the problem, and some ministry to fix it, would be more productive than
merely hiding behind a book or a ball game.
In summary, I think we need to examine how much time and energy and
money we allot to the Arts; considering our motives, the nature of the
activity, the degree of dominance it has over us, and what would we doing
with that time and money if it weren't spent on the books, movies,
television, sports or whatever. We need to think, pray and hear from God,
because it most surely is a counterfeit of God's best and we need to be
careful how much of our lives we surrender to it.
I also believe that the decisions about what parts of the Arts we
utilize, and how much time and money and interest they deserve, should be
made prayerfully, cautiously, wisely and personally. Only God knows what is
a proper limit for each family, and I distrust - and disapprove of -
individuals or committees of individuals who presume to make choices for
other men's families. "For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus..." (1 Timothy 2:5).
Here's a little testimony to illustrate my last point.
Years ago, when my grandchildren were very young, they were invited to
a birthday party with lots of other little kids, mostly from our church. I
went with their mother (my daughter) to deliver them to the festivities.
All the guests were from families which were American, well-educated,
middle class, Christian, Spirit-filled, southern, and fairly well taught in
the things of the spirit. Alike, right? Not so you could tell!
The planned entertainment was the movie Star Wars, and the very idea
of such a movie being shown was horrifying to some of those mothers. Pagan!
New Age! Images! Hinduism! Other parents were willing to allow the movie,
either from lack of conviction or from politeness, but there were
contention, striving, self-righteousness, hurt feelings, disturbed children
and all manner of evil work. The hostess was in tears.
My daughter spoke the mind of God into that room and it produced peace
and release. She said, "Isn't is wonderful how much alike we all are?"
As everybody looked at her as if she'd lost her mind, she explained.
"We all care about our children; we all realize that God has given us the
responsibility to raise them a certain way. We all want what's best for
 44
them and we all know it matters what they're exposed to. The only
difference is just the detail of what specific things we consider
acceptable or not acceptable. And maybe that detail isn't as important as
the underlying sense of responsibility and concern".
The result was: some kids watched the movie, others played with toys.
Peace and unity had been attained without anyone having to violate his own
conscience, and - just as importantly - without anyone being forced into
subjection to somebody else's conscience.
And I think that little anecdote is a microcosm of how we might handle
the question of relating to the Arts. We need to know what God is saying to
us; and give each other the same liberty.

6. MEDICINE
Because of man's fallen state, because death entered the world and our
bodies are subject to decay, God understands our need for a healer. He
meets this need as JEHOVAH - RAPHA (I AM thy Healer. Exodus 15:26.) Healing
was one-fourth of Jesus' earthly ministry, and provision for our physical
healing is one of the most specific and unequivocal promises in Scripture.
Although the medical system is accepted by almost all Christians as
God's chosen route for physical healing, it's still Satan's counterfeit. As
with the other counterfeits, the origin, the nature, and the source of
power in the medical system are not God. This system proclaims man the
healer, and faith in God is totally foreign to its philosophy.
Its routine practices include many things forbidden by God: the
intimate handling of bodies outside marriage, the surrender of our God-
given authority over our bodies and the bodies of our children, the use of
drugs, the cutting of human flesh, the shedding and "consuming" of blood
(and now tissue as well), violating the secrecy in which God works, trust
in "the arm of flesh".
In addition, it's increasingly dangerous, even in the natural.
Diseases which cannot be cured are rampant within the system, as are drugs
with hidden risks and personnel who reflect the mind-set and practices of
the world. And the system is more and more authorized, legally sanctioned,
to impose its will upon us. It is no longer a rare thing to hear of
parental rights rescinded and given to doctors or guardians, of
court-ordered surgery, of accusations of abuse and children legally
kidnapped from parents by the courts.
This system is an enemy of our God, and it's dangerous for His people
to submit to it. What used to be called "marvels of medical science" or
even "miracles" could now more properly be called "abominations". Genetic
engineering, in vitro fertilization, cadaver bone ("dead men's bones") as
implants, assisted suicide, "medical ethics" to replace God's word as the
standard of right and wrong, partial-birth abortions and finally cloning;
all indicate an appalling indifference to God's will and His sovereignty.
We see Mankind with powers to rival Babel, and just as willing as those
earlier tower-dwellers to take unto themselves a cloak of godhood. All
these things - and more - are an indication that automatic submission to
that system is at least imprudent.
And it is getting worse even as we speak! It - as a system - serves
the God of Death, and I don't mean just Jack Kevorkian. This system is the
one which has killed those 35,000,000 babies via abortion, and in so doing
it is the instrument of Moloch as surely as Pharaoh was at the time of
Moses' birth or as Herod was at the time of Jesus' birth. Now the God of
 45
Death has a grip on the system of medical care, and it manifests itself in
all kinds of ways: euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, the imposing of
the death sentence in some states where executions are done via lethal
injection.
If Education is the system currently least successful in enslaving
Christians, Medicine is the most successful. Strong, faith-filled people of
God still cling to the deception that God needs a man to heal, and that it
is not only permissible, but even proper, to submit our bodies as a living
sacrifice to medical care.
Romans 12:1 says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies
of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1) In the same
vein, we are told to "...render unto God the things which are God's." If
we are Christian, our bodies belong to God - by right of creation, by right
of purchase, and as "our reasonable service". Yet Christians still take
these temples of God and submit them to man's reason, man's ways, man's
wisdom, man's unholy practices, and "the counsel of the ungodly".
As Christians living in America, at this particular time of church
life, it is traditional to teach and to believe that the tenets, methods,
personnel and goals of the medical system are God's chosen route for
imparting to His children the gift of healing. This assumption is so
universally accepted that any deviation from it is considered radical and
dangerous. With hardly a word of balance, with very rare disclaimers,
Christians are taught that:
1. "God gave us doctors."
2. "God gave doctors their wisdom."
3. "God He wants us to submit to that system"
And almost everybody believes it.
Trusting God for direct healing without any aid from man is almost
always countered by some person in authority: "Trusting God is fine, when
it works, but of course it's the exception, not the norm. You need to be
cautious. You must be balanced. Don't expect it to work consistently. You
mustn't tempt God."
If we look at the Bible, we see that in no passage are we told to
utilize the medical system, and most references are disparaging of its
efforts. (We have several other writings available on this subject. This is
merely a capsule version.)
Luke is called the beloved physician, but that is in no way an
endorsement of his profession as an adjunct to God's promise of divine
healing. The disciples and apostles followed a variety of occupations: tax
collector, fisherman, political activist, tent-maker, for example. No other
career is considered especially holy because an individual in the Bible was
occupied in it.
And there is no reference in Scripture of Luke ever being used in
healing. In none of the four gospels, in none of the 52 chapters of
Scripture which Luke penned, nowhere is Luke used in any way whatsoever to
heal, or to help Jesus heal.
But most Christians leaders - like most of the Christian laity - serve
a God they consider inferior to the natural efforts of man! Do they think
that God might fail, and that the system can't? How foolish! The system
doesn't have healing to offer, only medical care, and that's not the same
thing at all.
And remember, one hundred percent of the people who go to doctors end
 46
up dead! (Eventually.)

