Ere The Lamp Of God Go Out

In The Temple Of The Lord - Part Two

Israel's darkest day was not the day she went into slavery in Egypt or even the failure of Kadesh Barnea. The darkest day in Israel's history was when the light went out in the Temple of the Lord and as a result she lost the Ark of God, which typified and carried the presence of God from among her midst because of unbelief, rebellion and sin among the priesthood of Eli and his sons. The church's darkest hour will also result if we as Israel of old allow the light of the Lord to go out in the temple of the Lord and we lose the presence of God. As Eli represented corrupt leadership so today men of corrupt minds have promoted a false gospel that does not provide light but is full of darkness that will damn men's souls to hell. Without the preaching of the Cross, the light of the Holy Spirit will be put out in these last days prior to the rapture. We are either headed for revival or outright apostasy depending on whether or not the lamp of God goes out in the Temple of the Lord, of which the New Testament believer stands as a type.

By Chris McDonald

TEXT: 1 Samuel 3:1-4 - And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.  And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; [3] And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; [4] That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.

The darkest day in Israel's history was when the light went out in the Temple of the Lord and as a result she lost the Ark of God, which typified and carried the presence of God from among her midst because of unbelief, rebellion and sin among the priesthood of Eli and his sons. It was during this time the Lord raised up a young man named Samuel, whom we will look at in more detail in this second installment of this message, to restore the ministry of the Holy Place and to end the neglect of the daily work of trimming the lights of the Golden Lampstand in the Holy Place of Moses' Tabernacle that was now at Shiloh.

Just as Israel of old, the church's darkest hour will also result if we as Israel of old allow the light of the Lord to go out in the temple of the Lord and we lose the presence of God. As Eli represented corrupt spiritual leadership, so today men of corrupt minds have promoted a false gospel that does not provide light but is full of darkness that will damn men's souls to hell. Without the preaching of the Cross, the light of the Holy Spirit will be put out and millions will wind up in eternal hell without God. This is even more important today when we look at the hour we live and the close proximity this writer firmly believes we are to the rapture of the Church. Events taking place right now in the Middle East are rumblings of a distant thunder of judgment that is shortly on the horizon for Planet Earth. Israel is God's prophetic time clock and she is in store for a time of travail unlike she has ever experienced going back to the days of the Exodus out of Egypt.

Israel's history, going back to her failures in the wilderness, has been documented with sad episode after sad episode of apostasy, falling away from God, experiencing judgment, sometimes coming back, but mainly continuing in her rebellion and unbelief. As a result of her rejection of Christ, who came to this Earth in the form of a man 2,000 years ago, she was scattered throughout the Earth after A.D. 70 when the Roman Emperor Titus rode through Jerusalem, destroying the Temple, which has never been rebuilt to this day, and in effect closing the door on the Lord's dealings with the nation for a season. Israel has been "set aside," for a time but will one day be brought back to God. In 1948, she was reformed as a nation for the first time since Titus' purge in A.D. 70 and began the clock ticking towards the end of the church age.

Israel's experiences as recorded in the Old Covenant are examples to us today, as the Holy Spirit puts it, to "not fall," into the same trap as she but avoid. The story of Eli, Samuel and the loss of the Ark of God, as recorded in 1 Samuel, serves as one of those prophetic warnings and speaks directly to a church which has lost its way with God and pushed out the anointing and operation of the Holy Ghost! We're living in the last of the last days with precious few hours left before the rapture of the church.

Sadly, the current state of the affairs of the modern church will not change without tremendous intercession and travail on the part of those who are hearing the voice of God and see the deep need and poverty of our hearts - both corporately and individually - and are crying out to God in deep repentance and brokenness to change us first, then our nation.  We are either headed for revival or outright apostasy depending on how serious and deep our repentance goes. As Israel of old, when the lamp of God, a type of the Holy Spirit, went out in the Temple of the Lord, of which the New Testament believer stands as a type, the results will be the loss of God's presence from among us and a resulting darkness, apostasy and onslaught of demonic attack that will ultimately bring nothing but DEATH.

