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The church systems and so-called Christian television have their ideas of the coming events. Millions of dollars are being spent on multitudes of books and movies. All of them seem to apply the wisdom of the world with their views of the scriptures. However, they have missed out on church history and the ways of the Spirit of God. All of these self-proclaimed prophets have different views of what is coming and all believe they have a special anointing. I turned on a Christian television channel yesterday and saw more witchcraft and idolatry than I would have believed possible, and the people loved it. Unfortunately the believers are marked for destruction.

What about church history? In the 17th century the Lord raised up multitudes of men in Great Britain to preach the Truth to a lost world of people sitting in churches and dead in their pews. These jewels - such as George Fox, Francis Howgill, Leonard Fell, Robert Barclay, William Penn, and many others - began to tell the Truth to the church and national leaders of their day, and many were thrown in prison, beaten, their property seized, and many died in prison. Many of these friends of Jesus traveled all over Europe and the colonies of America. Many of these friends of Jesus were even hanged by the Christians in America! What were they teaching that got them into so much trouble? Some of the main points were:

1)     You need not any man teach you, because in this dispensation the Holy Spirit is inside of us and He will teach you, not your bishop, priest or pastor. Your Teacher is within you. (John 14:26 and 1 John 2:27)

2)     That paying tithes to a church with hireling pastor is Old Testament and is over. George Fox said, "I was sent to you to tell you that, if you have received the gospel freely, you would minister it freely without money or price; but you make a trade and sale of what the prophets and apostles have spoken; and so you corrupt the Truth."

3)     The whole church systems of the world were filled with the spirit of antichrist

They taught many other things and paid a big price for it at the hands of organized religion and the State. Over 70 notable men, known as the 'Valiant Seventy', were raised up in Great Britain to be a witness for the Truth, and some lived and taught into the 18th Century. In the 19th century the Lord raised up men such as John Nelson Darby and other ‘brethren’ in Great Britain who also came out of the systems of the church world and made a stand for Truth. The 20th century saw great men such as T Austin Sparks from Great Britain who threw off his robes and taught the Truth for many decades. All of these men of the past centuries spread the gospel truth to other nations and had great messages of truth for the world in this dispensation.

Well, we are here in the 21st century. I like the pattern of church history which has been enacted by the Spirit of God. We see a great pattern of truth coming to the different nations of the world through men of God.

I believe the elements of the coming worldwide move of God are the same ones already given by previous men in church history. However, few have heard their message. It may be that the Spirit will again visit the nation of Great Britain and raise up men of vision like George Fox to warn the Christian world of their folly.

It may be that the warning given to the town of Ulverston, England, is still valid for them today, as well as for us: "O people consider, who be within the parish of Ulverston; I was moved of the Lord to come into your public place to speak among you to the directing of your minds to God, being sent of the Lord that you might know where you might find your Teacher; that your minds might be stayed alone upon God, and you might not gad abroad without you for a teacher; for the Lord God alone will teach His peoples, and He is coming to teach them, and to gather His people from idol’s temples and customary worships, which all the world is trained up in."

This word is still good for today. God’s plan for the church age has not changed. The coming work of the Spirit will surely include the outpouring of what was given for the last few centuries in this new 21st century that is upon us. The Spirit is moving in men currently, and the greatest persecution in history is yet to come. And, as always, it will be outside of men’s organized self-made denominations.

If you look for the answers, as to what is coming, in the church systems or from their prophets, you will miss them just as the people of the past did.

Jim D. November 2003

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