As a body, we have done what Adam did. God gave Adam dominion over the
earth, and by his sin Adam surrendered this authority to Satan. In the same
way, Jesus gave healing to the church; He called it a gift, a spiritual
gift. We, most of us, have given our authority over to man's system; and
there healing is not spiritual and boy, is it not a gift!
Remember, God Himself said, "I am the Healer". By that proclamation,
He defined the role of Healer as a divine one. If anyone else claims to
heal, he is a liar and an antichrist.
What would we think about someone who claimed to be Savior, and then
charged a blue fortune to try and save us?
COMING OUT OF EGYPT AND GOING INTO ZION - MEDICINE:
I won't go into great detail about the mechanics of coming out and
going in since we have a whole book in this subject, HEALING IN ZION. In it
I make the case that there is a valid, workable, God-given alternative to
submission to the medical system. But in order to walk into that
alternative, into kingdom healing, and to refuse medical care completely,
will probably require a lot of "renewing the mind". The stronghold of
deceptions about medical care, and about its correlation to receiving
divine healing, are mammoth.
And it will probably involve dealing with the phenomenon we see in
Isaiah 5:20. "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil...". We
can't take a system which counterfeits God's ministry, uses ungodly
counsel, requires the surrender of God-given authority, violates the purity
and integrity of others' bodies, gives drugs, sheds blood, makes images,
mixes tissues and even body parts, speaks curses, controls and defiles
others - we can't say that these things are good. We can't say that this is
what God wants!
But as long as we see this system as a good thing, helpful,
beneficial, actually doing what it promises, then it's got a grip on us.
It's much easier to walk away with no regrets if we see it as dangerous,
defiling, expensive and offensive to God.
Of all the systems, this is the ones Christians defend, cling to,
depend on and approve of, most. Any suggestion that we should avoid
submitting our bodies to the medical system is offensive, threatening -
sometimes infuriating. They (and by "they" I mean almost all Christians)
don't want to give up their right to medical care, and they don't like it
that we have.
And this is logical since most Christians were born under its
authority and have, all their lives, been conditioned to call it a good -
even an essential - thing.
It has been suggested that the power this system has over most
Christians (to say nothing of non-Christians) is based in a fear of death.
I think that's at least a big part of its grip, in most cases. But
sometimes it's just our powerful American belief that we're not supposed to
suffer - ever! If I'm sick, I need to have it fixed! and the sooner the
better!
When people choose to come out of this system, it's usually
incremental. They begin with some particular area which they now withhold
from the system.
"I won't ever have another pelvic exam".
 47
"I won't donate blood".
"I think it's wrong to take anti-depressants".
"I won't let them do any more mammogram; they are dangerous."
"Mama chose not to have the chemotherapy or radiation therapy."
"We don't have our children immunized."
Then it grows easier to refuse more and more. There is no longer a
blind, blanket surrender of all decision-making to the system. The reality
hits, "This is my body and I am responsible for what's done to it."
But at some point it has to be total. "God is my healer, and He either
heals me or takes me home."
At that point we're out, and we find it's a whole new ball game.
One final thought: if the Lord tarries and I find myself writing
another update, for a third edition of this book, I will probably make some
mention of nutrition and fitness as another counterfeit for Jehovah Rapha.
There is an unassailable, unquestioned belief among Christians that God
chooses to, and indeed must, maintain our physical health through a certain
dietary intake and exercise. In reality, the Bible does not support this
theory. All the teaching about this idea is based in fruit from the Tree of
Knowledge, not in Scripture.
But it isn't quite yet time for that for that explosion.

7. COMMERCE AND BANKING

God has promised to meet our need for food, clothing, shelter. The
Bible is full of His faithfulness in this area, from the miracle of manna
to the multiplying of loaves and fishes. He told us, JEHOVAH - JIREH (I
AM the Lord thy Provider, or My provision will be seen. Genesis 22:14.)
He tells us not to take thought for tomorrow, what we shall eat or
drink; we're more valuable than sparrows and our Father will provide for
us. Even in famine, we will be satisfied. (Psalm 37:19). But He also told
us to work. Those who don't work shouldn't eat (II Thessalonians 3:10), He
says, and He condemns those who fail to provide for their families by
saying they've denied the faith and are worse than infidels. (I Timothy
5:8).
So it seems this matter of natural provision is something of a
partnership between God and man, advancing from the curse of Genesis 3 -
earning bread by sweat and labor - to the marvelous posture of "Give us
this day our daily bread."
The problem and confusion arise from the Enemy's counterfeit. He
muddies the water, with a little help from man's natural bent toward greed,
his tendency toward self-reliance, and his propensity toward fear. Man
takes upon himself the burden of his own support. Making a living becomes
more important to him than seeking first the kingdom of God.
In Matthew 6:24, God uses this system as the example, and we are told
how to relate to all the other systems by God's instructions concerning
this particular one. He says "No man can serve two masters: for either he
will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and
despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Mammon, of course, is
the spiritual ruler, the strong man, over the organization of money and
banking.
Many Christians believe that we will eventually be rejected by this
system. Revelation 13:15-18 says those without the mark of the Beast will
not be able to buy or sell.
 48
"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and
bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And
that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of
the beast, or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:15-17).
If we refuse the mark of the beast, then maybe we don't have to worry
about coming out of this system: maybe they'll take care of it for us and
kick us out.
COMING OUT OF EGYPT AND GOING INTO ZION - COMMERCE AND BANKING:
The things we need to consider in dealing with this system are
centered on how we believe, feel, and act about money. God cares a whole
lot about how we relate to it; He talks in the Bible more about money than
about heaven and hell.
Here are some specifics:
God says, "Don't love it."
Paul told Timothy: "For the love of money is the root of all evil:
which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows." (1 Timothy 6:10).
God says not to go into debt.
"The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower [is] servant to the
lender." (Proverbs 22:7).
"...[T]hou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow."
(Deuteronomy 28:12).
God says not to save; at least don't save it up for yourself.
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust
doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure
is, there will your heart be also." (Matthew 6:19-21).
God says "Be content."
When John the Baptist was speaking to the Roman soldiers, this was his
counsel: "And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall
we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse [any]
falsely; and be content with your wages." (Luke 3:14).
Solomon said: "Two [things] have I required of thee; deny me [them]
not before I die... give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food
convenient for me..." (Proverbs 30:7,8).
Paul said: "I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound:
every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be
hungry, both to abound and to suffer need." (Philippians 4:12).
And God says "Don't worry about it."
"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye
shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put
on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" (Matthew
6:25).
The curse on Adam, in Genesis 3, involves the need to earn bread, and
the Word is full of insights and instructions about work. Also about greed,
generosity, saving, borrowing, losing, tithing, receiving, lending,
sharing, giving, earning and failing to earn, and about the kind of workers
 49
we are. It's very complex and very important, and very individualized.

I know a bunch of people who believe God has led them to come out of
this system of commerce and banking, and without exception, they have
obeyed according to their own understanding of what this means. And
different individuals are doing all kinds of different things.
Actually, there is only one thing which they are all doing. This one
common element is avoiding debt. To be debt free is almost essential not
only to achieve freedom from Mammon, but for true prosperity. I know many
people - and I'm one of them - who cut up all the credit cards. They may be
a convenience, but it's also a potential trap.
Then, after the decision to get - or to stay - out of debt, there are
all kinds of other different things folks do.
Many of them agree on not using a Social Security number, considering
it a precursor to the mark of the beast. This will limit the number of ways
a person can conduct business. And it may limit access to other things
which are considered a part of American society, like passports, tax
exemptions and bank loans, and inheriting money or property.
There's also a big move toward what's called "tax avoidance". This is
legal, I'm told, where tax evasion is not. Most of these people pay
property and sales taxes, but not income tax.
The use of driver's licenses is often one thing people stop. In some
cases because they require a thumb print, in other cases simply because the
people don't care to be regulated. (And here we begin to see one of the
major problems in coming out of this particular system, and that's
identifying it. Just what does constitute "Commerce and Banking"? There's
some confusion; Commerce is merged and mingled with Government. Where does
Mammon's realm end and Caesar's begin?)
We need to clarify things, because we do render to Caesar what is
rightly called his (Mark 12:17), but we are told plainly that we cannot
serve Mammon without it hindering our service to God. (Matthew 6:24).
Most of these people - I'm included here - carry no insurance except
what is required by law to operate a car. This can provoke a battle, if
your employer demands that you be covered by medical insurance whether you
want it or not. (And we've seen this problem when the employer was a
church.)
To stop using bank accounts is also a step out of Mammon's system. The
folks who do this function by cash mostly, barter where they can, strive
for self-reliance. There are still ways a person can earn a living without
using a Social Security number, without carrying insurance, without
purchasing licenses, without signing up for worker's compensation, without
utilizing banking facilities, but they're limited and the field is
narrowing.
I have been present - and a participant - in a few discussions about
the particular point of using banks. To bank or not to bank... what an
interesting question! In fact, there has been some pretty intense
difference of opinion - but no animosity - right within our own little
group. One fellow says, "If we teach about coming out of the systems, and
still use bank accounts, we're hypocrites." And another gentleman says,
"I'm just paying for a service. The bank takes care of my money for me." I
love and respect both these men, so I need to know what has God said about
this? Right now? For me specifically?
And the ramifications abound. Can we own property? Can we use cash?
What about insurance? Savings? Can we borrow money? Can we buy and sell?
 50
Sell for profit? Lend money at interest? How high can the interest go
before it becomes usury? Each different question brings up yet more
questions.
As you can see with just this little list of some of the things I've
seen different families do to "come out of the system of commerce", that
there is no little list. No clear path to make it simple.
We have the American mind-set that one of our goals should be the
increase of riches. Money, things, property, possessions, savings, bigger
houses, better cars, nicer clothes, a pool, etc. It's the reward for hard
work and the symbol of success.
But being rich may be a mixed blessing. If we look at every passage in
the Bible where God speaks to the rich, we find it is with warning or with
rebuke. When He speaks to the poor, it is with comfort or with promise. He
really loves the poor in a special way, and the rich seem to disturb Him.
Maybe being poor is better.
And of course even "poverty-stricken" Americans are usually rich
compared to other places in the world. We are so far from, "And having food
and raiment let us be therewith content..." (1 Timothy 6:8).
I saw a ratty old car recently, driving ahead of me on a busy street
amidst lots of better-looking vehicles. This car had a bumper sticker which
I loved; it sort of illustrated and made real a Scripture we all know. It
said, "I am laying up treasure in Heaven. My car is proof of it."
Of all the systems I think this one requires the most attentive
listening, and the clearest mandate from God. Because He is not saying the
same thing to every body.
It's true of all the systems, it's true of everything in our faith: we
need to hear from God, for ourselves, and we need to obey what He says and
not what some ministerial expert - or indeed any expert - says. We may be
sheep, but we're God's sheep, not the sheep of some other person.
If there is any one primary concept which will prepare us for the end
times, and through the era of transition from the Church Age to the Kingdom
Age, it is this one statement: we need to be able to hear from God for
ourselves.
We cannot trust others to hear for us. No matter how godly, how wise,
how gifted, how obedient, or how highly placed in the ecclesiastical
hierarchy another person might be, he may not hear what we need to hear.
Unless he is our father or our husband, we cannot safely assume that he is
a secure, God-certified channel for us.
 51