Samuel Ministered Unto The Lord

1 Samuel 3:1
And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.

As the writer of this narrative tells us, Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli at  a time the word of the Lord was precious in those days. Samuel's ministry was in the Holy Place in the "temple," of the Lord.

1 Samuel 3:1-3
And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision. [2] And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; [3] And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;
 

When it says "temple of the Lord," the writer of 1 Samuel was referring to the tabernacle of Moses, which was thus called, along with many other titles.

The word "temple," comes from the Hebrew: "heykal" (HSN-1964), and means a large public building, such as a palace or temple, and was used for the first time here in this passage. It may be that Israel had built a more permanent house in connection with the temporary tabernacle of Moses which was made of cloth walls and skin coverings and could have been a house for the high priest and others to live in, for it seems Eli and Samuel lived in one to take care of the daily duties of the tabernacle (1 Samuel 3:3,5-18). God Himself testified that He had not dwelt in a permanent house, but in a tent and a tabernacle from the days of Moses to David (2 Samuel 7:6-7; see 1 Chron. 15:1; 2 Chron. 1:4; Psalm 78:60).

These and the tabernacle (called a temple) make seven temples of Scripture. While there are many references to the literal temple of God in heaven, there are about 7 references in the New Covenant of believers being the TEMPLE of God.

2 Cor. 3:9
For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.

1 Cor. 6:16
What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.

1 Cor. 6:19
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Ephes. 2:20-21
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; [21] In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:

Hebrews 3:6
But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

1 Peter 2:5
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 4:17
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
 

To say something that cannot be over stated, if one approached this Tabernacle, one would first see the Brazen Altar at the only gate that granted entrance into this house of worship. This speaks to us as Christ, our ONLY WAY within the house of worship of salvation. There is no other way to heaven except through the blood of Christ. To the natural eye the Tabernacle of Moses was not that attractive and the stench of blood at the gate probably offended many from wanting further access. The same is true today. The offense of the Cross is putrid to most who want nothing to do with this "bloody," religion, but for those who have come through the Gate, we've seen the beauty and glory of our glorious Lord and Saviour!

At the brazen altar inside the gate the priests were non-stop day and night offering animal sacrifices, a type of the Cross of Christ, where THE sacrifice was offered once and for all of man's sin. Again, the brazen altar was not a pretty sight to the observer by any stretch of the imagination but for the priest, of which the New Testament believer is a type, the brazen altar was where he had to go FIRST and in was CENTRAL to ALL that he did in the Holy Place in that ANY blood sprinkled upon the furniture and vessels within and ultimately upon the mercy seat - CAME FROM THAT ALTAR!

ALL and any ministry the believer does unto the Lord and for the Lord and given BY the Lord comes only through the blood of the Cross. If the priest circumvented that altar, he died. There are many "ministering," in the Holy Place today that have never come the altar of the Cross and as a result they are preaching and teaching DEATH and they themselves are under a death sentence!

Directly after the altar, stood a bronze laver of water, a type of the Word of God, where the priests would wash themselves before entering the Holy Place. There would be ten of these in the Temple of Solomon, which would be built years in the future, indicating that when the Kingdom  Age comes the Word of God will FLOW from Jerusalem once more as it was intended to do at the first and bring universal salvation and righteousness to those who will believe what it says and embrace it's message called the gospel of Jesus Christ!! It also shows us how important the Word of God is in the plan of God yet also rebukes neglect of the Word today among those who belong to God. If Satan can't get men to neglect the Word of God, he then seeks to have men pervert the Word of God and make it no effect by the traditions of men.

