Escaping the Dragon's Claws / Into the Wilderness
Daniel 8:8 Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. 9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. 10 And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. 11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. 12 And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered. 13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? 14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
Revelation 12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
Ezekiel 20:35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face. 36 Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord God. 37 And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant: 38 And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 39 As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.
Ezekiel 34:17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. 18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? 19 And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. 20 Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. 21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; 22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. 23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; (David is a code name = "beloved" = Jesus) he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 24 And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David (Jesus) a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. 25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. 26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. 27 And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served
themselves of them. 28 And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. 29 And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. 30 Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God."The wilderness of the people"
Isaiah 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
Isaiah 29:17 Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest? 18 And
in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. 19 The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. 20 For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off: 21 That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.Isaiah 32:13 Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy [in] the joyous city: 14 Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; 15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. 16 Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. 17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
Those who escape Babylon and the Dragon and the churches beneath his claws do make up the collective body of "the Woman". Some like to call this a "remnant church". Some refer to these individuals as "called out ones". In that regard they are a loose and scattered group (?) who have escaped Babylon and the Dragon and do not face the preachers and their "crown-demons" that lead them. The purpose of the texts above is to explain what God means by "wilderness of the people". To all of us a "wilderness" is an uninhabited place which has grown over "naturally" the way nature sees fit or it remains barren like a desert. God has cloaked His parabolic Words with keys. Human beings are "trees" as in the texts above and they are also "grass and the flowers of the field".
Isaiah 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: 7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. 8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
There are also "briars and thorns" in the wilderness and the individual body members of the Woman must be careful of touching them as they flee.
2 Samuel 23:6 But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands: 7 But the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place.
Since all men wear crowns of thorns, the individual "body members" of the Woman must be on constant vigil against the demons on their own heads. They simply MUST question over and over all thoughts entering their minds and weigh them against Jesus' very words and the Father's direct Words spoken in the first person before buying into them.
2 Corinthians 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
Every community where men live is like a spiritual wilderness to God. THE PEOPLE making up every community are like trees, grass, and flowers. Among them are the powers of darkness parabolized as briars and thorns. If we add Jesus' analogy from the "parable of the sower", there are "tares" out there too! This is the situation for the whole world. It is a gigantic forest. I might add that there are desert places scattered among the forested lands. Deserts are dry places, which get little water. Guess what! Men are the sands of the desert and many of them are in great need of the Spirit of God, Genesis 22:15-17.
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.Isaiah 52:15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
Matthew 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
As you can see we are using two analogies to describe the communities where men live. Scattered in this forest are "churches" which are crushed beneath the claws of the Dragon. Babylon is riding this Dragon and God has called His wakened children to "Come out from among them and be separate". Those who have heard their Shepherd have "come out", and they stand upon the "truth" and defend it. The truth God has revealed exposes and defies the lies flying in the churches beneath the claws of the Dragon. Some "called out ones" now understand how Jesus felt. They, too, feel sorrow, grief, and loneliness because "man" is a social being and the necessity of being separate sometimes gnaws at them.
Yearning for fellowship
Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Matthew 10:24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?
Oh, this "wilderness" experience! Those of us who take up the cross and follow Jesus do experience the same kinds of things that happened to him. Jesus was "a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief" because of his understanding. We see our fellow "trees" in the wilderness being overwhelmed by briars and thorns, Isaiah 5:1-5. Our captive friends in the churches are too blind to recognize their problem and wake up. Jesus was despised and rejected of men. We also try to help our captive church brethren see, but they fight us, attempt to "silence" us, and even cast us out of their assemblies! Luke 6:22; John 16:2. Being rejected in this manner can be painful. Sometimes we feel lonely and isolated and we crave "human" fellowship. Some of us feel a "need" for assembly with others for the joy and comfort that it brings. Fellowship tends to take away the lonely feeling. Out "in the wilderness" we become the "true worshippers" and we develop a new kind of fellowship with the "true Church" above. We must forsake yearning for carnal fellowship and learn to appreciate "spiritual" fellowship with the Father, Jesus, and the entire Heavenly Host even though we cannot see them. We may go in and out of Heaven and commune with many holy spirits. They are our true FAMILY and our best "friends". When Jesus and the Father sup with you, keep in mind that they bring the "clouds" of Heavenly Hosts along with them. Many of these will become your teachers and protectors. You must attune your ears to hear them and
never, NEVER think that YOU are alone.1 John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. 5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But
if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.Fortunately for the more computer literate among us, God has created the Internet, and we can have limited contact with one another and share whatever we learn. Through the Internet we have a loose fellowship "electronically". Perhaps that is the way it should be. Because of the nature of this WAR with the Dragon, that is as good as it gets
.