CHARACTERISTICS THE WORLD SYSTEMS

HAVE IN COMMON
THEIR COMMON GOALS
We can see similarities shared by all the systems; they have common
goals, activities and messages. Understanding these repeating elements
will help us recognize the nature of the cosmos.
GOAL # 1. SATAN WANTS US TO BELIEVE THAT GOD IS UNNECESSARY
SATAN WANTS US TO BELIEVE THAT MAN IS NECESSARY
It is the desire of every Christian to see the Lord move in power. We
want to see Him do mighty works and manifest His glory. But the systems say
He can't. They say He can't because He is unable - all that Bible stuff is
a falsehood, at best a folk tale - and He can't because they won't let Him.
The primary goal of every system is to render God superfluous. Satan
would like us to consider Him, to consider God, useless, excess baggage.
God knows that we need Him; He knows our problems and our weaknesses, and
He knows our enemy's intentions. He has filled this universe with hints,
symbols and parables to tell us of His love and power, to draw us to Him.
But the systems want to draw us unto them. They tend to discount God's
power, distrust His love, scorn His commandments and ignore His point of
view. They despise the concept that we humans need God.
As a matter of fact, the systems attempt to make man necessary. They
tell us: "You need human effort to be healed, taught, supported, protected,
or anything else."
Their answer to human need is human endeavor.
God's answer to human need is His power.
It's a fascinating thing to study how often Jesus moved in power for
someone who, in one way or another, said "I have no man."
Before I go any farther with this, I need to explain that I'm not
talking about our relationship with others in the body of Christ. Paul said
over and over, and I agree totally, that we are corporate. The Bible is
unequivocal about our need of, our responsibility for, our duty to, and our
union with, other believers. We are one body, and we need each other. Some
examples:
"For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the
middle wall of partition [between us]... that he might reconcile both unto
God in one body by the cross...to make in himself... one new man..."
(Ephesians 2:14,15).
"For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say,
Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the
body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the
body; is it therefore not of the body?... But now [are they] many members,
yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of
thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you... there should
be no schism in the body; but [that] the members should have the same care
one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with
it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it." (1
Corinthians 12, various).
 52

"We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak,
and not to please ourselves." (Romans 15:1).
"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual,
restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest
thou also be tempted." (Galatians 6:1).
"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ."
(Galatians 6:2).
These and many other Scriptures show that we are one body and we need
each other. But that's the church, God's people. Not the world systems. We
don't need unsaved people - even saved people - to do what God has promised
to do Himself. We don't need man to make us righteous, or to protect us, or
to provide for us, or to heal us.
What exactly does that signify?
Let's consider the genealogy of Jesus from Luke 3 which links the Lord
to His heavenly origins. (For the moment, we'll disregard the ancestry
recorded in Matthew which traces His human blood line.) Luke repeats over
and over the phrase "which was the son of... which was the son of... which
was the son of...". Man after man after man, perpetuating the family line.
The last few generations are: "... [w]hich was [the son] of Enos,
which was [the son] of Seth, which was [the son] of Adam, which was [the
son] of God." (Luke 3:38).
The point here is: God didn't need a man to beget Adam. Without a man,
He created a man. All by Himself, without human assistance. With Adam, as
with Jesus, the Father used a natural element as raw material: the dust of
the ground for Adam and a little virgin girl for Jesus. But the creative
force, the power that accomplished His will, was the word of God. (Hebrews
11:3). HE HIMSELF did it. He had no help from human beings in His creative
function.
He still needs no help. He uses faith, obedience, prayer, submission -
that kind of thing. But He uses nothing of the flesh. The word of God
brings forth the promise of God. Man's carnal efforts just get in the way.
We make the decision. We can always flow in either blood line: via the
natural back to the human being Abraham (Matthew 1), or via the Spirit back
to God (Luke 3). One produced Adam; the other produces Christ.
Adam was created - made, formed.
Jesus was begotten - conceived, fathered.
There are the two realms, two natures, two ways God can deal. He can
aid, abet, shore up and assist the natural work; or He can move
sovereignly, by divine power, to work through His Spirit. If we want this
second alternative, if we want a marvelous, sacred, holy, spiritual work,
then there can be no man in the way.
Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom (I Corinthians 15:50); and
flesh and blood cannot usher in the kingdom. Kingdom life must circumvent
flesh and blood.
This is paramount in forming and defining our relationship to God.
Where is our foundation, flesh and blood or the Spirit? Do I want divine
healing, or do I ask God to bless the doctor's hands? Do I pray that for my
loan application to go through the bank, or do I ask God to just give me a
car? Do I join a dating service, or ask God to bring the mate He has chosen
 53
for me? How free is God to move for me in the spirit?
On the other hand, how much man-made, fleshly stuff do I have, a
safety net in case God fails me? How do I respond to the questions of
insurance, security services, vaccinations and the like? How much of my
life is based on the premise that God may not be faithful to His word?
How much do I depend on man and what man can do? The systems say we
can do nothing without man. God of course says, "I am the vine, ye [are]
the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth
much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." (John 15:5). [Emphasis
mine].
So in contrast to the Scriptures which indicate we have needs and
responsibilities for others in the body of Christ, we do not need man's
efforts to help God flow through the world systems. If we force Him to work
through worldly means, asking Him to bless the fleshly work of the system
rather than allowing Him to work in the spirit, we limit His power.
I said earlier, It's a fascinating thing to study how often Jesus
moved in power for someone who, in one way or another, said "I have no
man." Here are some references to that idea:
"Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a
man?" (Luke 1:34).
Simple, said Gabriel. This impregnating business is always God! Mary
found to her amazement that a man was unnecessary even for begetting a
baby! (Or should I say "Baby"?) Because in reality the essential for
starting a baby is not man, but God!
"When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said
unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned
thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I
condemn thee: go, and sin no more." (John 8:10,11).
Can we infer from this that Jesus was somehow released to forgive
because the human element had stopped its attack? He forgave many others in
Scripture, culminating in His forgiveness of the ones who crucified Him;
but this woman was different. She was accused by man; the other objects of
Jesus forgiveness were not.
The absence of man loosed God.
"When Jesus saw him lie... he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is
troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth
down before me." (John 5:6,7).
I am sure this is a prototype for divine healing. God only and God
utterly. No man to hinder and filter the heavenly virtue with works of the
flesh and man's devices.
"But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and
called [me] by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him
among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood..."
(Galatians 1:16).
Paul began his training under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit; no
human reasoning, no human input. It's still the best way.
Bible schools and the ministry of the teacher notwithstanding, as we
achieve maturity, we can learn best directly from God; we don't need to be
 54
taught by man. Here are three more Scriptures which make this point.
"But 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." (1 John 2:27).
"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into
all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear,
[that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come." (John 16:13).
"... For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that
one teach you again which [be] the first principles of the oracles of God;
and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every
one that useth milk [is] unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is
a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, [even]
those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good
and evil." (Hebrews 5:12-14).
"At my first answer no man stood with me, but all [men] forsook me: [I
pray God] that it may not be laid to their charge." (2 Timothy 4:16).
Paul is telling Timothy of his approaching death. Writing from a
prison (one which would rouse the ire of the A.C.L.U.), the older man is
giving some words of exhortation and advice. He recalls some past history;
he recounts some past trials; he pronounces a blistering accusation against
Alexander; and he admits that at one point, he stood alone.
"No man stood with me...". Then the forgiveness, the prayer that God
will not lay the betrayal to the charge of those who betrayed, and then the
glorious recompence. "Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and
strengthened me... and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion." (2
Timothy 4:17).
Jesus could comfort Paul in his state of total abandonment: He'd been
there, done that. Over and over. Standing alone, without a man, was very
familiar to Jesus.
In anticipation of the cross: "I looked on [my] right hand, and
beheld, but [there was] no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man
cared for my soul." (Psalms 142:4).
In recognition of man's desperately wicked heart: "But Jesus did not
commit himself unto them, because he knew all [men], And needed not that
any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man." (John 2:24,25).
In His search for a faithful man: "As it is written, There is none
righteous, no, not one..." (Romans 3:10).
In His knowledge of our nature: "And he said unto him, Why callest
thou me good? [there is] none good but one, [that is], God..." (Matthew
19:17).
Jesus understood Paul's pain; He understands ours. When men revile us
and persecute us and say all manner of evil against us falsely, for His
sake, He comforts us with: "I will not leave you comfortless..." (John
14:18) and ".. I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." (Hebrews 13:5).
And because Jesus was estranged from the Father, we need never be.
Here a a couple of things flesh and blood cannot do:
TEACH:"But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's
womb, and called [me] by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might
preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and
blood..." (Galatians 1:16).
GIVE REVELATION: "And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art
thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee,
 55
but my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 16:17).
INHERIT THE KINGDOM: "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood
cannot inherit the kingdom of God..." (1 Corinthians 15:50).
The point of all this is simply: we do not need man. I Corinthians
15:50 tells us that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven;
and I'd like to add that neither can it accomplish very much in the realm
of the natural. God not only does not require a man to work His will; He is
frequently hindered by the fleshly efforts of mankind.
The systems lie about this, as they do about almost everything.
I will close this subject with one of my favorite Scriptures, which
sums up this business of "where is your confidence resting?":
"Thus saith the LORD; Cursed [be] the man that trusteth in man, and
maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. For he shall
be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but
shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, [in] a salt land and
not inhabited. Blessed [is] the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose
hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and
[that] spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat
cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year
of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." (Jeremiah 17:5-8).

