What terrifies the Devil more than anything else is the penetrating truth of God’s Word reaching the hearts of men. He knows that if we settle the questions concerning the source of some of these strange manifestations, then he will be kicked out of many churches.
"That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish" (Ephesians 5:26-27).
Have you ever wondered what the spots and wrinkles are or what they represent? Many assume they are the imperfections in the life of the believer or sin in the Church. But, the Bible explains that the spots and wrinkles are more than just imperfections. The spots and wrinkles are the false leaders, false teachers, and false prophets within the Church.
"But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you…" and in verse 13 "…They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you," (2 Peter 2:1).
"These (false teachers) are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves…" (Jude 12).
There is a biblical way for all false prophets to be exposed and cleansed out of the Church. According to Ephesians chapter five, verses twenty-six and twenty-seven, they are going to be cleansed from the Church by the washing of the water of the Word.
Rain From Heaven
Whenever the Word of God is received as revelation or doctrine from Heaven, it is likened to rain or cleansing. The washing that Jesus is referring to is the rain of God’s living Word being delivered by godly leaders who are under contract from Heaven to cleanse the Church.
The most important ingredient, which will cleanse the Church of false teachings, is the revelation of Jesus.
False prophets will not be cleansed out of the Church until believers walk in the true revelation knowledge of Christ.
Lord, Send the Rain!
Everybody wants true revival. We sing, we pray, and we preach, "Lord send the rain," without knowing what it really means. "Rain" represents something which comes from Heaven, causing vegetation and food to grow.
The "manna" came (rained) from Heaven as food for God’s people.
Jesus likened Himself to manna when He said, "I am the bread from Heaven." He is the Living Word from Heaven. He said, "eat my flesh." This means that what He did and said in the flesh is food from Heaven. He came down and fed us the truth about His Father.
This is the true concept of revival and rain from Heaven that we should be seeking. We need to see the revelation of what Jesus showed us in his earthly ministry as the ultimate food for our spirits. There isn’t a better teaching given to the Church to revive it and give it the discernment it needs.
Rain from Heaven to most people is little more than a good time at a camp-meeting. But that isn’t the true meaning of rain. Revival is not a feeling.
"Ask the Lord for rain In the time of the latter rain. The Lord will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, Grass in the field for everyone" (Zechariah 10:1).
Why are we supposed to call for this kind of rain? The reason is revealed in the next verse.
"For the idols speak delusion; The diviners envision lies, And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people went their way like sheep; They are in trouble because there is no shepherd" (Zechariah 10:2).
Rain is the Word from Heaven which will cleanse the Church of idols and false shepherds and provide revelation knowledge as food (grass in the field) for the strengthening of God’s people (sheep) and the equipping of the Body of Christ. We desperately need the rain from Heaven to strengthen us against the false prophets and to wash their lies out of our minds.
Rain is a Powerful Force
Rain is not always gentle. Sometimes, rain can be a very destructive thing. The prophet Ezekiel showed us a similar concept in his prophecy in Ezekiel chapter thirteen, which reveals how God wants to destroy the walls built by false teachings with a powerful outpouring of rain.
"They have seduced my people… and one built up a wall, and… others daubed it with untempered morter…" (Ezekiel 13:10, KJV).
Untempered mortar was the Hebrew equivalent for empty foolishness. It was a picture of someone who built a stone wall with water and sand as mortar and then covered it over with white wash. To them, there was nothing more foolish than a wall which couldn’t stand up against the elements or hold back the enemy armies that often laid siege against their cities.
The false prophets were trying to build the people up with empty promises, but God told Ezekiel to prophesy against their foolishness. He called their false prophecies "untempered mortar" which was essentially building a very unstable people. God called for a mighty rain to come and destroy their foolish wall.
"They have seduced my people… and one built up a wall, and… others daubed it with untempered morter… it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it… there shall be an overflowing shower… So will I break down the wall that ye have daubed with untempered morter (foolish teachings and prophecies), and bring it down to the ground, so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered (exposed), and it shall fall… and ye shall know that I am the LORD" (Ezekiel 13:10-14, KJV).
True Revival Will Not Fall Into Our Laps
God is prophetically promising the New Testament Church that the Living Word of God was going to come from Heaven as a great rain and outpouring in the form of revelation and solid teaching to rid the Church of false teaching and false prophets.
We will not find a passive way to accomplish this task. Revival will not fall into our laps. Furthermore, this kind of revival is not found in Toronto, Ontario or Pensacola, Florida. It can only come through strong leaders giving solid teaching to committed believers.
With hypnotic repetition, we’ve heard the phrase, "It is time to put our doctrines aside." But I say, "No! Do not listen to such disarming statements. Do not put your doctrines aside!" It’s as if "doctrine" has become a dirty word in the Church. More than ever, it’s time to concentrate on our doctrine. We must expose the false unstable concepts of God that are imbedded and hidden within our teachings and our traditions. It is time to replace them with the solid teachings of the Living Word.
The Devil would just love it if we remained little, ignorant, childish Christians tossed to and fro by every new wind of teaching. He would be pleased with us if we remained easy to push around like empty little clouds with no content.
A wind of teaching comes along and "poof," off we go. There’s no stability in the Church because there’s no stability in our doctrines. We’ve become as empty as the false prophets we follow.
Empty Nonsense
Jude 12 says of false teachers, "clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit…" (KJV).
2 Peter 2:17 calls them "wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest."
These are leaders who are filled with nothing but a bunch of empty nonsense. The Church is being taken in by an abundance of flesh and empty words.
"Let no one deceive you with empty words…" (Ephesians 5:6).
"They speak great swelling words of emptiness… (vanity, foolishness)" (2 Peter 2:18).
No longer should we be tossed to and fro like empty little clouds. We should be more like huge prophetic thunder clouds filled with the water of the Word. Clouds are supposed to carry valuable rain, not useless vapor. The latter rain from Heaven is ultimately the Word of God made alive through Jesus. A true latter days prophet or leader will reveal the whole counsel of God through the fullness of Jesus and expose the emptiness of antichrist teachings.
The only way to deal with emptiness is to get full. It’s time to get into our Bibles and learn. We are being deceived because we are following the latest fluff instead of grounding ourselves in the Word.
When we get to the place where we desire the richness of the Word of God more than satisfying our flesh at some crazy out-of-control-camp-meeting, then we will be able to truly discern today’s remaining flakey preachers.
Lord, send the rain!