Are You Truly on the Lord's Side of the Battle?
As a Christian, you need to know if you are truly on the Lord's side. Surely, the Church, the Body of Christ is at war with Satan; however, Satan has been very effective in working his plan. Consequently, today some of the saints of God are working with Satan and they do not know it. For it is written that the beast prevailed against the Saints of God. Revelation 13:7 explains that it was given unto the beast to make war with the saints and to overcome them. At Daniel 7:21, Daniel describes this beast as a horn. He writes, “I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; (22) Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. Help me Holy Spirit because many do not understand that the revelation regarding the beast prevailing against these saints of God has already happened. Surely, Daniel Chapter 7 foretold what was going to happen - surely there was a Roman King, named Constantine, he subdued three kings and he spoke great words against the most High, and the Roman Empire wore out the Saints of God. In 325 A.D., Constantine declared that he was head of the Church, and the saints were prohibited by the Roman Empire from calling upon the name of JESUS for the remission of sins. Surely the saints of God were given into the hands of the Roman Empire until a time and times and the dividing of time. (Daniel 7:21-25)
Now listen, Daniel 7:26 “But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.” Judgment shall sit – what does this mean? It is imperative that you understand Malachi chapter 3 to understand the dispensation of time we are living in and how the Holy Spirit is empowering us to fight in this warfare. Holy Spirit, help me! Lord, you have it written in your word. Malachi 3:1-5, clearly explains what is going on today, where judgement sits, and what God is doing to make us ready. In summary, the Lord is like a refiner’s fire and like fuller’s soap. He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver and gold – the Lord is looking for an offering in righteousness. Moreover, the Lord comes near unto us for judgment. Today our job is to make the Bride ready. I pray in the name of Jesus that you will take time out and study this word as recorded in Malachi chapter three.
The topic of this discussion is “Christians are at war.” Today, the saints of God are still in warfare; however, there are some saints that are still holding onto doctrines from the time the saints of God were in the hands of the beast. We must understand that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)
Satan knows our weakness and Satan has laid out an excellent battle plan to conquer the saints of God again, however, Satan will fail in his second attempt to prevail against the saints of God. Nevertheless today, there are many who profess that they know the Lord, but in the end, they will discover that they had been worshipping the Lord in vain by teaching for doctrine the commandments of men. (Mark 7:7)
Jesus said in Mark 3:27 – “No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.” Satan also knows for him to spoil the saints of God, the Holy Spirit must be bound. Satan also knows that he cannot personally bind the Holy Spirit; however the saints of God can by using doctrines of men and their practices.
Therefore, Satan’s battle plan is built on that foundation. Satan knows that the Word of God is good for the saints and as long as the saints of God are fed the sincere milk of the Word of God and meat as appropriate, he cannot spoil the saints of God. It is unfortunate that today some of the saints are still holding onto doctrine of men, bad wine. So Satan has developed a very comprehensive battle plan in the dark to promote the bad wine which is a corruption of the Word of God, the good wine. Satan also knows that God has given to the Church, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come:
- In the unity of the faith,
- And of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man,
- And unto the knowledge of the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
Satan knows that until this happens the saints will be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. Today it is being reported that there is more than 41 thousand denominations worldwide.
Satan’s battle plan is designed to bring forth counseling to the saints of God. Isaiah made note of that counseling in Isaiah 29:15. He writes: “Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?” Praise God! Surely, we must give God the glory because only God could have exposed this comprehensive battle plan of Satan to counsel the saints of God. Here are some of the missions of this counsel from Satan.
- Get rid of the apostles and prophets by corrupting the doctrine. (The good wine says there were certain prophets and teachers at Antioch – Acts 13:1) (Barnabas and Paul were apostles – Acts 14:14) Surely there were other apostles and prophets in Acts and there are apostles and prophets today according to Ephesians 4:11-16. Nevertheless, today there is much bad wine that promotes false doctrine that God does not have apostles and prophets today.