GOAL #2 SATAN MANIFESTS HIS NATURE

The systems also provide a means for Satan to accomplish his schemes
and to manifest one of his characteristics. Satan is described as a liar, a
deceiver, a devourer, a slanderer, a rebel who comes to kill, rob and
destroy. He is increasingly able to demonstrate these roles through the
various world systems.
SATAN MANIFESTS HIS NATURE IN GOVERNMENT:
This system deals with our life within the community; how we relate to
each other in society. God's plan is to provide peace, security and freedom
under law. His aim is a system of justice and morality.
The counterfeit system is used by Satan to produce tyranny and
inequity from those in power, and lawlessness and rebellion in those who
are governed. Any government which does not operate by God's principles
will evidence oppression, violence, and de facto slavery.
Both tyranny and lawlessness are characteristics of Satan. His nature,
and the nature of all his children, is to oppress those under his dominion,
and to reject any authority over him.
Rebellion (rejecting lawful authority) and witchcraft (using unlawful
authority). Two sides of the same coin, both forbidden. "... Samuel said,
Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat
of rams. FOR REBELLION [is as] THE SIN OF WITCHCRAFT, and stubbornness [is
as] iniquity and idolatry." (I Samuel 15:22,23) [Emphasis mine].
That's the nature of Satan.
SATAN MANIFESTS HIS NATURE IN RELIGION:
This system deals with our spiritual life. God desires that we live
under the grace of Jesus Christ, operating through faith which works by
love.
Those who live outside God's provision will return again and again to
the law, to self-effort, which will result in either self-righteousness or
 56
in condemnation.
This reflects Satan's character; he will always drag us back to the
law, which yields sin and death. Even worse, he seduces the unwary into
seeking supernatural power apart from God, with the intention of receiving
worship for himself.
I want to make it clear that I see a distinct and meaningful
difference between what I call "the law" and what is more properly
described as "obedience". These two words, and the reality they represent,
are NOT synonymous.
Being under the law, and being obedient to the will of God are not the
same thing. One is flesh and one is Spirit. One is death and one is life.
The whole Bible alludes to this distinction; here are just a couple of
Scriptures.
The law:
"For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came,
sin revived, and I died." (Romans 7:9).
"For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for
it is written, Cursed [is] every one that continueth not in all things
which are written in the book of the law to do them." (Galatians 3:10).
Obedience:
"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"
(Luke 6:46).
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in
heaven." (Matthew 7:21).
SATAN MANIFESTS HIS NATURE IN EDUCATION:
This system concerns our minds, what we believe and how we view
reality. God wants to re-new our minds by His Word, while worldly education
produces a closed mind, ignorance and deception. It manifests the
characteristic of Satan of deceiver. He is the father of lies, and the
world system of education allows him a channel to spread his falsehoods.
SATAN MANIFESTS HIS NATURE IN SCIENCE:
This system tries to establish a cosmology, a world view, which
ignores God as Creator and replaces Him with "Time and Chance and Matter" -
the lie of evolution. (They tout the Big Bang, but shudder at the
possibility of a "Big Banger".) Through science, Satan is given a means to
reduce us to the level of animals, to deny our spiritual dimension and our
heavenly future.
Satan's hatred of us is based - to some extent at least - in the fact
that we really have what he most desperately longs for. He is obsessed with
jealousy over the position we have with God. We read here what his goal
was, the desire of his heart:
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how]
art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou
hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne
above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation,
in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I
will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the
sides of the pit." (Isaiah 14:12-15).
He wanted (still does I suppose) to have a position in the spirit
realm; he wanted to be higher than any of the other angels; he wanted to
sit in the throne room of God and to dwell in God's dwelling place; he
 57
wanted to be above us certainly; he wanted to be in the image of God.
But Satan is a created being, a fallen angel, doomed, and damned to
the Lake of Fire when God has finished using him for our perfection. He is
not "like the most High". And we are!!! Created in God's image, created as
sons, not mere creatures!
Genesis 1:26,27 was the worst news Satan ever had. "And God said, Let
us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion
over... all the earth... So God created man in his [own] image, in the
image of God created he him; male and female created he them." (Genesis
1:27).
Satan has hated us, and focused on us as his greatest enemy, his
number one target, ever since. We have been freely given all those things
Satan wanted. Adam and Eve lost them through disobedience, but God loved
and wanted us so much that He redeemed us from their loss. And now we're
even higher in the scheme of things than we were before the Fall! God
really wants us, and it is just killing Satan.
He wanted it so bad! And he tried to hard with his repeated statements
of "I will". HE was going to do all this by his own power; climb up into
the throne room in heaven through self-effort. This enterprise failed of
course. It failed for Satan and it will fail for us.
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
And I said all that to say this: Satan will do anything he can to
bring us down from our glorious destiny. And if that means mixing us up
with animals, he'll try that. Because he knows that only human beings are
heirs of Salvation, only sons of Adam are eligible for redemption; and he
remembers the short-lived success of Genesis 6. Mixture with angelic
beings, co-habitation to produce a race of giants who were ineligible for
Salvation, caused a temporary delay in the divine plan. But God brought a
flood and wiped out all that mixture, and started over again with the sons
of Noah. Too bad, Satan.
Now today a policy is in place (endorsed by science and implemented by
its medical arm) which calls it a good thing to mix the blood and organs of
different human beings; and research increasingly for methods to introduce
animal tissue into humans.
What is Satan trying to do here?
Of course, Satan uses science to manifest his nature as deceiver. He
proclaims a totally false cosmology, and the world believes it with zealous
faith.
SATAN MANIFESTS HIS NATURE IN THE ARTS:
Here we're dealing with how we use our discretionary time. God wants
us blessed and restored by that which is wholesome and edifying; the enemy
pulls us downward through escapism into wicked imaginations.
On the other hand, we may take the active role: we may be the artist,
the performer, the author, the musician, rather than the viewer, the
reader, the listener. We must consider how we express ourselves creatively.
We must guard against Satan using our creativity to defile and brutalize
others. He is the enemy of all that is clean and uplifting, and he uses
this system to spread his profane and degrading ideas.
SATAN MANIFESTS HIS NATURE IN MEDICINE:
This system deals with our bodies, which the Bible calls temples of
the Holy Spirit, and tabernacles "not made by hands" which God inhabits
 58
today. Satan increasingly uses the medical system and its houses of worship
- hospitals - to disseminate disease and death.
Satan supports the unbelief, the sorcery, the bloodshed, the pain and
greed which this system offers him. How he enjoys the nudity, fear and
abuse which masquerade as "care" within the medical system. How he delights
in abortion! And even more, how he delights in the millions of God's
children who surrender their bodies to the sins and brutalities of this
system.
And so few are aware of the defilements and damages which result from
surrendering to that counterfeit system, and calling it "good". (Actually,
some Christians even go so far as to call it their "God". Certainly most
Christians call this system their healer.)
Satan is aware of how seriously this hinders God's ability to work on
our behalf. We limit the Lord's healing power by lack of faith, by
surrendered authority, by double-mindedness, by leaning on the arm of
flesh, and by sheer disobedience when we accept forbidden practices as
virtuous, simply because they're done or endorsed by doctors.
Our God is the giver of life, and this system allows Satan to manifest
his faculty as Killer. This shocks you? Who do you think kills all those
babies?
SATAN MANIFESTS HIS NATURE IN COMMERCE:
This system regulates our lives in the marketplace, the way we relate
to provision. God wants us to work well at some purposeful occupation,
earning our bread. Satan's system often produces greed and love of money,
or poverty. He comes as Thief and Devourer, and as the Harsh Taskmaster.