Friend, hear this writer. Satan can't stop what God is doing in these last days. God has never reacted to Satan but Satan reacts to God. The enemy of our soul knows what is coming to a degree and that his time is short upon Planet Earth. That is the reason why we see this vomiting blitz of demonic power upon the earth at the present time. Make so mistake, we are living in tremendously prophetic times that are going to get more perilous as we near the rapture of the church. The Psalmist wrote, "thy Word, is a LIGHT unto my path and a LAMP unto my feet," typifying that which we speak of in this message today. The ONLY light the church has is the LIVING WORD of God - the Lord Jesus Christ - who has breathed by His Holy Spirit the LOGOS, or written word of God we have today known as the Bible. 

 We are saved by the blood of Jesus (the brazen altar) but after we are saved, we have the need for daily  WASHINGS of the brazen laver.

John 15:1-3
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. [2] Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. [3] Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

Ephes. 5:26-28
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, [27] That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. [28] So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

Jesus said we are washed of water by the WORD OF GOD, which works hand in hand with Holy Spirit conviction. This is a dirty filthy world and the spirit of this age infects us very easily, thus the need for cleansing. So many have dirty filthy hearts before God because they neglect this daily washing by neglecting God's Word. Some say, "well I don't see anything wrong with that." Of course one don't see anything "wrong," with sin if they are not reading the Word of God!

James likened the Word of God to a mirror whereby we look into to see our woefully inadequate state before God. Those who look into this mirror and REPENT as the Spirit of God convicts us of sin will find true liberty for through the Word of God we have and see the foundational message of the Cross in every single page of its writings! The message of the Bible is the message of the Cross through which the power of the Holy Spirit works in bringing cleansing, conviction, and clarity to the mind of the New Testament believer. Turn the Word off and you turn off the light neighbor! Turn off the Word and you WILL walk in darkness and thus be subject to the powers that come from that darkness which are always demon spirits sent to deceive, dominate and destroy! We must not just read the Word, but OBEY it, as the Spirit of God commands us to do. As James says, through it we "lay apart," all FILTHINESS, SUPERFLUITY, which means hypocrisy, and naughtiness, as we 'receive,' with meekness the engrafted word. The Holy Spirit then adds in no uncertain terms that such "is able to SAVE your souls."

James 1:20-22
For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. [21] Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. [22] But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Let me get my daily offending everyone statement out of the way here. The Purpose Driven Life cannot save your soul preacher. Celebrate Recovery's 12-step programs cannot save your soul drug addict and one bound by pornography. It's the WORD OF GOD that does such. Let the reader be clear that just because men mix a few scriptures into their false and damnable heresies that does not make what they are saying able to save ANYONE, including themselves! Peter says those who bring in damnable heresies are set for damnation and destruction unless they repent!

2 Peter 2:3
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

Men like many of these new age gurus dressed up in suits and ties except for those dressed in Hawaiian shirts and singing lyrics to a song glorifying demonic visions and LSD are making MERCHANDISE of the church! The root cause of false doctrine is COVETOUSNESS. This apostate system has become big business today by perverting the Word of God and sending millions pandering after that which will never afford victory or salvation but making men sign covenants to finance their ungodly and WICKED theology. John said the great whore in Revelation, "sat" upon many waters, meaning CONTROL and that is what apostate systems of religion do - they CONTROL people and when you control someone you always control their wallet! Millions gladly pay the whore for her services spiritually speaking because she gives them great pleasure and freedom to sin without repentance but friend the end of that type of spirituality and activity is DEATH for the hears and a damnation for those who teach such that "slumbers," not and "lingers," not.

They may seem to be prospering doing such but hear this writer - their day is coming friend and it's not going to be pretty or pleasant UNLESS THEY REPENT.

As Samuel entered into the Holy Place he would see on his right the table of showbread where sat 12 loaves of bread called the "bread of the face." The 12 loaves typifying the 12 tribes of Israel, were also a type of Christ, as was ALL in the Tabernacle of Moses, the Tabernacle of David and the Temple of Solomon. The loaves typified that we must "partake" of the crucified Lamb as our sustenance and also the fact that all of God's blessings come through National Israel! It was through the children of Abraham, Isaac and JACOB that "all the nations of the earth shall be blessed."