- Change the Word of God by corrupting the source, the Bible. Create various translations – bring joy to the itching ears!
- Empower the teachers at bible colleges, bible schools, and universities with degrees i.e. Ph.D. and DD’s – They do not have to be called by God to be a Teacher of the Gospel, however, their advancement comes from the study of theology, philosophy, and books written by men.
- Minimize the importance of the role of the Evangelist!
- Elevate the role of pastors and affect their minds to think that they are Lord of the flock and they do not need the assistance of apostles and prophets. Satan works to ensure that these pastors drink the bad wine straightway that God no longer has apostles and prophets.
- Change the text in the Bible that will make it impossible to search the scriptures and see Jesus throughout the Word of God. Various translations of the Bible make it impossible to study by aligning scriptures precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line, here a little, and there a little. This is the prescribed way to teach and learn scriptures. (Isaiah 28:5-10 and Isaiah 29:9-15) The bad wine has changed the text by deleting words, phrases that are essential to understanding the revelation. It is unfortunate that some of the bad wine have attempted to amplify the Word of God, without the understanding of the base.
- Corrupt doctrine to ensure that the saints do not understand that the power is in the Name of Jesus. Isaiah 29:15 explains how they would seek deep to hide their counsel and their work would be in the dark. Surely, this is an excellent example of Satan’s attempt to hide his counsel and the work is being done in the dark. Moreover, Satan uses the spirit of pride to fuel the divide by ensuring that the saints of God will not know the Son of God unto a perfect man and the measure and full stature of Christ. Take a moment and look at the spirit of pride. Can you imagine going to Bible College and drinking bad wine straightway and then building your ministry on the foundation of bad wine? And after ten, twenty, or thirty years in ministry, someone tries to serve you good wine! What would you do? Pride has caused some to deny the Truth and castigate the ones who uphold the Truth.
- Satan uses the words of Jesus at Matthew 28:18-20 and the words of Peter at
Act 2:38 as a foundation for the divide. Consequently, instead of studying the good wine to understand the revelation, many pastors and teachers do not understand the revelation: it is about the Name of JESUS.
Surely, Satan knows that there is power in the name of JESUS. When the beast prevailed against the saints of God it was in A.D. 325. The saints of God were prohibited by the Roman Empire from calling on the name of JESUS for the remission of sins. These saints of God were under the dominion of the Roman Empire and Papal Rome from the time Emperor Constantine issued a general exhortation to all his subjects to embrace Christianity in A.D. 325. This control continued through part of the period of the Reformation of the Church until 1586, which was the apparent end of the record of Roman martyrology. This is 1260 years, a “time and times and the diving of time.” Reference the books of Revelation 12:14, 12:6, 13:5 and
Ezekiel 4:6. (Edifying The Body of Christ: Unbinding the Strong Man, page 74)
Now this is key to Satan’s battle plan is to create confusion to bind the Holy Spirit using the word of God as its source, the Bible. Consequently, today some of the saints of God still hold onto doctrine restricting the use of the name of Jesus when baptizing. They will not execute the command; however they will only repeat it. At Matthew 28:18-20 – (18) And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (19) Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (20) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever, I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
When the saints of God were in the hands of the beast, they were forbidden to execute the command; they were allowed only to repeat the phrase: “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.” Many saints do not understand this was the compromise that was agreed on in A.D. 325. Constantine sought to maintain a unified Christian church in support of his rule. He called together important churchmen at the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) in hopes of ending the Arian controversy. Out of this meeting came the Nicene Creed, a statement of faith that defined clearly the doctrine of the Trinity. With the approval of the Emperor, Christianity spread rapidly, in gratitude, Christians called Constantine “the Great.” However, Christians could no longer execute the command by calling on the name of Jesus as Peter stated in Acts 2:38 without experiencing persecution.