GOAL #3. THEY OPPOSE OUR "GENDER ADJUSTMENT"

All the systems force us into assuming the female role, that of the
recipient. They coerce us into receiving their point of view, their
ministry, their dominion, their "seed", so to speak. If we try to relate to
them in the masculine role, if we try to plant our seed in them, or even
try to retain the authority and control over our own lives, there is
conflict.
To explain this further: male or female is a division based on
function. Begetter or Bearer? Giving seed or receiving and nurturing seed?
An example or two: to be healed is a feminine function: it is receiving
healing. But to heal is a masculine function: it is imparting healing. To
preach a sermon is masculine; to listen to a sermon is feminine. To produce
a movie is the male's role; to watch a movie is the female's role. If we go
into a bar to witness to the lost, we're functioning in the male role, but
if we go into that same bar in order to buy a drink, we're operating as
females - we are receiving. It's a question of who does the planting; who
deposits seed and who receives seed. Who begets, who bears.
We must always be male toward the world systems. We must not open
ourselves up to them as willing females, or we will receive of their evil.
We're the ones with the answers, with the power of God within us. Why
should we go to a hospital to be healed when we're the ones with the gift
of healing, the ones in covenant with the God who is Healer? Why should we
go to the world to be counseled when we have the wisdom of Jesus? Why
accept their "truth" and their information, when we have the Word of God?
Why seek their opinions when we have the mind of Christ? Why borrow money
when we have the promise of total provision from our Father? But the
systems will only accept us as the female to their male: they don't receive
 59
FROM us.
Of course we should always be female toward God. The relationship
between Jesus and the church is that of bride and Bridegroom, and that
involves gender. We must always be willing to be His rib - His inner
chamber or womb - and receive from Him without spiritual birth control or
spiritual abortion.
Never: "Sorry, honey, not tonight. I have a headache."
Today the natural realm reflects our race's rebellion against God
Himself and against His ordained roles for the sexes. We have the phenomena
of "unisex" in clothing, jewelry, hair styles, etc.
Have you noticed how many people there are now, you see them in stores
and airports and malls, and you can't tell if they're male or female? Long
hair is no clue, nor is the wearing of earrings. Some woman are as muscular
today as men, and of course everyone dresses in jeans and tee shirts and
running shoes. What are they? And if you can't tell which sex they are,
does it matter?
There is gender confusion in many, sometimes leading to transsexual
surgery and total rejection of God's design. The world has rejected "In the
beginning God created..." for a long time; and now it's rejecting the "Adam
and Eve, male and female" part, by adding some perverted third option. But
this constantly demanded choice of homosexuality is not only sinful, it is
personally disastrous. And it is totally barren.
In all the talk about gay (remember when that word meant "happy,
carefree, joyful"?) rights, I never hear it mentioned that their lives are
completely sterile. There is no way they can reproduce "after their kind";
for that reason they need to recruit their next generation.
(Science and Medicine have conspired to make these barren couples
capable of reproduction via artificial insemination, and the courts have
increasingly allowed unisex couples to adopt children. But the fact of
their sterility still exists even if the consequences are avoided.)
Our society embraces rampant homosexuality, not only in its flagrant
and sexual expression and but also in its more elusive manifestations of
humanism, peer pressure and tribalism - all these are exalt like-with-like,
refusing to accept the very different reciprocal. There is the similar
message from all these phenomena: I worship, serve and need only that which
is similar, the same, identical with me.
This is the notice the systems send to God.
GOAL # 4. THEY INVADE US
Another objective the systems share is: they want to infect us, to
invade, defile and damage us. They cross our boundaries. Sometimes it's
with a gentle knock, and we may refuse to open the door to the intruder.
Other times it's a forced entry, a violation, a rape.
We have God-given borders around the perimeters of our person; around
our physical being, our property, our minds, the areas of our authority,
accountability and stewardship, and around our souls. All the systems
endeavor to breach these barriers. It is a major objective.
The medical system invades the integrity of our bodies by means of
hands, needles, knives, speculums, endoscopes - and even more subtly by
Xrays, sonograms, MRIs and the like. The educational system infiltrates and
defiles minds not "girded up" by knowledge of the Word of God. The mind,
and the spirit itself, are besieged by the music and images of the
entertainment world.
We are given stewardship over the domain of the family, yet many of
 60
the systems assail our authority and try to wrest from us the control of
our children. Our children are more and more the property of the state. Our
decisions, methods of child training and life style may cause the systems
to so despise and fear us that they override God's chosen design, and
legally kidnap our children.
The system of religion attempts to violate the sanctity of our union
with Christ, forcing itself into this most precious intimacy by claiming to
be an essential third element. Religion says, "There are two mediators
between God and man, the man Christ Jesus and the church hierarchy." Of
course God says, "For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus..." (1 Timothy 2:5).
Even government (which was ordained by God and bolstered by His
commands that we pray for it and submit to it wherever we can) is guilty of
exceeding its God-given parameters and intruding into the individual's
province.
The world will encroach the kingdom wherever it can, trespassing our
hedges of separation and protection; we are commanded to keep ourselves
unspotted from the world. (James 1:27).
If we are supposed to "come out", surely we should make every effort
to keep them from "coming in".
 61

