The Angel of the Lord

1 Corinthians 11:31 (NIV) But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment

The way it has been preached by Kenneth Hagan, Kenneth Copeland, and their Word of Faith disciples is that there is no higher authority upon the earth than the Church aka the People of Faith. 

What these people have ignored to their complete peril is that in the time of early Church the Ek-Klesia (The out-called of the called) were only in the high and lofty place they wre because believers of that day by enlarge had been drawn by the Father Himself to Jesus Christ, And Jesus the great Lord Master and Teacher made himself of no reputation and thus did not preach crafty words of men to bribe or trick people into salvation.

 

His disciples then followed in His footsteps making themselves of no reputation – and seeking thegreater witness that comes from God alone in signs, wonders, and diverse miracles to attest to the words they spoke.

2000 years later these modern ministers of "Faith" know not the Lord the Lord Jesus Christ, neither are they His disciples. For they speak not the words of Jesus Christ, they do not the words or commandments of Christ. Instead they speak their own gospels, in which they make themselves out to be men and ministries of great reputation, these men also actively seek out and receive the praise of men. Despite all their boasting these men have not the witness that comes from the Father alone. Therefore all that are “Saved under their ministry” are none of His. The camp following converts of these men that were "brought in the gate" by show and personality as opposed to being brought to the feet of Jesus Christ as their Lord Master and Savior, are instead deemed before God as corrupt disciples of these men and ministries and therefore castaways.

 

In this day entire Churches, entire ministries and entire denominations are built upon these tare teachers, tare preachers, and tare ministies.. These tares of darkness and their children live unto themselves and the world.

 

One of these "faith" Pharisees in extolling the virtues of the prosperity gospel thinking they had us cornered asked – Isn't it the will of God for his people to buy NICE ($$$) dresses and other NICE ($$$) clothes?

 

No, it is not the will of God to buy lavish clothing, as Jesus and His disciples did not adorn themselves with finery and elegant garments of the princes, lords and ladies of their day.

 

It is the will of your flesh to want to wear lavish with fashionable clothes that accentuate your flesh in the sight of men.

 

Privately I had been asked by a friend of hers to try to dissuade her from the teachings of Kenneth Copeland on the prosperity Gospel. At one time these two women had attended the same church and were very close. But after this woman became a disciple of Kenneth Copeland she became arrogant, and belittling her friend's naive and humble walk, as her eyes had become filled with gaining the riches of this world. And beleiving that this was God's true purpose for those who became Christians.

 

I had met a number of people that were disciples of Kenneth Hagin and Kenneth Copeland, beleived in their hyper faith message and that had also been taken in by the prosperty gospel message in which they were to get rich from God giving them back money hand over fist for every dime they gave in tithes and offerings..

 

Never have I seen a person so taken in by these con men and their clones. From the onset there was not a single passage of scripture that this woman would hear. Neither was there a single thing that Jesus Christ or for that fact the Apostles had said or done that called any of her distorted beliefs into question.

 

Passage after passage from the word of God she cast off like water off a duck's back. It was not that she had an answer for everything. Far from it, she was only able to parrot back clipped phrases she had heard on his daily radio program and from his CD's she had bought and nothing else mattered .

 

The whole episode lasted for two nights, and was so distasteful. To have to try to destroy one's utterly false beleifs in Christ and concerning salvation in order for them to see the light was like working in an open sewer, that in the end just left you feeling dirty all over.

 

Scripture or smoke flames

 

, there was nothing that Jesus Christ and the Apostles said or did that this woman would hear

 

1 Corinthians 11:31 (NIV) But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment

Is the ourselves in this verse ourselves individually or ourselves corporately as the “Church.” It is both individuals that judge themselves with a cold critical look at their actions as opposed to the actions and words of Christ and the Apostles, those that come to an absolute understanding that they are corrupt and laden with sin and cry out like the proverbial bleating sheep that is caught in the thicket. Crying out day and night until the Good Shepherd Himself comes and frees them, cleanses them and binds up their wounds – this is salvation. Change comes about in those who judge themselves, confess their faults to one another, and confess their sins to Christ and the Father. 

In my youth Confession was a thing that Roman Catholics went to one a week to clear their sin laden consciousness. – Over the past few decades confession teaching has become for “The People of Faith” sessions in which we abjectly lie as to our condition and standing in God. We lie to ourselves that we might not feel the prick of sin, and to nullify the call of the Holy Spirit to repent. We lie to one another lying about our condition and standing and we lie about the tokens that God have given to us –this is done in order to exalt ourselves, to make us men and women of reputation, and to create envy and jealousy.  And we confess bald faced lies to Christ and God as to our condition and standing before him in the twisted hope that by our false confession that we might obtain justification and righteousness, but instead with the words of our mouth we condemn ourselves nothing before Christ and God adding to our damnation. .

Can confessing scriptures in prayer be a lie and can it condemn us if we do so?

Luke 4:9-11 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Psalm 91:11-13 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

In our modern corrupt thinking this would have been a good verse for Christ to have confessed from his youth. --

Luke 4:12 And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

From the time when I was a young believer in Christ in the 1970’s I have heard the words of Christ repeated a hundred times, but as to the import of these words – and what is meant by tempting God no one has seemingly grasped the depth of these words.