It also speaks to us that man shall not live by "BREAD" alone, but by every WORD that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Matthew 4:1-10
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. [2] And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. [3] And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. [4] But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Nothing else will satisfy us and nothing else will sustain us on this journey yet despite this truth the church offers the world everything BUT the Word of God! When the true Word of God is preached there is always going to be precious few who will embrace it. Jesus drew crowds by miracles and feeding the hungry but when He laid down the demands of eternal life through the gospel, many of those clamoring after His miracles and food LEFT, never to follow again.

On Samuel's left sat the Golden Lampstand, also called the golden "candlestick," in some translations, This piece of furniture was referred to by the Holy Spirit  who warned of results, "ere (or before) the LAMP of God," go out in the Temple of the Lord. The Golden Lampstand was a lamp stand of beaten gold (Exodus 37:17; Numbers 8:4) with middle shaft and three branches on each side, making seven lamps in all, a type of Christ as the Light of the World, AND as the New Testament believer as LIGHTS in this dark world as well.

Exodus 37:17
And he made the candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work made he the candlestick; his shaft, and his branch, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, were of the same:

Numbers 8:4
And this work of the candlestick was of beaten gold, unto the shaft thereof, unto the flowers thereof, was beaten work: according unto the pattern which the Lord had showed Moses, so he made the candlestick.

Each branch and shaft were adorned with flowers, supposed to resemble lilies, with large knops (knobs) resembling pomegranates, and smaller knops representing almonds, typifying the fruit of the Spirit, the character of the Spirit, the purity of the Spirit and the power of the Spirit to produce spiritual results as it pertains to the salvation of souls.

Gal. 5:22-24 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, [23] Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. [24] And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
 

The lamp stand was about 3 ft. high and 2 ft. wide and was set on the south wall of the holy place (Exodus 26:35), opposite the table of showbread on the north, so light would be reflected toward the table on which were the twelve loaves symbolizing the twelve tribes, and the Word of God. The Spirit of God ALWAYS illuminates the Word! One cannot understand the Word of God without the help and assistance of the Holy Spirit, the one who AUTHORED the book as He moved upon men of old and inspired every word they wrote.

Exodus 26:35
And thou shall set the table without the veil, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shall put the table on the north side.

2 Peter 1:21
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Psalm 119:105
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

The light from the Golden Lampstand was to burn perpetually, being serviced each evening and morning (Exodus 27:21; Leviticus 24:1-4), so the lamps were large enough to hold the oil needed for a whole day or night, typifying the New Testament believer, who comprise the New Testament CHURCH, is to be FILLED with the HOLY SPIRIT! It also speaks to us that it is only through the Spirit of God we can truly worship Jesus and understand what He has done for us at the Cross.

Ephes. 5:17-25
Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. [18] And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

John 4:24
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 

Exodus 27:21
In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the Lord: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

Leviticus 24:1-4
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, [2] Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually. [3] Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the Lord continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations. [4] He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the Lord continually.

Listen closely to what I am about to say. The part of the candlestick that produced the light was the OIL, more specifically, pure olive oil, beaten "for the light" which caused the lamps to burn continually. Aaron was ordered by GOD to make sure the lights were ALWAYS BURNING and to NEVER go out, just as the fires from the brazen altar were also required to "never go out."

All who ministered in the Holy Place were required  to go in both morning and evening and "trim the wicks" of the light and "pour fresh oil" into the knobs so that the priests would always see what they were doing within the Holy Place for what they did was "before the veil," of the testimony or literally before God!

The oil, a type of the Holy Spirit, the candlestick a type of the individual believer and in a way a type of the corporate body of believers as well, were VITAL in the ministry which Samuel was involved in when this sad chapter of Israel's history was written.