CHARACTERISTICS THE WORLD SYSTEMS

HAVE IN COMMON
THEIR COMMON MESSAGES
MESSAGE # 1. "YOU NEED A MAN"
This first message aligns with the systems' first goal. They want to
make God unnecessary, and they want to make man necessary. They keep
telling us this, over and over. And how they despise those who don't agree!
All the systems, in one way or another, give out the message that we
need a man: either he is a substitute for God, or he stands as liaison
between us and God. They want to control our lives through human agencies.
It is their unspoken goal to impose on us their ideas, their value system,
their decisions, and their assumption that they are wiser than we are.
All the systems have some person who can act as a counterfeit need-
meeter, or one who will become intermediary, standing between us and our
Need-Meeter. This person presumes to act on God's behalf toward us. (Often
he even acts on our behalf toward God.) They assume the role God Himself
has promised to fill: they say, "I am Counselor, I am Healer, I am
Provider, I am Shepherd".
They steal our authority, usurp our stewardship, seize our control and
pollute the channel of God's power and anointing. God may choose to use a
human channel, but the systems insist that He use one. The fact that most
of these individuals don't know the Lord only increases the danger of
trusting in man instead of God.
The world says we all need an attorney, an accountant, at least one
physician, a banker, a broker who is also an estate planner, an insurance
agent, a family counselor, consultants, business advisors, tax specialists,
maybe a physical trainer, a nutritional expert... all manner of advisors
and mentors to keep us on the straight and narrow.
Jesus says we need Him.
This is the change, the force, the concept, the situation, the subtle
but real danger, which I try to summarize in the statement, "They say we
need a man."
MESSAGE # 2. "LET ME TELL YOU WHAT GOD IS LIKE..."
The systems present a false image of God. This message is destructive
because it will lead to idolatry. The first step toward worshipping a false
god is to hold a distorted perception of the true God. The systems either
deny His existence or they portray Him incorrectly.
Our perfect God is represented as non-existent, a myth, merely one god
among many gods, distant, cold, out-dated, weak, indifferent, deceitful,
fraudulent, dangerous, angry, or as needing human help. We are patronized
and held up to ridicule if we proclaim our dependance on Him.
It is the goal of the spirits behind these systems to have us come to
them, hat in hand, begging their help because our God has failed. They want
us to say, "Oh, please heal me (provide for me, instruct me, protect me,
etc.) for I dare not trust my God."
Their absolutely astonishing position is that they are wiser,
stronger, more compassionate and capable than GOD. And it's utterly heart-
breaking that many, many Christians agree with them. An example: not one
Christian out of ten thousand thinks God is able to deliver a baby without
professional help. Maybe He can create the baby, but to get it out, He
needs a Hireling.
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PITIFUL!
MESSAGE # 3. "ALL THAT MATTERS IS HERE AND NOW"
The systems put forth a message that the natural realm is of paramount
importance and should dominate. They point to the natural goals - healing,
prosperity, peace of mind, the prolonging of life - and they endorse any
route to achieving these goals. The systems use many forbidden means to
reach the ends to which they aspire, and they ignore God's deeper,
spiritual goals.
MESSAGE # 4. "HATH GOD REALLY SAID..."
The systems distort God's word. Satan did the same thing in the Garden
of Eden with Eve, misquoting God's commandment, and it led to the fall.
(Genesis 3) Satan's witnesses distorted Jesus' words during His trial, and
it gave Jesus' enemies reasons (or an excuse) to crucify Him. The systems
do the same thing; they replace truth by telling clever lies which sound
right but are totally wrong.
Here are some examples:
GOD SAYS: there shall be a new heaven and a earth for the old will
pass away. (Revelation 21:1). This earth "shall wax old as doth a garment"
(Hebrews 1:10-12) and after that a judgment of fire will come. "But the day
of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens
shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned
up." (2 Peter 3:10). Nothing we can do will save this planet; God has
spoken.
THE SYSTEM SAYS: we can save the earth by environmental
responsibility, and we can establish a heaven on earth by human effort and
cooperation. There are billboards which show a shot-from-space photograph
of the earth, with the caption: "The only home we'll ever have. Take care
of it."
What a lie!
GOD SAYS: the incarnation of Jesus brought a sword, that He came to
bring division, not peace among men. (Matthew 10:34) The Biblical peace is
always either peace with God, or peace with self and others within God; the
world will never have peace when it denies the Prince of Peace.
THE SYSTEM SAYS: we can achieve global harmony by means enlightenment,
tolerance, negotiations and treaties, with U.N. peace keeping troops to
insure it.
GOD SAYS: our purpose is union with Him, and our goal should be death
to self so that He can increase.
THE SYSTEM SAYS: our goal should be self-actualization, that we should
seek and nurture our highest potential.
GOD SAYS: by His power, we can have victory over our enemies and peace
with God and with ourselves.
THE SYSTEM SAYS: through counselling and self-discovery, we can "come
to terms with", "deal with", "cope with" our enemies, and find inner peace
through drugs, meditation, support groups, psychology, etc.
GOD SAYS: our goal and our motivating force should always be the will
of God.
THE SYSTEM SAYS: meeting human needs is the most important factor in
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life.

GOD SAYS: we are to discipline our children by using a rod; moreover,

He says this is a sign and proof that we love them. A son who is not
disciplined is hated and is a bastard, according to the Bible. (Hebrews
12).
THE SYSTEM SAYS: punishment is wrong, especially physical punishment.
They say this is abuse and a danger to the children. (But just look at the
outcome of their position. The worldly teenager has a scorn and contempt
for his parents that is fearful to behold.) The world's fruit is especially
rotten in this area; they have produced children who are increasingly evil,
who are miserable to the point of being suicidal, and who hate their
parents and everyone else.
I wonder if Abraham spanked Ishmael?
GOD SAYS: we should love others to the point of laying down our lives
for them.
THE SYSTEM SAYS: we must accept them as they are, tolerate them
without judging, and not try to impose our values on them.
GOD SAYS: we must come out of the world.
THE SYSTEM SAYS: we must come together without discord, into unity
with the world. Our duty is to "Give back to the community", whatever that
means. I guess it's the world's counterfeit of giving praise and glory to
God.
GOD SAYS: the role of the Church is fellowship with Him and
evangelization of the world.
THE SYSTEM SAYS: the duty of the Church is to provide self-help
programs and fulfillment for Christians and to establish a Christian
society in the world.
GOD SAYS: He helps those who admit their need for Him.
THE SYSTEM SAYS: God helps those who help themselves.
GOD SAYS: our eternal destiny is the most significant consideration in
our lives and should be our primary focus.
THE SYSTEM SAYS: our comfort, our achievement, and the preservation of
our rights should be our dominant interest.
MESSAGE # 5. "I NEED NOTHING FROM YOUR GOD; I ALREADY HAVE IT"
It's apparently very difficult, if not impossible, to receive
from God within any of the systems. Just going to the system in the first
place, just being under the dominion of the system with its unbelief and
its different god, puts us in the position of the fellow in James:
"... he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind
and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of
the Lord. A double minded man [is] unstable in all his ways." (James 1:6-
8) He may receive something, but GOD is not its source.
When we go into the systems to obtain something which God has promised
- truth, righteousness, prosperity, health, protection - we will eventually
get the opposite, or the reciprocal, of what we seek. The manifestation of
this is often subtle, but it's true.
Here are some examples of what I'm talking about.
 64
The most thoroughly educated among us are the most closed-minded, the
most unteachable, the hardest to reach with the gospel.
Those who are most knowledgeable in the scientific realm are the most
deceived, the ones most committed to the lies that system promulgates.
The world's prophets - their New Age psychics - know the least about
the real future, because even those who serve as priests and oracles in
these systems - the experts, the professionals, the specialists - continue
believing lies. They live lives full of unmet needs.
Doctors need true healing.
Attorneys need an advocate.
The most idolized, successful and prestigious men and women in the
arts till seem to need drugs and alcohol to escape the turmoil and
depression of their lives.
Psychiatrists need to be counseled.
Governmental leaders need to be regulated and controlled.
College professors need to be taught truth.
Church leaders need the Righteousness which exceeds that of the
Scribes and Pharisees.
They all need Jesus, yet they claim the ability - even the right - to
meet our needs. And they get mad when we don't agree with them!
MESSAGE # 6. "THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO BELIEVE..."
They want us to believe what they believe. They preach their gospel to
us through every single system. The Word according to Man.
All the systems have the same answers to human problems: education,
enlightenment, counseling, cooperation, governmental control, regulations,
cooperation - and these activities are all means of aligning the
individual's beliefs to those of the world system. It's not even subtle any
more.
All the systems are in agreement with what are acceptable beliefs -
increasingly codified by what is now termed "political correctness" - and
every system preaches these dogmas, creeds and doctrines constantly. School
curricula, magazine articles, self-help literature, the almost inescapable
presence of counseling, television sets in doctors' waiting rooms which
play constantly to a captive audience: by way of every faculty of the media
and of education... we are evangelized by the Gospel of Man.
They have a message and they have an agenda. They preach their word
with great fervor. The arts, literature, movies, school curricula, books,
worldly education and worldly counseling - and this includes much of what
is labeled "Christian" - all these fields and others have the goal of
indoctrinating us to the world's point of view.
For example, there are guidelines for television dramas, listing the
messages, ideas and points of view which may and may not be incorporated
into a story. That means that even the fiction we see dramatized is
controlled in its content. One of these guidelines, one instructing
television authors who are writing about homosexual characters, states,
"Bring about enlightenment which will lead to tolerance". Nothing is
produced which violates their codes. The world systems are united in this;
actually, they seem to have more unity than we do.
All systems are becoming more absorbed in and polluted by the New Age
movement. That means there is increasingly a manifestation of evil
supernatural control. The enemy is coming in like a flood; as I said at the
beginning, the world is increasingly manifesting its ungodly nature.
The systems are networking together, helping and supporting each other
 65
more and more, with the goal of controlling us and conforming us to their
image. In many ways, the systems hold hands and strengthen each other.
Satan's kingdom is not divided.
It all comes down to the question, "Who is in control?" Who really
has the authority to make decisions about our lives? Who is really Lord?
The religious system endeavors to control our spirits, the education
system (and its colleague, science) seek to control our minds, and the
medical system believes it has the right to exercise authority over our
bodies. The media and the arts expound their gospel. The schools teach it.
And increasingly the government legislates it, supports it, taxes us to pay
for it, thus empowering their control of us.
The entertainment industry scorns us and our beliefs; the media
denigrates our point of view. We are the only ones deemed to be undeserving
of tolerance, and always to be fair game for ridicule. The world does not
like us or approve of us.
But they don't want to let us go, and they are increasingly mandating
our participation in their wickedness. We can never make them clean or
godly; we can only come out from among them, and touch not the unclean
thing.
Then we pass through the veil and enter the Kingdom prepared for us
from the foundation of the world.
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LET'S CROSS OVER!

