The Ministering Damsel

Post 270

“…And he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many…” Daniel 8:25a.

For many years this wording has been a curious mystery to me; “How does the most evil man the planet has ever seen, destroy many by peace?” Is peace destructive? If so, then;

What is peace?
We are about to embark on a series of studies that are so earthshakingly dark and confusing that I seriously hesitate to begin writing it down. Where do you stand when the entire earth is quaking under your feet? When what has always been unquestionably solid rock suddenly turns to giant liquefied walls of earth like the waves of a hurricane sea (Isaiah 57:20-21). How do you save an entire ship, or even a single life, when it is caught in the middle of The typhoon of Perfect Storm proportions?

What I am about to show in detail is so hopeless I don’t want to be the guy to tell it. And the hopelessness of it is not the worst part.
The fingers of the multiple cells in this perfect storm are many and complex, and the complexity of what I have already been showing in scripture is provided to us as a cipher pattern so that we can actually grasp how to interpret this storm in an effort to avoid it, not weather it.
Seasoned fishermen on the Grand Banks have long seen great storms and to refrain from boldly plowing the seas every time a storm is reported would be to fail their jobs as cowards. These seamen are a hearty sort that need an iron nature so strong they can ply their work in the face of pending disaster as a regular thing. But a Perfect Storm is a horse of a different color, such as Zechariah 6:7 + 1:8 = Speckled (http://when-did-reason-die.blogspot.com/2011/03/more-horses.html)(*1);
Bravery is irrelevant in such a storm, and in fact bravery simply morphs into the actions of a fool. Same act, Same display of nature, but Different actual nature because intelligent calculation has been removed from the equation.
Bravery is carefully calculating the odds against experience and ability then moving ahead with skill against the acceptable risk, while foolish is moving ahead in blindness without the calculation.
Skill and ability, nor bravery, have any part in the calculation of a perfect storm. The bravest men harbor their ships and take the time off from work. The fool plows ahead to weather the storm in the illusion of bravery, and loudly mocks the calculating brave as a coward. The lines and complexities of when which is which are really quite entangled. But it is not at all confusing to the one doing his own calculations using his well seasoned knowledge of his skills and abilities (Revelation 16:15, Luke 21:34-36, II Peter 3:10-14).

How easy it would be to simply say; “we will all be killed by a nuclear bomb”; we could easily grasp that singular concept and accept it as a specific target to defend against or prepare for the inevitable end while we ponder about what day it will come. But this is not to be. Our great destruction is to be far more complex, and the first fingers of it have already begun to build.

I really don’t want to be the weather guy, I would much rather be writing the Isaiah 58:6-14 “Grace sequel” to my first book as promised, but I have volunteered for this mission of God and so have been given a clear understanding of how this Perfect Storm plays out. And the storm is building faster than I can write it with clarity. There are already many ships too far out to sea to recover, even if they turned back to shore right now. But there are still many others that can yet be saved if they would but turn back now.
While my efforts are earnestly calling these back, the facts are that those now returning because of the looming storm will be saved while those still plowing ahead will not hear any more warnings, they have already made up their minds to ignore them and are committed to “hell or high water”.
What I am now writing is the blow by blow pre-history of the storm for the later generations to read. The reason that it is a pre-historical account (even if only a few days ahead of the events) is a justification of God, that he did not wish it, and provided a sufficient warning to avoid it:

“Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” Amos 3:7.

But obviously, with my English language translation and self-described uncertainty of “theories”, “proposals” and “submissions” of interpretation, I don’t qualify as a prophet do I?
Except God has already made a contingency for this "less than a prophet":

“For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken” Isaiah 28:11-13.

If that does not perfectly describe my work, tell me what this passage would describe better?! God has not provided new prophecy; he has sent men like me to explain it through the laborious effort of our frail humanity, not in Hebrew or Greek or even Aramaic but in a different language, and the tongue in which I speak is not to farmers and ranchers by analogy, but to an age of science:

“Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is...(America). Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves…Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD…when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it…and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report (let alone to experience it)” Isaiah 18:14-19.

