Chapter 3: The Powers Of The Age To Come:

For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame (Hebrews 6:4-6).

This text has been an enigma to many believers. The key phrase here is "and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come" What is the "good word of God," and "the powers of the age to come?" Both of these will soon be released in the church. It is now crucial that we understand both the powers and their dangers. The "good word of God" is the message of the kingdom. John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus preached this message. However, just as many of the most important doctrines of the faith were obscured after the first century A.D., the true gospel of the kingdom is yet to be recovered and preached by the last day church. This message is also represented in Revelation 11:15 as "the seventh trumpet." These trumpets are messages, and the seventh is the last message to be preached, which is: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever." The last day gospel will not just be one of salvation, but that Jesus reigns as King over all. He is seated above every authority and power. This message will come with the power that testifies of His place of ultimate authority. Unprecedented power will be released through the church when the time of this message has come.

The True Message Is Power:

The true gospel was always meant to be preached with a power that demonstrated the authority of the word of God. It was for this reason that the apostle Paul declared that: "...my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God... For the kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power" (I Corinthians 2:4-5, 4:20).

When the last day message goes forth in power, for a period of time it will seem like all of the miracles that accompanied Moses, Elijah and Paul will be combined with the preaching anointing of John the Baptist. There will be many of these messengers of power, but this authority will only be entrusted to the most faithful and humble servants. For all of the glory that will be demonstrated, there is a corresponding danger. This "power of the age to come" involves much more than the gifts of healing and miracles commonly demonstrated in the church today. To whom much is given much is required, and those who are trusted with this power cross a line in the Spirit from which backsliding is not just grievous—it is catastrophic. To fall from such a place in the Spirit would represent the kind of utter corruption that was found in Satan, who dwelt in the very throne room of God, was "the cherub that covered," witnessing all of the glory of God, and still he transgressed. For such a one who has seen this level of glory and still falls, it is "impossible to renew them again." One who has seen the highest realm of power and glory, without experiencing a profound change of heart, is corrupted beyond help. We may wonder, "Why then would the Lord allow such a one to experience this level of anointing?" It is for the same reason that he called Judas and included him in the innermost circle. The Lord knew from the beginning that Judas would betray him. He knew that he was a thief, yet He trusted him with the common purse. This was not to condemn Judas further, but to go as far as He could in giving him the opportunity to repent. The blood of Jesus is enough to erase any sin, but we must embrace His grace to receive it. When a person crosses the line from which it is impossible to renew him, it is not because the power of the blood is lacking, but the will of that person is corrupted to the degree that he will not embrace the grace to be changed again. The nature of Judas will be found in some who even walk in the highest levels of authority in the last days. Their falls will bring great testing upon the church. Therefore we must always be careful not to judge men by their power, but by their fruit.

The Standard Of Divine Judgment:

In Matthew 11:21-24, the Lord warned of a standard of divine judgment that many fail to comprehend. He said that it would actually be more tolerable for Sodom than for the cities of Judea who had rejected Him. By all outward appearances those cities of Judea were probably more righteous than any cities that have since existed on the face of the earth. They did not have abortions, pornography, or even the smallest degree of the kind of corruption that is almost universal in the west today. A person caught in adultery was stoned to remove even the trace of evil from their midst. Yet, Jesus said that one of the most wicked cities that ever existed would have it easier in the judgment than they would. How could this be? The reason that Sodom will have it better than these "righteous" cities is that the Lord does not judge by the degree of darkness as much as by the degree of light that has been rejected. Sodom only had the witness of Lot; Chorazin and Bethsaida had the witness of the Son of God. There is grave responsibility that comes with every bit of light that we receive. Those who taste of the powers of the age to come are accountable for that great knowledge with which they have been trusted. Does this mean that it would just be better not to seek the great light and power that is coming. Of course not! Then we will already have condemned ourselves as the Lord also warned: "The Queen of the South shall rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here" (Luke 11:31).

In other words, if the Queen of Sheba would travel so far just to hear Solomon, what a terrible disregard of the glory will we be guilty of for not pursuing what is available to us through Christ! If we turn our backs on what the Lord is making available to us today we will end up gnashing our teeth in outer darkness. Those who end up that way are virgins who are waiting on the Bridegroom, but who are too foolish to fill their vessels with oil. The only choice that we have is to pursue the Lord with all of our hearts. As the truth and power of the age to come is demonstrated, whether through us or not, we will be held accountable for that light. This is only a warning that the frivolous kind of backsliding that many of us tolerate in our lives from time to time will become increasingly dangerous as the Lord begins to move in power. It is dangerous for us to backslide to any degree at any time, as the Lord warned: "The men of Nineveh shall stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here" (Luke 11:32).

We must not be discouraged from seeking to walk in the highest level of anointing and power, but we must also be sober about it, understanding the responsibility that comes with it.