Jesus addressed the seven candlesticks in Revelations 2 and 3 as addressing HIS BODY, meaning that everything that took place regarding the Golden Lamp Stand of the Old Covenant, was a prophetic picture of the coming Church, who MUST be FILLED with the SPIRIT OF God to ensure we walk in the LIGHT and not in darkness!! When Jesus warned those churches in spiritual jeopardy He always threatened to "take away their lamp stand,"  meaning that if they refused to repent their light would be taken away and in its place would exist spiritual darkness!

We cannot at any cost let the light go out in the temple of the LORD! God no longer dwells in a temple made by hands, but HE DWELLS among US and IN US and through US - the New Testament temple of the Lord. We no longer come to a physical tabernacle to worship, we ARE the tabernacle, or Temple of worship. Samuel ministered 'ere' (before) the light went out in the temple of the Lord, and we too must minister and embrace the POWER of the Spirit of God before the LIGHT goes out in the temple of the Lord during these last days.

The light went out in Israel's day which ultimately led to the loss of the Ark of God, a type of the presence of the Lord.  The word of God became precious in that time because there was very little true word from heaven. As I write these words I cannot help think with a broken heart are we in the same boat today. I know the modern day church boasts of hearing from God. I know we as the modern church boast of our big buildings, our huge payrolls, our huge attendance records, our 5 services on Sunday to hold everybody, our multiple activities that keeps the people coming back that it is hard to keep up with all the tapestries. Our "state of the art" ministries that are on the "cutting edge" of what God is doing today, as so many boast of, do little to point men to the True Light of our soul - the Lord Jesus Christ - and as a result we sit in darkness.

Isaiah cried 2700 years ago, "the people who sat in darkness have seen a great LIGHT!" There is no other light than the Lord Jesus Christ and there cannot be a revelation or illumination of that light other than through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I do not wish to sound cynical in what I ask, but I can't help but ask, "if we are hearing such monumental things from God," why is our nation still dying??? Why is the church at large, and I speak of the professing church, not the true church, dying?? Why do we allow homosexuality and rampant occultism to be practiced and embraced in our midst and we don't even blush about it anymore??

I am going to bring it down even closer to home. Why is it that the church of the living God has become divided into camps that cannot even agree on what day it is because we fight the Holy Ghost in our churches? Why is it that some churches will allow you to be a member in good standing even if you dip, smoke, cuss, watch dirty filthy movies, sing in night clubs on Saturday night then get up and teach Sunday School on Sunday, drink bawdy liquor, snort cocaine, consult witches and mediums,  have homosexual partners, sleep around and even put you in leadership with such issues, yet that same church would shove you out the door quicker than I can say Pentecostal if you received the baptism in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with other tongues and stopped the cussing, stopped the drinking, stopped the fornicating, stopped the dipping and stopped the drugging?? BEFORE THE LAMP OF GOD GO OUT neighbor, before the Lamp of God goes out in our churches, we need a fresh infilling of the HOLY GHOST! We need fresh oil in our lamps so we can SEE.

The horror of it all is it's one thing to be in darkness and recognize such a state, but we sit in this darkness and don't even know we're there! We're sick but we declare we're in health. We're poor spiritually but we declare we are rich. We have such activity and little or no anointing and we call our activity and programs "ministry," and think we're reaching those lost in sin and darkness when in fact we are aiding and abetting the powers of darkness that blinds the minds of those without Christ!!!!!

You say "how dare you say that, the modern church is the richest, the wealthiest, the biggest it's ever been, we don't need all that Holy Ghost stuff," as I heard a preacher in our fair city tell me just last week. I get amused at how when people bring up tongues religious, backslidden people are so quick to scream, "well if God was in this there would not be confusion about it." The confusion is because Satan has snuffed out the LIGHT in the temple of the Lord and replaced it with New Age humanism and a religious spirit that fights EVERYTHING and every one associated with the true anointing of God which comes as a result of the infilling of the Holy Ghost. God is not the author of confusion when it pertains to things outside the Word of God, but when men tinker and deny those things written in God's Word and through their wicked unbelieving hearts try to shove the Holy Spirit out the door - that situation has nothing to do with confusion - it has to do with demonic unbelief.