My soul is vexed simply to report it’s dark complexity even before it actually happens.

By the very complex nature of the destruction, I find myself standing against many ministers that I truly love and respect as men. The last thing I wish to do is point a bony finger directly at these fellow ministers and cry out; “WRONG!” but by the very nature of this destruction and the description of it, this will be the sad result. So be it, Even though because they are all somebodies and I am a nobody, my “interpretation” will be utterly rejected and mocked as “Doom-and-Gloom”.
But I have not put my life on hold and taken up this work for the sake of saving the world from destruction; I am doing this work as a testimony against humanity to validate God in the destruction. The reason this work is so important is because of the complex nature of the destruction:

“For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many” Matthew 24:5.

Hitler deceived a lot of people in the name of God, and by it destroyed many; with complex corruption he actually came in the name of the Christ through Evolutionary progress masked as God’s will (http://www.talkreason.org/articles/Hitler.cfm). I provide this antichristian article as evidence of the great confusion that must be dissected to the ultimate degree and thereby separate the waters from the waters. Otherwise these waters will be accused of being those waters because obviously waters are waters right? (Isaiah 5:19-20, Jeremiah 4:22, 13:10).

Up until now, those deceivers who have come in the name of Christ have been easily spotted charlatans, fooling only the simple. But the scriptures show a terrifying prophecy of imitators that are so close to the real presentation that it will be nearly impossible to distinguish between them and the truth:

“For there shall be 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 (it happens)” Matthew 24:24.

Hitler’s “Christian deception” may have worked on the pagan author of the above linked website but there is not a true Christian alive or dead that would allow that Hitler properly applied the scriptures. The deception still to come is far more sophisticated than that, to the point that even earnest Christians will be deceived, and only those very intimate with God will see the deception. So what hope is there for explaining it to the linked website author who can’t see it in the simple version?
Rick Warren’s “Purpose Driven” Apostasy is simply another degree of this early deception, but it is already deceiving many Christians while it makes poison waters of the pure waters of Christianity itself. I have no qualms about exposing Mr. Warren as a child of hell; he is not a fellow minister though he claims to be. His form of apostasy is still too distant from the real truth that other than deceiving the foolish he is no threat to the faith.

But there are those now standing among us that are the first of the wonderful prophet impostors and as much as it pains me to so publicly “turn on them” in my exposure of the error, I must not hold back from the exposure and let the individuals fall into whichever camp they belong. Please, please understand that I mean no animosity or personal attack on men who have sacrificed so much in a completely honest and honorable intent for good; I know the diligence to which they have labored to do their honorable work, BUT…their work is not of God and so the result will be the ruin of deception.
So let’s begin with the basics:
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The Ministering Damsel:

“And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel…met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying (3132):” Acts 16:16.

Soothsaying 3132 manteuomai; from a derivative of 3105 (meaning a prophet, as supposed to rave through inspiration); to divine, i.e. utter spells (under pretense of foretelling:-- by soothsaying.

3105 mainomai; middle voice from a primary mao (to long for; through the idea of insensate craving); to rave as a “maniac”:-- be beside self (mad).

“The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation” Acts 16:17.

So we see that this helpful and insightful girl was earnestly confirming that the Jesus Christ these men were preaching was the true way, and these ministers were sent by God to show that way.
Now how are you going to argue that this is not a good thing? Who among us would tell this eagerly helpful girl that she could not minister? Clearly what she was saying was completely of God, right? According to I John 4:2 her spirit must be confirmed a spirit of God;

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of Antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world” I John 4:1-3.

Properly following the caution that there are many false prophets, they tried the girl’s spirit by having a “get to know you” conversation and she eagerly confessed her confirmation that God sent these men to preach God’s salvation to the people. And since the salvation they preached was Jesus Christ, clearly her spirit was confessing by agreement that Jesus Christ came in the flesh to save mankind, right?