Today, the battleground is within the Church itself because many still hold onto doctrine that is designed to bind the Holy Spirit. There is power in the name of JESUS and the saints of God must call upon his name. However, today there are many that are in leadership roles of the Church who fail to understand doctrine and teachers at some Bible Schools, Colleges, and Universities continue to teach in error. We must address this divide within the Church. For they fail to understand that the new, declared and glorious name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is JESUS. Here it is important to share more about this revelation.
Jesus Christ was tasked to manifest the name of the Father, the only true God, as “JESUS” to those that were given him. Listen carefully. Isaiah 63:12 says that God led them by the hand of Moses … to make himself an everlasting name. Isaiah 63:16 says, “… Thou, O Lord, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.” Therefore, this means that God’s name now is not the same as it was in the beginning, but God made a new name for himself, an everlasting name. A name that is from everlasting; a name that is not from the beginning, but from everlasting until it was manifested and declared by Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ declared (made known) the Father’s name. (John 17:26) Jesus accomplished this task. The scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Romans did not understand this truth; it is unfortunate today, there are many who profess to be Christians who still do not understand this truth because of the doctrines of men. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 says, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine upon them.”
Before we leave this point, let us examine several more scriptures. In John 17:11-12, Jesus says, “And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou has given me, that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.” Remember in John 5:43, Jesus says, “I am come in my Father’s name, …”
The children of Israel defiled the Holy name of the Lord that Moses declared, by the abominations that they committed. (Isaiah 43:8) God said that he would sanctify his great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. (Ezekiel 36:23) In Ezekiel 39:7 God said, “I will make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.” Jesus Christ was tasked to declare the name of the Father; Jesus Christ accomplished this task in the midst of the people of Israel.
In John 17:26, Jesus Christ says, “And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” At John 12:23 Jesus says, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.” In John 12:28-29, Jesus says, “Father, glorify thy name.” “Then came there a voice from heaven, saying I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: other said, An angel spake to him.” The Father said I have both glorified it. This means the Father glorified the name “JESUS” as his name and he glorified the name “JESUS” for the redeemer. (John 13:31-32) Listen. This was the fulfillment of the prophecy as recorded in Isaiah 63:14-16. God made himself a glorious name (Isaiah 63:14) and this glorious name is for Our LORD who is the Father and the Redeemer; this name is from everlasting (Isaiah 63:16). Praise God for this truth.
Many do not understand that the Father tasked Jesus to declare His name. This declared and glorious name is JESUS. Jesus declared it, and then, the Father glorified it for both, the Son and Himself. The name is from everlasting until it, was declared and glorified. It is very important to align scriptures; therefore it is of utmost important to include John 16:23-28. “(23) And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. (24) Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. (25) These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs, but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. (26) At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you. (27) For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. (28) I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.”
In the book, “Edifying the Body of Christ: Unbinding the Strong Man” chapter one covers declaring the name of the Father. We must share in love teaching to bring understanding to the saints of God regarding this truth as the Late Pastor Robert L. Richmond does in this video.
Consequently, there are many saints who are spoiled and they do not know that they have been spoiled. However, there are some that understand this truth but; because of pride, they continue to teach for doctrine the commandments of men. Thus, they are worshipping the Lord in vain.
God’s battle plan is sound, however, to become part of God’s army, the Church, you must receive power in the name of JESUS. Saints only receive power when they receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. In Acts 2:38, Peter explained how we receive this power. “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
The Apostle Paul explains in Ephesians 6:10-11, that we must put on the whole armour of God. He writes, “(10) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. (11) Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” We must be strong in the Lord with the power of the Lord’s might. Brothers and sisters this can only be done with the power of the Holy Ghost. We must preach sound doctrine.
Throughout this work, we have included links to other works and videos that are designed to help the saints of God to be more effective in this warfare. You are in our prayers in the name of JESUS. The Church Readiness Ministries is working to help make the Bride of Christ ready – we must work together in love to that end.
Prophet Elmore Richmond Jr. and Prophetess Nadine Richmond
The Church Readiness Ministries