Do you think had you asked the Pharisees about the miracles of Jesus they would have told you the Lord's miracles created confusion? Of course they would have. They went as far as to label the power Christ used to perform His miracles - the Holy Spirit - to be that of Satan, which brought a severe and damning declaration from the Son of God to the unbelieving religious when He said, "if you speak a Word against the Holy Spirit, there is neither forgiveness in this life, or in the life to come." Men blaspheme the Spirit of God when the LIGHT goes out in the Temple of the Lord! There is nothing confusing about what the Holy Spirit seeks to do in the heart and life of the believer. Confusion comes when Men seek to deny God's Word and through their educated, darkened hearts and just outright reject the LIGHT and power of the HOLY GHOST.

We'd be wise to hear the rebuke of the Lord for the church at Laodicea which is a rebuke to the non-believing, rich, suffocating self-righteous church of these modern times:

Rev. 3:17-19
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: [18] I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. [19] As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.


We are called to Anoint our eyes with EYE SALVE, which is a TYPE of the HOLY SPIRIT, the OIL for our lamps! Without the Holy Ghost we cannot see. Without the Holy Ghost in control we cannot preach. Without the Holy Spirit we cannot teach. Without the Holy Spirit in control we cannot sing. Without the  Holy Ghost in control we cannot minister. And little by little by little by little the Holy Ghost has been pushed out of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ to the point now Christ is outside the door KNOCKING wanting to get back into our midst and we don't even recognize HE'S GONE!

The Assemblies of God (see Baptists I just don't write about you on this website as we are accused of doing sometimes :D)  sent a questionnaire out about a year ago to several residents of a northern Tennessee city to see what the public wanted in a church. A good majority of the responses came back with the statements that people felt "uncomfortable" with the "Pentecostal" experience and felt very awkward if someone spoke in tongues and gave messages of prophecy while they worshipped. The people said they wanted a church where they could feel "comfortable." Well isn't that interesting, the church asking the world what we can offer them to make them feel comfortable?? God help us.

The district presbyter proceeded to take the input and go to a local pastor of one of the largest Assembly of God churches in this town and tell him that he needed to tone down the "Pentecostal" nature of his services and keep 'tongues' to a minimum. He told this pastor that the AOG wanted to get more people into their movement and the way to do that was to make the churches "user-friendly."

Neighbor, I can hardly write this without biting nails, but I'm sharing it with you for a reason. If we're not careful the light is going to go out in the temple of the Lord and as a result of this light going out in Israel, the ark of God was taken and the presence of God was removed from Israel. Thank God for this preacher who resigned on the spot and told the presbyter that he had to obey GOD and not man. Thank God for this preacher who told the AOG that he could care less of making his church user-friendly but he wanted to make his church GOD-FRIENDLY! He wanted to please God. He didn't care if nobody came he was going to preach the mighty gospel of Jesus Christ and that gospel includes people getting baptized in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with other tongues.

If the light of God goes out in our churches then neighbor the world outside is going to die! The light is going out, the light is going out, the light is going out. Patrick Henry grabbed a lantern and warned America the "British are coming, the British are coming." I don't have a lantern but I have two hands to write on this website and I'm using them as a lantern and warning the Church - "the LIGHT is going out, the LIGHT is going out, the LIGHT is going out, the LIGHT is going out!"