Now don’t go all religiously pious on me because you “know the right answer”; figure this out as if it was happening in your church today:
You and a few men from your church go on a week-long street ministry to a town several hours from home, and after a morning of preaching you take a break for lunch with a following planned prayer circle to refresh your spirits for the afternoon work.
As you head to the hotel conference room to pray, this spunky seventeen year old girl with a bubbly personality introduces herself to you guys and so you strike up a short conversation in which she expresses excitement for the work you are doing in her town. You ask her about herself and she tells you that she works for a local small time magician as a fortuneteller but she really doesn’t like it, even though she is actually really good at it, she just needs the money for college.
After you reach your conference room door you say your goodbyes and go in to pray. Then as you get back on your street corner and resume preaching, this girl walks through the back of the crowd as a self-appointed advertiser, proclaiming;

“These men are the ministers of the most high God and are showing us the way of salvation”

and every now and then she catches your eye and gives you a quick two-thumbs-up grin as you, and she, continue to minister; She is an unexpected enthusiastic team player.
After evening falls and the crowd and the girl go home, your team sits at a restaurant for supper where someone brings up the unusual girl and her actions. Obviously by the conversation it struck everyone as a bit odd, but hey, the Lord works in mysterious ways, right?

OK, NOW you get the reality of the event the apostles faced. What do you do beyond quietly hoping that she doesn’t come back tomorrow, Right? But you feel a bit guilty for not wanting her; “Why don’t you want her?” you think to yourself, “Is she saying anything wrong that you can point out? No. It’s just odd. It’s, uncomfortably odd”.

But she does come back the next day.

“And she did this many days.
But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour” Acts 16:18.

So how did Paul know this was a demonic spirit and not a spirit from God to support their ministry? Do you suppose any of his group challenged him for discouraging her faith? I mean Paul seemed to violate the very scripture that clearly and plainly determines if it is of God or not!

“Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God…” I John 4:2.

So now what just happened to that rock solid one-verse-theology that you can safely camp on in confidence? Is the scripture wrong or is it Paul that was wrong? It’s obviously one or the other, so tell me; Which is it?
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Like Oil and Water, No, More Like Iron and Clay:
Darwin was a Christian. But Darwin altered his faith in the Word of God and chose instead the limited reasoning mind of finite man that seemed to suggest the scriptures were wrong. Only a “Darwin” proclaims the scriptures wrong based on his arguing suppositions of the circumstances, Yet there is something in his contention that now needs to be answered (I Peter 3:15-16):

Like Darwin’s problem, the answer to our present discussion is found in the complexity itself, though most people simply conclude that, “complexity means a cover-up to error” and so refuse to even hear the argument; “The truth is either simple or it’s not true”.

But for those who are willing to give the argument an honest hearing, Let’s start with the information that her spirit was referred to as “he” while the damsel was identified as “her”:

“…come out of her. And he came out the same hour.”

It’s obvious by the fact that she didn’t die when the spirit (water) was cast out of her, that this spirit was additional to the one mixed with her dust to make potter’s clay. By this distinctive division between the girl and the additional spirit in her, we can see that verse 17 tells us it was the girl who was supporting the apostles work while it was the spirit of divination that gave her insight into who they were and so motivated her to a twisted spiritual support that actually spiritually undermined their ministry. So how can we justify warning her not to preach Jesus Christ? We find the answer in her proclamation:

“…These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation” Acts 16:17.

Like Simon of Acts 8:9-23, this girl is promoting something that she herself has not experienced but her demon spirit of divination gives her personal insight that convinces her that she has; so although she means well, she is a false witness; by the very definition of “witness” she is telling a lie even though the information is true.

Many, many Christians will promote the work of great men of God because they are convinced in their hearts and spirits and minds that the information is true, but if they are not preaching from personal experience of that truth, whatever they proclaim is actually a false witness and therefore a destructive lie. This grieves the men of God because the mindframe of that conduct keeps these false witnesses in the illusion that they are already a party to what they are proclaiming is the truth. By her own declaration this girl was one of those sinners to whom the apostles were preaching, but by mis-orderly joining the ministry before salvation, she could not be saved because by her participation of agreement she thought she already was.
So what are her listeners supposed to conclude from a sinner supporting and preaching the gospel of salvation without being saved?