I Will Send You Elijah, the Prophet
Malachi 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. 4 Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. 5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: 6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Ezekiel 20:35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people,
and there will I plead with you face to face. 36 Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GodIsaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Elijah the Prophet is not a man. "Eli" means "my God" and "jah" means "the Lord". Do not look for a man to meet you "in the wilderness of the people". Expect and anticipate your Father Himself! He said, "I will speak to you face to face". I am not writing about meeting Jesus, the Son, although he will be there too. I am writing about the Father-Creator Himself! There is no need to be afraid. Some of you have heard His voice already and left the Babylonian church-system to "be ye separate". As a Shepherd He has come to feed you in His "secret place", namely your own head. From the "high mountains of Israel" (the twelve Heavens) He meets with you in your head, while your feet rest on earth, Ezekiel 34:14. So that you understand, please be advised that your Father, the Creator, is OMNIPRESENT, everywhere at once. Do not try and fathom this … just accept the truth. For an in-depth look at this concept, see "God Is ALL IN ALL" and "God Is More of Me than I Am". To think God's thoughts you will have to "cut off your head" with its human thinking and "in-part" baggage. Then you MUST put God's head on your neck, and see with His eyes, hear with His ears, "think His thoughts", and speak only His Words. A whole new vista of perception will open before you! The Bible will become a "new" book that "I never saw before even though I read it many, many times"! Amazing things happen when you "commune" with your Father. You will not be bowing down, clasping your hands together in prayer with eyes closed, or bobbing your head back and forth at a wall when Father meets with you. He will speak to you just as you are, wherever you are, and whatever you may be doing. Father is royal majesty with awesome glory, but you will not bow down nor worship Him the way they say is "proper and correct" in churches. We are FAMILY, and Father finds you and approaches you "just as I am".
This is the way the FAMILY works. YOU can talk to "Dad" one on one in "the secret place of the Most High". You do not need any special prep, procedure, or ritual, and no prayer clothes, skull caps, or head covers. Father must fulfill His part as Eli - Jah. He must turn the hearts of the children from the preachers to Himself just as He has turned the hearts of the Heavenly Hosts (former earthly fathers) to favor us! God wants you to feel comfortable with Him and to feel as easy around Him as you do or did with your earthly "dad". This is a FAMILY "relationship"! He says, "I will feed my flock"!
Ezekiel 34:22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. 23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David (David = "beloved" = Jesus); he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 24 And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. 25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. 26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.
God has prepared a table before us in the presence of our own demons, while we are in the "wilderness of the people", Psalm 23:5. This is new for many of you, but you cannot trust just any "voice" trying to persuade you that it is God speaking. You MUST "try the spirits"! Every word must be measured against
Jesus' direct words and Father's Words spoken in the first person. These will never conflict. If what that "voice" says contradicts Jesus and / or the Father, you are hearing from your "crown of thorns". You have been selected by Father to be a student. The WAR in the mind is "constant", so get used to it. It will be a lot easier if you wear the "helmet of salvation" (get it in your head that "all men are saved" and cannot possibly be burned in hell). We present to you a full table in the GOOD NEWS Library, The Good News, Volumes 1-4. Blessed are all of you who sit down and dine.
Blessings For "True Worshippers" In the Wilderness
All those "true worshippers" are called out of the captive church-system to "be ye separate". There in the "wilderness of the people" Father meets them "fact to face". He can do this by "suddenly coming to His temple" (a man's head). Furthermore "God dwells in us and walks in us". Since He is ALL in ALL, there is no problem for Him to speak to anyone "face to face". Since God is "everywhere at once" only He can do this. David said, "there is no place we can go to get away from God's presence", Psalm 139:7-19. You can expect a "face to face" contact with your Father. He will speak to you from His "secret place" and "temple" (temple). You will not see Him with human eyes because He is too big and invisible to flesh and blood eyes, but you will hear Him as He reasons with you about your thinking. Here are the blessings He brings for those who hear and follow Him:
Hebrews 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. 25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
Forget the threatening language. Paul was being "wise as a serpent but harmless as a dove" and encouraging his followers not to stray by reminding them of the past! "Father is not out to harm anyone at this time. Here is Father's message to those of you who are His "drawn out" ones in the wilderness". You will notice how Fathers direct Words differ from Paul's words.
Isaiah 54:6 For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. 7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. 8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. 9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. 10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee. 11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. 12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. 13 And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. 14 In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. 15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. 16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. 17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue [that] shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.
Blessed are all "called out" ones! You may feel lonely at times because you may be miles from anyone who thinks like you do. For you this is a true "wilderness of the people"! However you are now companions with the Heavenly Hosts and you will NEVER walk alone! Praise God!