Walking On Water:

Water often represents mass humanity in Scripture. Isaiah 17:13 states: "The nations rumble on like the rumbling of many waters, but He will rebuke them and they will flee far away ..." When the Lord rebuked the storm and the waves calmed down it was a prophetic fulfillment of this passage. It was also a prophetic statement that one day He would arise to rebuke the storms of this world, and the rising waves of humanity, and they would be stilled. When the church is tossed about in her little boats, battered by the storms, then the Lord will come to her in the darkness of this great night, walking upon the waters. This understandably frightened the disciples more than the storm. However, Peter's response was remarkable. He requested that if this was indeed the Lord for Jesus to ask him to get out of the boat and walk on the waters with Him. All Jesus said was "Come," and Peter did, for a time walking upon the tossing waves with Jesus. At the end of this age many Christians will duplicate Peter's exploit and walk on water. However, we must understand that Peter did not walk on the water; he walked on the command of the Lord. He was wise not to get out of the boat until he heard the Lord say, "come." When we walk in obedience to the command of God we do not need anything else under our feet. The word of God is much more solid than the earth or anything in it. This will be the message of those who demonstrate these astonishing miracles. All of the great miracles and exploits of the church in the last hour will be the result of intimacy with the Lord, and utter obedience to the Holy Spirit. Until the end we will also have foolish, and misguided believers who will try to accomplish such feats as proof of their spirituality, which will result in humiliation and injury. Whenever we try to do something to prove ourselves we have departed from the true substance of faith that produces miracles. This was how the enemy tempted Jesus, to use miracles to prove who He was, and it is in this way that he continues to cause many of His followers to stumble. Miracles are given to testify of Jesus and the power of His kingdom, not to testify to who we are.

Counterfeits:

There will also be many counterfeit miracles from the enemy in the last days. There are already cults that practice walking on hot coals or sharp knives. Many missionaries have witnessed the power of some witch doctors to fly from place to place through demonic power. These are all counterfeits of heavenly powers that have been demonstrated in the church, such as Philip being translated in Acts 8:39-40. There will be witches and warlocks who will be able to duplicate even the great miracle of walking on water and air, but we must not let this discourage us from the importance of the real. The only proper response to the many counterfeit miracles is to pursue those which are true. Both the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness are established by power. In this last great battle of the kingdoms, those who abandon the true power of God will find themselves becoming increasingly subject to the counterfeit powers. It was important for Moses to demonstrate all of the miracles that were given to him even though the Lord knew that some would be matched by the cultists of Egypt. These conflicts and power challenges are important for the maturity of the church. We must not let any kind of satanic duplication of what the Lord is doing discourage us. There will be a point at which the church goes far beyond any power manifested by the enemy. Then even the cultist will acknowledge the true power of God as being much greater than their power. Our only defense against the counterfeit power of Satan is to know the true power of God. The power of God is easily distinguished from the powers of darkness because the power of the Holy Spirit will always glorify the Son of God. The power of darkness will always try to focus men's attention on those who demonstrate the power, leading to the glorification and worship of men.

Increased Temptations:

As we grow in spiritual authority and walk in greater supernatural power, temptations will also increase. The enemy will especially use the tendency for men to covet some honor and glory for themselves to seduce the saints. Satan will try to get the church to give more attention to the manifestation of the sons of God than to the manifestation of the Son. Many will fall from grace, proclaiming that they are the ones that the whole creation has been waiting to behold. Those who succumb to declaring a gospel of the sons of God will be disqualified from attaining the very thing they are seeking. Those who walk in the high callings of God do so not for what they are seeking for themselves, but because they have abandoned themselves for the glory of the Son of God. It is crucial for those who would walk in the power of the age to come to be delivered from the temptation to draw attention to themselves, their ministries, or even the church. Seeing Jesus receive the glory that is due Him must be our consuming and only passion. The more power that is released the more tempting it will be to use it for self-glorification. This is the very thing that caused Satan's fall and its power can seduce even the elect. We must now war against self-seeking and self-promotion like the deadly enemies that they are. Every bit of influence that we gain through selfpromotion will ultimately be a stumbling block to us, keeping us from the will of God. Every nickel that we raise through manipulation and self-promotion will be a stumbling block that can prevent us from fulfilling our calling and destiny. Our noble intentions for using such influence or resources are completely irrelevant; using such devices in an effort to accomplish the work of the Lord will disqualify us from being a significant part of the greater work that is coming. The Lord is now giving His church time to repent of human efforts and to learn to build upon the only foundation that will last—the Lord Jesus Himself and simple obedience to Him.

It is spoken in Isaiah:

Sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless. Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual burning? He who walks righteously, and speaks with sincerity, He who rejects unjust gain, and shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe..." (Isaiah 33:14-15).