THE RENT IN THE VEIL
Since we started looking for the parallels, the two realms, the
divider between them, we saw it everywhere! We recognized this
one-realm-or-the-other, one-thing-or-the-other all the time.
The church is a Bride, the counterfeit is a harlot. Jesus is our
Bridegroom, while the enemy is a rapist. (What a "meaningful relationship"
they have: the harlot and the rapist!) Our Lord is a loving Shepherd; the
enemy is a hunter like Nimrod in Genesis 10. His goal is to kill and devour
the sheep.
Our enemy uses both the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air.
I think this is a division between demons and fallen angels. But it also
may mean that one deals with attacks on natural things - cars, roofs, water
heaters, washing machines and such - while the other brings on spiritual
attacks - depression, jealousy, fear, anxiety, addictions, etc. Two kinds
of evil agents to attack in two different realms.
Jesus rode a donkey at His first coming; next will be the white horse!
He was a helpless Baby, sent to suffer and die, but He will return as King
to reign and to judge! What a contrast!
I can't wait!
Even that first day, Katharine and I saw the two realms, we saw the
veil. So then next we looked for the way through the veil. The opening; the
rent, as it were. How to go from one realm to the other. Not surprisingly,
the words used for the opening were door, gate, window, gap. Just what
you'd expect. And without doubt, Jesus Christ is the Door. No matter what
it's called, He is the way through the veil. He is the Way, the Door, the
goal for which we strive; and He is also the method of attaining that goal.
I won't list any of the many, many Scriptures that refer to the
different openings through the divider, because it would take too long. And
of course we aren't looking for a literal door. What we want is a little
different.
In the midst of our search for the opening in the veil, the Lord led
us to the verses in Matthew 16:18,19. "And I say also unto thee, That thou
art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the
kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound
in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven."
Jesus told Peter, "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom..."
He said, "You're now the Rock, and the revelation knowledge you have is not
a product of flesh and blood, but a gift from the Father. So you get it
all, dominion over the gates of hell, the power to bind and loose, and
keys." All given by Jesus to His church.
THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
Have you ever read THE CAT IN THE HAT? (It's okay; we'll assume you
were reading to a child or grandchild, since it's a kids' book.). If you
haven't read it, let me summarize.
It's the story of two home-alone, bored children who are visited by a
rare, elegant Cat one rainy afternoon. He entertains them magnificently but
wrecks the house in the process. Then the Fish, who is the Voice of
Morality in this little story, spies the mother approaching and shouts a
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warning. Hey! Quit playing and get serious here; it's time to get things in
order. Because accountability, maybe even judgement, is drawing near.
But the job seems overwhelming. This charming Cat has generated chaos
everywhere, and there is just too much wrong, too much that needs
attention. It's hopeless!
This is the situation, in the delightful words of Dr. Seuss:
"But this mess is so big and so wide and so tall,
"That there's no way to clean it. No way at all!"
Most people - almost all of us - have played around, enjoying life and
fun, and the result has been chaos. And now the Fish is hollering at us:
Get serious! Get things cleaned up!
But how do we bring order? Where do we start?
He's coming back; Jesus is coming SOON! And most of us realize that
we're not ready. The Cat's mess is everywhere, and time's running out. What
do we DO?
We move from the chaos and death of the world into the glory and power
and safety of kingdom of God, by passing through the veil between them.
That's the purpose of the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Keys of course are
the scriptural symbol of authority, so having the keys means we also have
the prerogative, the power, the wherewithal, the right, to pass through the
barrier between the two realms. We can enter the domain of God, bringing
our praise, worship, needs and petitions into the very throne room of our
Heavenly Father.
And we can move the other way. We can likewise bring Christ's power
and victory from the realm of the spirit, where He reigns in total
dominion, through the veil into the world; and to superimpose the reign of
righteousness on natural circumstances.
We have the keys to pass over or through the barrier. Knowledgeable
use of these keys will enable us to expand the area of the kingdom, at
least in our own lives.
So we see that Jesus has made a way through the veil into the Kingdom
for every single aspect of our lives. He is able to save to the uttermost!
The Atonement provides a way out of all our afflictions; Jesus gave us a
key - an antidote - for every single human problem.
There are three things we need to realize about this totally adequate
and totally available provision. They are:
His solutions are specific.
His solutions are not automatic.
His solutions are perfect.
First, His provisions are specific because we seldom have just one
problem. We almost never have one lone demon, one simple sin, one single
judgement. No, we usually have a mess, with all of these factors - and more
- operating. When we repent, the sin is gone, but we may still have the
defilement, the curse, the deception. Each particular problem has a
particular solution. For example, we can't cast out a deception, or reverse
a demon, or repent of a curse. But many Christians never go beyond
repentance, forgiveness and possibly a rare bit of deliverance.
So we need the combination of ingredients to handle a collection of
difficulties.
Secondly, God's provision is not automatic because one of the many
things which God is doing with us is: He is teaching us about the Kingdom.
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We need to know how things really work, not what we have been taught by
other people. If a simple, "Oh, just take care of all my problems, Lord"
kind of prayer worked, then we'd never learn about the principles by which
the universe operates.
And He doesn't just tell us because that's not His way. He tells us so
in Proverbs 25:2. "[It is] the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the
honour of kings [is] to search out a matter."
So! He admits it: He hides things from us! We have to do some digging
to understand His ways. His methods of dealing with us are not simple, not
quick, but they are very, very enlightening.
And of course, this leads us to our third characteristic. His ways are
perfect. They "work" in a way no program, no counselling, no drugs, no
self-effort, no man-designed substitute ever can. And we all want a body of
beliefs we can count on. We need a source of truth which will do what it
claims! We want a God who can grow fruit in our lives and produce holiness.
And He can! The reason we see so little of it - in ourselves as well
as in others - is that we avail ourselves of so little of His provision.
As I said, our problems are seldom simple, so there is almost always a
complicated assortment of factors to deal with: not merely a sin, or a
curse, or a demon, or a deception, or a judgment, but a combination of
ingredients. That's why there are keys, not merely a key. We use specific
keys for specific aspects of our predicament, to unlock specific barriers,
and bring the whole situation into the victory of our Lord.
The Keys are principles of how things work. And they're totally
contrary to natural reasoning. Our Father's kingdom is very different from
the world and its reasoning. That means the principles of the two realms
are often diametrically opposed. It takes some time in the Word and a
renewed mind to even begin to understand how things really work.
For example, if we need some extra money, the world tells us the thing
to do is to work, to borrow or increasingly now to steal. The true key to
financial increase is to give. The Lord tells us, "Give and it shall be
given unto you..." (Luke 6:38). That's very unworldly thinking, but it
unlocks finances. That is the key through the barrier to financial
blessing. Jesus gave us the key, and if we use it properly, we'll enter the
Promised Land in the area of money.
If we want to become mighty for God, a mover and shaker so to speak,
He tells us to become as children (Luke 22:26, Matthew 10:15), or as
servants (Matthew 23:11). He tells us to lay down our lives, to hate them,
lose them, and the result will be greater life (I John 3:16). Very
different from man's natural reasoning.
We need peace? Freedom from worry? The answer is so simple: " Be
careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of
God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6,7).
We want resurrection life? The key is to die to the natural. (John
12:25). How do we get rid of fetters and bondages? We endure fiery trials:
that's the key to freedom. (Daniel 3). And if we're attacked, undergoing
hardships, the proper key is an attitude which counts it totally joyful. (I
Peter 4:12,13; James 1:2). When we praise and worship God, His throne is
established (Psalm 22:3), and we pass through the veil into the realm of
spiritual victory (no matter what the natural circumstances).
I know I have made this overly simplistic. In the area of finances,
 69
the first example, there is often more to achieving victory than just
giving. We have to clean up the past, adjust attitudes, learn how to suffer
lack without murmuring, get out of debt, etc., etc. But the primary key is
giving. It isn't simplistic, but it is utterly true and totally dependable.
These are a few of the Keys, Scriptural methods of traversing the
veil. We go from Egypt into the Promised Land by using God's revealed
methods, not by fleshly endeavor.
These keys align with the Biblical principle that the way up is down,
the route to the throne is suffering, and the only route to resurrection
life is the Cross. The precept is: supernatural life is attained by letting
the natural die.
The veil that is torn is flesh. There is no way into the supernatural
but by death to what is merely natural. The route to resurrection life is
death.
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WHAT'S COMING NEXT?

