This is from the blog Words from the Crucible:

The Lord is a man of war: The Lord is His name.
Exodus 15:3

Throughout the earthly life of our Lord was manifested this very truth in all that He did and said. Never was the warfare a distant or partial truth to the Son of God – it always was the present reality within which His deeds were done, and His words spoken…

…For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
1 John 3:8

Whether in preaching the good news, in healing the sick, or in casting out demons, His eyes were alight with the vision of the battle before Him. His passion, His compassion, and His righteous anger all symphonized into the heavenly music of His ministration: vigorous, gentle, and awesome.

In the synagogue He healed the man with the withered hand; and in so doing condemned those who with vehement disapproval looked on. In this He warred against and exposed the false spirit of the pharisees’ religiosity. In large crowds He walked about, teaching men the way of Life; thereby releasing them from the bondage of contrived burdens unto the freedom of His Lordship. In this He warred against and exposed the captivity of the adversary. With great frequency He also cast out demons; directly throwing off the power of the wicked one from those who drew near to His holy light. In this He warred against and exposed the secret devices of the enemy. And in all these things, our Lord was ever in prayer, communing with the Father; and gained final victory over the corruption that is in the flesh by His perfect intercession.

What then of ourselves? Are we men of war after His likeness? For such will be those who are indeed His workmanship!

“…The Lord is a man of war: The Lord is His name…”

Is the Spirit of The Lord upon you? Should you not then be a man of war after His likeness? One will say, “Ah, but the scriptures say, “The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace” (Ex 14:14), and, “The battle belongs to the Lord.” – And truly indeed does the battle belong to Him, truly indeed is it His own to glory in. Yet it is on the children’s behalf that He fights while they hold their peace, since war is not the province of children. But He is a man of war: for war is the province of men, not of children; and He would not have us always remain helpless children (Eph 4:13-14). For through men of war, God glories all the more in battle, since then He displays two victories: the one over us, and then the one through us. Under Joshua, the men who warred for the advance of Israel were at times called “mighty men of valour” – and would that we could also be so named!

But carnal men love the convenience of slavery to Pharaoh; and after a time, slaves grow to love the providence of their worldly captors over the deliverance of God. How many a warring man of God is met even by brethren with the accusation, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” (Ex 2:14) Cowards fear deliverance, and spit upon its purveyors.

How easily does the slumbering soul dismiss the Lord’s zeal for His house as undue severity! And how quick also is the conceited mind to mistake the Lord’s dispassion in battle as a lack of heart. For if many of us today had witnessed Jesus drive the moneychangers out of the temple, we might have thought to take Him aside and suggest that He utilize a more “civil” or “toned down” measure against their grievous evil. And if we had observed Him seated outside the temple beforehand, weaving the whip in silence, we might have gasped in self-righteous shock, hand-over-heart at this “uncaring” and “ruthless” display of quiet premeditation.

O, how we trust the unreliable fire of human offense, and disdain the white-hot furnace of Godly passion! O, how we embrace the nihilism and empty hatred of human apathy, and recoil at the unearthly calm of Godly dispassion! This is because we do not know God, and in particular because we have not spent a day on the battlefield – except either in captivity of the enemy, or in cowering behind the Lord, who is trying to teach our hands to war and our fingers to fight.

But the warring character of Christ – with both holy zeal and divine peace – shone forth brightly in Peter when he confronted Ananias and Saphira in their lie…

And Peter answered unto her, “Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much?” And she said, “Yea, for so much.” Then Peter said unto her, “How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.” Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
Acts 5:8-11

Peter derived no earthly pleasure in the demise of these two; yet he also did not shrink from his duty in keeping the house of God clean from the blemish of deceitful scheming. When the Spirit of the Lord is upon a man to do battle against the devil’s handiwork, the man is on fire; and as he fights, he finds peace in the Lord while doing the Lord’s will – though in his wake other men lie possibly condemned, and all around him the demons are stirred up.

“In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and His children shall have a place of refuge.”
Proverbs 14:26

But to fear man is to not fear the Lord; and Egypt is always more than happy to take back its slaves.

Let not the house of God remain such a den of thieves: trading the souls of its men for mammon, and their divinely-given birthright for a single meal.