This is the complex deception that comes through the many possessed of demons that come in Jesus’ name declaring that he is in fact the Son of God; which is an allowable interpretation of:

“For many shall come in my name, saying, (that) I (Jesus) am Christ; and shall deceive many (with their confusion that comes attached to their truthful proclamation)” Matthew 24:5.

I know that this seems like a manipulation of interpretation, but consider that while the girl willingly confessed the truth of the apostle’s message, apparently nobody directly asked the spirit in her. And if they had, the spirit would have said, “No, Jesus did not come in the flesh”, though he didn’t mind the girl saying so because he could use it.
What the girl ends up with is a schizophrenic soul of miry and potter’s spirits (James 1:6-7).

Tom Horn, author of “Apollyon Rising 2012” might not be the damsel, but he sure has not followed the Apostle Paul’s example in scripture; instead he has brought the girl up onto the stage and asked her to preach for Jesus!
“But why was Paul grieved while Mr. Horn is excited?” This question should seriously haunt all Christians until it is fully answered.

The problem is that my simplistic answer regarding identifying the damsel’s spirit, sounds like a “slight of hand” to answer a flaw in scripture. But there are lots of other verses and historical records to show that spirits are picked up and lost quite frequently; Potter’s spirits seem to be hard to acquire and fall off on their own without regular and careful maintenance (Ephesians 4:30), while Miry spirits seem to jump on by themselves and cling hard until removed with force of Power (Matthew 17:19-21). Identifying which is of God and which is of Satan is a discernment that all Christians should gain by intimacy with the Holy Spirit of God, though obviously, by special gifting, some Christians will have a keener ability than others;

“For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom. To another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit…to another the discerning of spirits…” I Corinthians 12:8-11.

This post is just a warm up in recognizing the complexity as we learn to identify the spirits within the people we meet as well as the earnest ministers of Christ that come in his name but bring destructive deception in Jesus’ name.

Oh, by the way, notice the part of Acts 16:16 that I left out;

“And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:” Acts 16:16.

I left the underlined part out of the presentation because this is an "after the fact" bit of info provided by the inerrant scripture, that unless given as insight by the Holy Ghost, you just wouldn’t know in your evaluation.
So now, how important is supernatural insight into the spirits of Christian ministers?
Only as important as proper evaluation of their message.
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*1 SuperStorm Sandy:
As we watch the current news of SuperStorm Sandy attacking the shores of America’s Eastern coastlands, the over-dramatization of the media has labeled this a “Perfect Storm”. The problem this creates is still more deception because it gives us the wrong idea that we can in fact weather any storm; “See? We weathered Sandy”.
If we analyze the meaning and application of this post against SuperStorm Sandy as a Perfect Storm, we will come up with a “we can weather this too” conclusion. But Sandy is far from a Perfect Storm; she is only a SuperStorm with perhaps perfect aim, like a perfectly aimed 9.9 earthquake is to a perfectly aimed 12.0.
If you look at a vast variety of dictionaries you will find a wide spectrum of defined meanings, but the single factor that remains consistent among them all is a significant combination of circumstances that result in a very rare excessively disastrous effect (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/perfect+storm).

The term was actually invented by a writer in 1936, and while that bit of information seems to have dropped from all but a rare definition, that writer would be the original source for what makes up a perfect storm.
In short; it takes multiple weather cells, each a significant storm on their own, combined in a perfect meteorological and circumstantial conjunction to produce the worst possible results.
See the 1991 Unnamed Storm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Perfect_Storm) against the 1938 New England Hurricane (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1938_New_England_hurricane) as a conceptual idea.
And don’t forget, this Post’s analogy is that the sea is where the hopeless destruction takes place and land is where you can flee from it by moving further inland in bad weather (Jeremiah 51:6, I Corinthians 10:14, I Corinthians 6:18). Scripturally, the Land and Sea are foundationally different by their very compositions and natures.
Land=Law=Iron, Sea=Democracy=Humanity.
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