The Lord will be drawing increasingly close to His people as the end of this age draws near. The author of Hebrews declared: "Our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:29), and His presence will consume the wood, hay and stubble. When we try to build on hype, manipulation and soul power what we build will be consumed. No one who takes bribes will be able to stand in His presence, but how easily do we still take them! How easily we will determine the meetings that we should take by the amount of the honorarium or offerings, which is nothing less than taking a bribe. How easily we allow the most generous givers to dictate policy in our churches and ministries, which is nothing less than taking a bribe. As long as we do this we are only storing up greater pain for that wonderful time when He comes closer, because we will not be able to abide in His presence.

Isaiah continues:

But there the majestic One, the Lord, shall be for us a place of rivers and wide canals, on which no boat with oars shall go, and on which no mighty ship shall pass (Isaiah 33:21).

"Boats with oars" speak of vessels propelled by human energy. Such will not be allowed on the way that the Lord is preparing. Paul explained to the men of Athens, "human hands cannot serve Him," and that which is propelled by human strength cannot accomplish the purposes of God. That no "mighty ships" will be allowed speaks of huge, cumbersome ministries. Not only are these unable to maneuver in the streams of God, but they block the paths of those who can.

Walking On Air:

The Lord Jesus said: “Truly, truly I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father” (John 14:12).

In a dream the Lord showed me what one of these greater works would be—walking on air! I saw a man of God who was ministering to a great crowd of people. He wanted to lay hands on a sick woman near the back of the crowd, but there was no way for him to get to her because of the press of the people. He hesitated briefly and then walked on the air above the crowd until he reached her. The people were so astonished that many of them fell on their backs as a great roar of praise to God arose from them. The man of God seemed embarrassed but resolute as he came to the woman and laid hands on her to be healed. In the dream the man's demeanor was just as amazing as his miracle of walking on the air above the people. This was obviously not done for show, but because it had to be done to accomplish the purpose of God in ministering to this woman. I was also given the understanding that this man had walked on air many times before, in private, out of necessity, and he very reluctantly had revealed his authority to do this to the people. This will not be a frivolous trick for the purpose of impressing people, but a witness to one of the most profound truths of the gospel of the kingdom —that the word of God is of greater substance than terra firma. Those who know how to keep secrets, who have the discretion to maintain silence until the proper time, will be trusted with the authority to do the greatest exploits. Many cannot keep such things a secret out of a genuine desire to testify of the Lord and His grace, but this is nevertheless a flaw that renders them unworthy for the greater authority. "The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him" (Psalm 25:14).

Just as the Lord did some of His greatest miracles in private, or only in the presence of His closest disciples, the Lord wants to do many of His great works in relative obscurity. This may seem incomprehensible, but our lack of comprehension only reveals a human perspective, just as it did when the Lord's own brothers said to Him: "Depart from here, and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may behold Your works which You are doing. For no one does anything in secret, when he himself seeks to be known publicly..." (John 7:3-4).

The key phrase here is "For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly." Jesus was not doing things to become known, but He “emptied Himself” and became of "no reputation" in order to fulfill His calling. He became as humble as He could, being born in a stable, raised in Nazareth as a peasant, and finally suffering the most humiliating death ever devised by demented men. His entire devotion was to embrace humility so that He could glorify the Father. In contrast, there is a mentality present in ministry that we cannot accomplish the purpose of God without making ourselves known. So we try to get as much visibility for our ministries as possible. These are the Lord's children, and they honestly do often have good intentions, even if they are mixed, so He will use them as much as He can. However, just as good is often the worst enemy of best, such a mentality will disqualify us from the highest purposes of the kingdom. John the Baptist did not have to dress for power. He did not have to go up to Jerusalem—all of Jerusalem would come out to him. Why did they come? Because of his slick advertising? Because of his eloquence? Because he had an excellent choir? No. They came because he was anointed. The only thing that would attract anyone to John was the anointing. The only thing that would attract anyone to Jesus was the anointing. They had no props, no devices, no advertising agency. All they had was the Holy Spirit, but He was all they needed. Until we come to the place that the Holy Spirit is all that we need for our ministry, we will not receive all that the Holy Spirit has. This is the wisdom of the high calling. "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory [literally "recognition"]; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him" (John 7:18).

The degree to which self-seeking enters our ministry is the degree to which it has been corrupted. Conversely, to the degree that we seek the glory of the Son of God, that is the degree to which He will be able to trust us with the authority of the kingdom. The authority of the kingdom is the ability to bring the influence of the kingdom into this earthly realm. How much we have built our ministries on influence from the earthly realm will determine the degree to which we have disqualified ourselves from true kingdom authority. The degree to which we have built our lives on the power, witness, and fruit of the Holy Spirit will determine the degree to which He can use us in this awesome time to come.