Men of war kneel only for their King.

A Dream about General George S. Patton

This is from the blog On EARTH as it is HEAVEN:

Given some recent events that are making national headlines, I feel compelled to share a dream I had in 2015 in which I had an open vision of the coming days. The weight of it’s message was clear and I believe we are getting closer and closer to a shift we could never imagine and a reality we’ve never known.

I was walking down a road with many people. All of the sudden behind my right shoulder, a huge golden beam of light from the heavens shone down and began to move across the sky in front of me from right to left. It was massive, and it was evident it was not man-made but from another realm. It began to engulf everything it touched.

At the same time, I looked up to my right and in the skies was a huge screen that opened up in front of me. On it I saw a map of the world. It was as if I was seeing and experiencing this phenomenon from two different dimensions. I saw this all-encompassing golden light start at the eastern part of the map near Australia and it began to slowly move west across the entire globe. The light filled the entire sky and was full of glory and power. It seemed to move across the center of the map, touching different countries at varying degrees. I knew that what I was seeing and experiencing was global and affecting everyone everywhere.

I heard myself shouting “It’s happening! It’s happening!” and my heart began to race with excitement. This light was multi-dimensional. It not only went across the surface of the earth but went underneath in varying degrees of color and richness. The deeper it penetrated, the deeper its color and impact. It was powerful, distinct, and moved with ultimate authority.

I was immediately overwhelmed with joy and awe and fell to my knees as I realized the immensity of what was happening. I cried out, “It’s a sign! Get ready!” I knew it was the weight of His glory covering the earth. Yet, even as I was filled with wonder and awe I could sense the fear around me, the uncertainty of what was taking place. Though half of the people were caught up in worship and adoration, the other half were on their knees in absolute terror. As people looked up, dazed and in shock of what was taking place, I shouted out without hesitation, “It’s coming! Yes!” I could see that for those who were not ready, it was bringing dread and fear. But, for those who believed…it was going to be AWESOME!!

I realized then that THE FEAR OF THE LORD WAS COMING IN GREAT GLORY AND POWER and everything in its path was going to be affected. Depending on the state of each one’s heart, this move would bring either worship and awe, or fear and dread. 

This dream not only signaled a charge on my life to sound an alarm to the Church, but fueled my passion to call us up higher in holiness so that we can see the Lord in His fullness (Heb 12:14). I see the Bridegroom, the Captain of the Hosts, standing in the heavens with fire in His eyes as He looks upon the earth. His heart BURNS with fierce love for His Bride and His absolute determination to cover the earth with the knowledge of His Father’s glory. He sees the sin, the compromise, the lack of holiness and righteousness – IN THE CHURCH! It is the zeal of the Lord that will compel Him to come in an unprecedented move of the Spirit which will carry the fear and terror of the Lord in such great power and presence that EVERYONE will fall to their knees.

“There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous.” (Ps 14:5 ESV)

This is not the Rapture or the return of Jesus. This is a move of the Spirit that will utterly change everything and everyone in such a way, we will no longer do life as we did before.

It will be a wake-up call, demonstrating the reality of HIS kingdom authority and power. It will not be like any other past moves of the Holy Spirit. It will not limit itself to a few hungry souls, but will permeate and saturate all in its path. He is set on revealing the full weight of His Father’s love, power, and holiness in order to energize and empower His Bride for the work ahead. This move will destroy all double-mindedness, self-righteousness, greed, pride, and self-promotion. This move will cleanse us, refine us, purify us, and deliver us from the evil one’s deception and trickery. It will expose those who are right with God and those who are not. It will shine the light in the darkness and all the rats and rodents of wickedness in high places will be scrambling for protection, only to find they have been utterly unseated and undone.

This move of the Fear and terror of the Lord will turn things inside-out and upside-down, for THE RULES WILL CHANGE. It will no longer be the kingdoms of this world that will determine the course of history, but the kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! His ultimate authority as King of the earth will be made manifest and those who serve Him out of a pure heart will be given even greater access, favor, and heavenly authority to rule in the midst of His enemies (Psalm 110:1-2)! That which was by faith will now be made visible and heaven’s justice will be executed on the earth as He makes our enemies His footstool. But, it will not come without cost.

