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The second thought that must be impressed on our hearts is that the seven church ages started out with the antichrist spirit as well as the Holy Spirit Who is to be blessed forever.

I John 4:1,

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."

Did you notice it? The antichrist spirit is identified with false prophets. The ages came in with false prophets and they will go out with false prophets. Now of course there is going to be a REAL FALSE PROPHET in the grand sense of that man mentioned in the Revelation. But as of now before his revelation there are to appear many false prophets.

Matthew 24:23-26,

"Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not."

These false prophets are earmarked for us in various other Scriptures such as the following.

II Peter 2:1-2,

"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord That bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of."

II Timothy 4:3-4,

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."

I Timothy 4:1,

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils."

Now in every case you will notice that a false prophet is one who is outside the Word. Just as we showed you that 'antichrist' means 'anti-Word' so these false prophets come perverting the Word, giving it a meaning that fits their own devilish ends. Have you ever noticed how the people who lead others astray bind them closely to themselves by fear? They say that if the people don't do what they say, or if they leave, then destruction will follow. They are false prophets, for a true prophet will always lead one to the Word and bind the people to Jesus Christ and he won't tell the people to fear him or what he says, but to fear what the Word says. Notice how these people like Judas are out for money. They get you to sell all you have and give it to them and their schemes. They spend more time on offerings than the Word. Those who attempt to operate gifts will make use of a gift which has a margin of error in it and then ask for money, and neglect the Word and call it of God. And people will go to them, and bear with them, and support them, and believe them, not knowing it is the way of death.

Yes, the land is full of carnal impersonators. In that last day they will try to imitate that prophet-messenger. The seven sons of Sceva tried to imitate Paul. Simon the sorcerer tried to imitate Peter. Their impersonations will be carnal. They won't be able to produce what the true prophet produces. When he says the revival is over they will go around claiming a great revelation that what the people have is exactly right and God is going to do bigger and more wonderful things amongst the people. And the people will fall for it. These same false prophets will claim that the messenger of the last day is not a theologian, so he ought not to be heard. They won't be able to produce what the messenger can; they won't be vindicated by God as that last day prophet is, but with their great swelling words and with the weight of their world-wide notoriety they will warn the people not to hear that man (messenger) and they will say he teaches wrong. They are running exactly true to their fathers, the Pharisees, who were of the devil, for they claimed that both John and Jesus taught error.

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Now they are all saying, and trying to prove that they have it all, or they have enough. Yet is that the truth? Compare this twentieth century church to the first century church. Go ahead. Do that. Where is the power? Where is the love? Where is the purified church that withstood sin and walked with faith toward Jesus? Where is the unity? You can't find it. If this church has all it needs, why were they crying out for more of God in the Book of Acts as though they didn't have it all, and yet they had far more than they have today?

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But, there is a gold of God. I Peter 1:7.

"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth."

The gold of God is a Christ-like character produced in the fiery furnace of affliction. That is the right kind of gold.

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When I think of this eyesalve opening people's eyes, I can't help but recall when I was a little boy in Kentucky. My brother and I slept in the attic on a straw pallet. The cracks in the house would let the drafts blow through. Sometimes in the winter it would get so cold we would wake up in the morning with such colds in our eyes that our eyes would be shut tight with inflammation. We would cry out to mother, and up she would come with some hot coon grease and rub our eyes until the hardened matter was gone, and then we could see.

You know there have been some awful cold drafts blowing on the church in this generation, and I'm afraid her eyes have sort of frozen shut and she is blind to what God has for her. She needs some hot oil of the Spirit of God to open her eyes. Unless she receives the Spirit of God she will go on substituting program for power and creed for Word. She counts numbers for success, rather than to look for fruit. The doctors of theology have shut the door to faith and forbade all to enter. They neither go in, nor let anyone else go in. Their theology comes out of a text book on psychology written by some unbeliever. There is a text book on psychology, one we all need; it is the Bible. It is written by God and contains God's psychology. You don't need any doctor to explain it to you. Receive ye the Holy Spirit and let Him do the explaining. He wrote the Book and He can tell you what is in it and what it means.

I Corinthians 2:9-16

"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are Spiritually discerned. But he that is Spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."

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And yet it is the harvest time. There then must come upon the scene in this age those who will bring the wheat and tares to maturity. The tares are already maturing very fast under corrupt teachers who turn the people from the Word. But the wheat also must mature. And to her, God is sending the Prophet-Messenger with the vindicated ministry that he might be accepted by the elect. They will hear him as the first church heard Paul, and she will mature in the Word until becoming a Word Bride the mighty works will be found in her that are always attendant upon the pure Word and faith.

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It is "Thus saith the Lord" for that is what Joel 2:23-26 says,

"Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for He hath given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, My great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the Name of the Lord your God, That hath dealt wondrously with you: and My people shall never be ashamed."

Now it says God is going to "restore". The Lutheran Age did not restore the church; it started a reformation. The Wesleyan Age did not restore. The Pentecostal Age did not restore. But God has to restore for He cannot deny His Word. This is not the resurrection of the Church; it is the "Restoration". God will take the Church right back to Pentecost of the beginning. Now notice in verse 25 it tells why we need restoration. The locust, cankerworm, caterpillar and palmerworm have eaten all but the root and a small bit of the stem. Now we are told that all these insects are all one and the same in different stages. That is right. They are the antichrist spirit manifested in organization, denomination and false doctrine through the ages. And that poor little root and stalk is going to be restored. God isn't going to plant a new Church, but is going to bring His original planting back to original seed. He is doing it as stated in verse 23, by the teaching, or "former" rain. Next will come the harvest rain or rapturing faith.