So according to Christ; and I would consider him somewhat of an authority on right and wrong confession – for Him to confess or to do this would be to tempt God. And by using the word “tempt God” Jesus means commit that in doing so He would commit real bad sin. Damning sin. Sin unto destruction.

Exodus 23:2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:

Exodus 23:2 (Greek Septuagint) Thou shalt not associate with the (Polis) multitude for evil (gain); thou shalt not join thyself with a (Ecclesia) The Out Called of the Called to turn aside with the (Polis) multitude (Oste) so as to (Ekklino) to turn away from (Krisis) judgment.

The word of faith people with all of their hundreds of Preachers and tens of thousands of followers are such a multitude.  Because it is preached in every quarter does not make it truth.

Exodus 23:8 And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.

Exodus 23:8 (Hebrew) You shall not take a bribe for the bribe blinds the seeing one, and perverts the words of righteousness --

Seeing one = Seer.  The words of righteousness = the Prophetic voice of God.
For the people in Exodus 23 in order to have become a judge in Exodus 24 had take of the Spirit that was upon Moses.  And laid it upon the 70 elders so that they could righteously judge the people. So that by the Spirit of Revelation regardless of what was told them they could see the root of the matter.  -- As in fact God also sees when we pray and make supplication before him.  When we do so our hearts are laid bare and God sees our intents our lusts and our desires. God will not grant that which we wish to consume upon our own flesh. And this is why confession teaching is so damning.

To continue: the second part of the petition made to a judge is that the petitioner receives an answer from God and through the lips of the Judge.  Just as Moses would pray for each petitioner and speak the audible voice of God in answer and then teach righteousness. 

What this passage is telling us is that accepting bribes/gifts is so powerful they blind the Seer. A veil of corruption is cast over the judge’s mind so that they can no longer see into the matter. And it so perverts and corrupts the words of righteousness that alters the very words that come out of the judge’s mouth rendering the judge unable to give an answer from God, or teach righteous judgment.

This is why it is that any given preacher I have known can and does during any given message preach both sweet and bitter waters and not discern anything amiss as well. – It is that their eyes have been blinded through sin,  And like Eli of old they sometimes speak from the Spirit and sometimes from their corrupt soul. This can be observed in other passages of scripture as well.

Exodus 23:20-22 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.
This passage brings us now full circle on the words of Paul the Apostle and answers a question that I did not pose.

1 Corinthians 11:31 (NIV) But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment

If we do not judge ourselves as this generation has chosen not to do, whose judgment do we fall under?

And note in this passage an angel are being given charge over the people of God.

Exodus 23:20-22 (Hebrew) Behold I am sending an Angel before you to guard you in the way and to bring you to the place which I have prepared. Be careful before him and listen to His voice. Do not be rebellious before him for he will not forgive your transgressions for my name is in Him. For if you fully listen to his voice and do all which I speak (through Him) I will be an enemy to your enemies and will be a foe to your foes and my angle shall go before you and will bring you (In to the land)  

The words to keep and to guard evoke in me images of Adam in the garden. In the place where man was first given the task to guard and to keep an angel was given charge over men to protect men from themselves and to guard and to keep the way of the tree of life from them.

Here now we see the Lord sends another angel given charge to guard and to keep. And what is he guarding and keeping God people that they stay in the way.  But to those that have and ear to hear this angel is not silent but he speaks instructions to those that he has charge over. This has to be the Holy Spirit and this is where Paul derives his doctrine on the Holy Spirit comes from.  This is also is the place from where I suspect Paul doctrine on blaspheming the Spirit also is derived from. –  That this is a sin  that can not and will not be forgiven.

From the context we see that Blaspheming the Holy Spirit would not be only in word as men have preached for the last few generations, but this passage strongly suggests that blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is committed in deed also.  This is voiced in Hebrews if ye hear his voice harden not your hearts as in the day of provocation in the wilderness – I would suggest that the word provocation – is tempting God or provoking God is the act of blaspheming the Spirit.

This now brings us back to the words of Christ to the devil concerning confessing or committing in did the following passage:  

“For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.”

Psalm 91:11-13 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Note that the angels concerning Christ have been charged to keep Christ in His ways.

1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

I will suggest to you that this is charge of the angel of the Lord. And that he speaks – ”This is the way, the is the way, walk ye in it.”

And that like us Christ could not look in and of Himself for a way of escape from sin, but the same Holy Spirit that speaks to you and to me to keep us in the way was charged to keep Christ in the way. And when the devil tempted Christ the angel of the Lord given charge over Him spoke “This is the way. This is the way walk ye in it.”

Numbers 22:22 And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him (To slay him.) The Angel of the Lord shows mercy to those that fear the Lord and walk humbly before God but to those who tempt God or make themselves equal with God he becomes their adversary and executes justice. 

Judges 2:3-5 Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.

For if the words of Angels was steadfast . . .

2 Kings 19:35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

1 Chronicles 21:14-16 So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.  And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
When it comes to sin the Angel of the Lord is no respecter or persons whether jew or gentile, believer of non-believer – he will execute justice. He guards jealously over God’s word.

1 Chronicles 21:30 But David could not go before it to enquire of God: for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the LORD.

Psalm 34:7 The Angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.