Things that are taking place, even now, should serve as a reminder that NO ONE IS EXEMPT from trial, hardship, or pain. Being a follower of Christ does not guarantee an easy road or carefree journey (Matt 5:44-45). Those who are selling that kind of walk are peddlers and fools. The only “safe” place on this side of heaven is to be under the shelter of the Most High God (Psalm 91). The access to that place is through righteousness and a holy life. There are no short cuts. It is only as we rightly fear the Lord that we are kept from the enemy’s hold and assured of a righteous reward.

“Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land. The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.” (Ps 25:12-14 ESV)

We must be prepared. When this move comes – will we be on our knees in worship, or on our knees in terror? Will we rejoice at the tangible presence of His power and glory or will we tremble in fear due to the sin and compromise in our lives? Now is the time to turn away from excuses and apathy. Now is the time to embrace the cross and lay down any sense of entitlement to our lives. The Father is calling for absolute obedience, surrender, and holiness. There are no grey areas in His presence. He is about to burn up all His enemies and utterly consume the lies, the strongholds, and the idolatry that is poisoning the Church.

There will be no doubt when this move comes and none will be able to deny His presence. The only question will be if we are ready. Pray that the Fear of the Lord would grip our hearts, even now, and draw us closer to His throne of grace so we can worship Him in awe and trembling at His glorious coming.

This is from the blog Words from the Crucible:

The convenient divorce of reality from doctrine inevitably leads to the abandonment of both; and now what passes for either one of them is merely the imaginations and philosophies of man thinly veiled in biblical terms. But the doctrine of Christ is derivative of His very person; it is the expression not merely of an intellectual framework but rather of the Life of He who desires to be at work in both our thoughts and our actions by His Holy Spirit, that we may walk by such faith which through obedience increasingly lays hold of the reality of knowing Him.

When many don’t get the answers they want, or the answers don’t seem to be coming, they just settle for their own vain notions and move on – as though forgetting that God has anything to do with it (even though they’ll still claim they are being taught by Him.) But the realities of God as expressed in scripture will not be truly seen and walked in without the patient and confident faith which makes decisions and actually does things based upon what is yet unseen – and even as of yet, unconfirmed – except by the Still Small Voice.

God desires to have a people so given over to Christ their Shepherd that when they open the bible, every word they read would not be a far off mystery, but rather an ever clarifying revelation of that in which they have already allowed His Spirit to begin leading them. For a witness is not only one who has heard; but one who has also seen, looked upon and handled the Word of Life, who is Christ Himself, the treasure in these earthen vessels.

“…And we are witnesses to these things, and so is
the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
(Acts 5:32)

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
…But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
(James 1:5-8, 22)

This is from the blog Words from the Crucible:

Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers,
and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment,
until the indignation be overpast.
For, behold, the Lord cometh out of His place
to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity:
the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
(Isaiah 26:20-21)

This is a cry of the Lord in this late hour to His people, as His hand lifts away from restraining every evil which the world brings upon itself.
As Babylon rears her head on every front, it is nearly time for the tally of her sins to be completed and the prayer of the saints to be answered by fire.

BUT in the short meantime, the Lord seals His faithful (Ezekiel 9, Revelation 7:3) – those who heed His calling and obey – that they may endure the coming trial of His wrath upon the nations. For the day into which we enter is the darkest of nights upon this world, and the brightest dawning of Christ in the hearts of His true people.

“…shut thy doors about thee:
hide thyself as it were for a little moment,
until the indignation be overpast.”

The secret place of the Almighty is the only safe habitation from the corruption of the powers of darkness unleashed. The doors of His tabernacle are the doors of our hearts, which must be uncompromisingly shut to the entering in of all but the King of Glory Himself. For outside, the sword will bereave; therefore, let not the inside also be filled with death. Every door not shut up to the enemy and his world is a door being widely opened to the judgment of God upon His enemies. And judgment will begin from His house. Many will be cut off from His house, and many will reveal that they are cut off.

By the hand of God and the faith of His remnant, the doors of His house are already beginning to close. Be found remaining in Him, and He in you. For He is that house, as are His faithful.

“For, behold, the Lord cometh out of His place
to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity:
the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” 

– Brendan

The Lord Closed The Door