This study started by my asking the question: "What do we need to come
out of?" That was over twenty years ago, and I know a few answers now, but
there is so much more to learn. And to obey.
In studying the Scriptures on separation, we see subtle changes in the
specific thing God is calling us out from. Two of the most significant are:
"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the
Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you..." (2
Corinthians 6:17).
"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my
people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of
her plagues." (Revelation 18:4).
What was first called "them", a plural pronoun indicating there's more
than one thing to come out from, has become "her" in the end times of
Revelation. "They" have merged into "her", a singular entity. The activity
which is forbidden in Corinthians is described as merely "touching"; but it
has advanced into "partaking" in Revelation. And what was to be avoided has
expanded from what was merely "unclean" into something involving "sin" and
"plagues".
It has exacerbated in three ways.
There is now only one thing to leave, and being within it consists of
partaking (a word which implies that we ingest the thing) of both sins and
plagues. The seven systems are merged into one - one world government, one
world church, one world economy, one world system of laws and law-
enforcement, one voice saying one thing to all the world, controlling every
one of us who are still a part of it.
Only those who have come out, who do not believe the voice of the
world, who have our own Ruler, our own source of truth, of protection, of
provision, of healing; our own blessed Ark of rescue, only these few will
escape this doom.
And that does not guarantee that we shall escape death. Remember,
victory is not determined by whether or not we got our prayer answered.
Victory is determined by one thing only, and that one thing is: did we or
did we not obey God. "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not
able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both
soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28).
It may look like a ghastly failure, a total defeat. But then so did
the Cross.
Temporarily.
Nothing is static, and the polarization that's taking place in society
today is producing an escalation of both evil and righteousness. Good is
getting better while evil waxes worse and worse.
When any of these systems, these institutions we've discussed, becomes
totally corrupt then of course it becomes even more a danger. When its
function and purpose have changed 180 degrees from its original avowed
reason for being then that system is ready for damnation.
For example when Medicine/Healer becomes the killer of babies and the
aged; when the legal system protects the rights of criminals more than
those of the law-abiding citizens; when education becomes a forum for
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brainwashing children; when science refuses to learn from God, but does
turn to the occult, that system has been corrupted, and is ready for
judgment.
What does this mean for us as Christians? It means that we must agree
with God's evaluation, and see these systems as evil. We must not be
diverted into a vain effort to restore, correct, or purify them; we must
come out of them, and bring others out.
We must quit taking our lead from the world. In many churches we find
the very same attitudes as in the world, the same ways of thinking and the
same level of victory. There is as much fear, as much sin, as little faith
and as little power in some churches as in the most secular organization in
the world. Far too many Christians still see the world system as their
pattern, their goal, their source and the answer to their problems.
They have the bank for financial help, doctors for healing, science
for answers, lawyers for counsel, insurance as a hedge in case God fails to
protect; and their attitudes, beliefs and behavior are indistinguishable
from those of their unsaved neighbors.
And when the marriage doesn't work and the budget doesn't balance;
when the kids rebel and the job is vexing; when the church is splitting and
the car breaks down; when there's is no inner peace and no victory over the
enemy, then there's a psychologist to explain life. (And "Christian" or
not, psychology is not kingdom of God; it is the world!)
Then there's a prescription for Valium, to bring restoration and
peace.
Of course this isn't always true, but you know it's far too common,
and it must break our Lord's heart! And there are a few indications here
and there that show that He's beginning to make some changes. We hear a lot
about AIDS possibly being a judgment on the world (and it's certainly
Pestilence with a capital P!) but the Bible says judgment starts at the
house of God. That's where God's dealing.
I really think it is beginning, the judging of the church.
The Lord is exposing wickedness, bringing down towers, wielding His
quick and sharp sword to divide. And He is quietly exiting many, many
places, writing a sad and final "Ichabod" as He goes. The Glory has
departed.
And the worst part is, many people won't even notice the difference.
A group of my friends was discussing a newsletter from a nationally-
known Christian ministry in which the evils of television were recounted,
and the readers were admonished to write to sponsors and complain. One of
the men present made this statement, "God isn't interested in cleaning up
television. God is still cleaning up the church." And that sums up what I'm
trying to say.
My friend believes that God's current focus is on bringing His body to
maturity and holiness; not on making our society safe and comfortable.
Restoration of this world - its systems, its laws and its society - may
appeal to us, but it has never been God's goal.
Our mandate isn't to exercise political dominion over the world - or
even over our cities - for certainly Jesus never did anything even remotely
resembling political activism. And neither are we to spend our energies
trying to make this world tranquil, ethical, or safe; we weren't told to
conform society to the Judeo-Christian value system.
On the contrary, we are told to disciple individuals into a loving,
yielded relationship with Jesus Christ. Not the same thing at all!
Without a change within the hearts of men, they have no enabling power
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to live a godly life, and our attempts to force them to do so will result
in futility (if we fail) or in something akin to the Inquisition (if we
succeed).
Remember, Jesus didn't come to demand righteousness; He came to
provide it. And righteousness comes through our individual and personal
relationship with Him, not through legislation. It comes from being in
Christ, not from being under the law, forced into trying to obey with an
unregenerate heart and an unbroken will.
We were told to evangelize the world, for it is most surely doomed.
And even if we manage to change Roe vs. Wade, clean up television, get
prayer back in public school, abolish pornography, pay off the national
debt, win the war on drugs, and expose the lies of the New Age thinkers -
this world is still damned and so are its inhabitants. When they die,
whether this world resembles the evil 1990s or the more acceptable 1950s,
they'll go to hell without Jesus. And that's our mandate.
Come out from among them, my people!
When the true church is matured and functioning in her God-given
commission, when she is not loving the things of this world, when she is
*/separate from the counterfeit and free of deception, when her source of
truth is the Bible and not the world's thinking, when she responds to
the will of God rather than to the programs or the necessities of man, then
she will shine like a light in the midst of this wicked and perverse
generation. She will lift up Jesus, and men will be drawn to Him, not to a
vain effort to reform, or to dominate, this damned and dying world.
If this world is a sinking ship, and surely it is, then possibly it's
time to stop trying to patch up the leaks and start getting folks off.
Let's show them a Kingdom which will never sink, an Ark which can never
leak, with perfect laws and a perfect King. Let's show them the other side
of the veil.
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ANNOUNCING:
Now available from Home in Zion Ministries:
A new, updated version of EGYPT OR ZION
by Carol Balizet
Twice as long, expanded to include new ideas and information. We
still talk about how the seven world systems counterfeit the
kingdom of God, and about God's command for us to "come out from
among them", but we add other insights.
We still explore the nature of the counterfeits, but in this
version we explain how our relationship to these seven world
systems has a profound impact on how we relate to God.
In the original book, there was a whole lot about "Egypt" but
almost nothing about "Zion". I wrote a few things about how to
"come out" of the world, however in this edition I've added a bit
about how we "come in" to the Kingdom.
We see the end of the age coming upon us. We are, as I write
this, in the midst of what can be called "Era Transition". We are
moving from the Church age into the Kingdom age. Before too long,
I think we'll find that living in this world will no longer be an
option. The systems which are the subject of this book will
become so polluted and so dangerous that we won't be able to use
them. We need to move out of them and then move into Christ.
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THE KINGDOM AND ITS COUNTERFEITS:

1. JEHOVAH-NISSI (I AM the Lord thy Banner. Exodus 17:15.)
GOVERNMENT
2. JEHOVAH-TSIDKENU (I AM the Lord thy Righteousness. Jeremiah
23:6.)
RELIGION
3. JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH (I AM the God who is present. Ezekiel 48:35.)
EDUCATION
4. JEHOVAH-ROI (I AM thy Shepherd. Psalm 23:1.) SCIENCE
5. JEHOVAH-SHALOM (I AM thy Peace. Judges 6:27.) THE ARTS
6. JEHOVAH-RAPHA (I AM thy Healer. Exodus 15:26.) MEDICINE
7. JEHOVAH-JIREH (I AM the Lord thy Provider, or My provision
will be seen. Genesis 22:14.) COMMERCE AND BANKING

Home in Zion Ministries, 9569 Red Run Drive, Tampa, Florida 33635
(813) 890-3403 E-Mail = homeinzin@leading.net