The Holy Ghost is NOT a denomination. The Holy Ghost and His ministries do not belong to Pentecostals only. It is a ministry the Lord has given to ALL His Body. Baptists, I love you but you need to heed what I am saying to you. You are fighting the power of Almighty God preacher when you stand in the pulpit and slam the moving and operation of the Holy Spirit. People who constantly question the validity of the power of God today are standing on dangerous grounds and many come precariously close to blaspheming the Spirit as the Pharisees of old. It's not just the Baptists who fight the Holy Spirit; many other denominations are deader and reek with a stench of religion more than a 30-day old piece of stale bread. You'd have a better chance of getting saved if you ate that stale bread than if you sat in MOST churches today. At least if you ate the bread you'd taste the putridness of it and seek after a fresh loaf. Millions partake of stale bread week in and week out in churches void of the power of God and the light of the Holy Spirit and know not they are partaking of death!

Preacher you may not understand everything there is to understand about the Holy Ghost but hear what I say to you, you had better stop calling what is of God of Satan and then labeling what is Satan GOD! You are on dangerous dangerous dangerous dangerous grounds. I don't blink nor do I wince when I say that the reason your church is deader the door knobs on your front entrance is there has been a stop to the flow of the OIL of the Holy Ghost. We have stopped the oil and the anointing and the power of the flow of the Holy Spirit.

Those who know the power of God as this Pentecostal presbyter who KNOWS the power of God but wants to get into the ditch with those who reject such ministry because we want to be like them should be ashamed and fall on our knees and REPENT.

THE LIGHT IS GOING OUT ON US and we don't even know it. It cannot cannot cannot cannot cannot cannot go out man of God!!!!!!! The light cannot go out. If it goes out, the people who will die and go to hell as a result will curse us at the judgment!! They will ask us why we didn't allow God to be in control of our services instead of man?? They will ask us why we were so worried about being "decent," and in "order," in our twisting of God's word, we forgot that when the Holy Spirit is in control, He sometimes does things very messy FIRST, before He gets things ultimately in order - not man's order but God's order!!!!!!

Israel lost the ark of God because she allowed the light to go out in the temple of the Lord. We are going to lose the presence of God in our lives if we do the same. Sadly, the presence has left many churches already and no one even notices it. We don't even notice the Lord Jesus is not in the midst of us any longer. We don't even care. We have the machinery, we have the money, we have the means to carry on business in the church without needing a move from heaven. But neighbor hear me - in this modern-high-tech age we still need the POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST! We still need the POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST to be the church of the Lord Jesus! I am not glorifying gifts nor am I saying to you you have to speak in tongues to be saved, but if we resist the Holy Ghost in one area we as might as well resist Him in all areas. We are grieving Him by our unbelief, we are quenching Him by our resistance, and as Israel did so long ago, we are close to vexing Him to the place He has departed from many of our fellowships and even entire denominations.

Eli Was Laid Down In His Place, And His Eyes Began To Wax Dim, That He Could Not See

1 Samuel 3:2
And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;

As we have stated before the circumstances surrounding Samuel's prophetic call and the existing condition of Israel are a warning for us today in the modern church. The lamp of God was going out and soon afterward the Philistines would capture the Ark of the Covenant. Eli, the judge and High priest of Israel at the time, was close to death and "his eyes began to wax dim," a prophetic picture of Israel's declining spiritual leadership then and our declining spiritual leadership today.

The setting was at evening time, the light from the Lamp of God was shining less brightly in the temple and there was "no open vision" (revelation). It is very unusual that the lamp of God would have been going out at the very time of day when it normally should have been freshly fueled and burning its brightest. The Church can learn valuable lessons from this story. We are approaching the end of the church age (evening) which sends prophetic tremors throughout the land today that the soon coming of the Lord is near! There is NEVER a greater time in history known to man where we sit on such a prophetic precipice but at the same time sit at the greatest crossroads of danger the church has faced since the Reformation. It is at this crossroads we speak that we either choose apostasy and revival and in the middle of this crossroads is the LAMP in the Temple of the Lord! Solomon called the spirit of man, the "candle of the Lord," searching the inward parts of the belly. 

Proverbs 20:27
The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

Psalm 119:105
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Because the LIGHT of the Holy Spirit has been snuffed out there is no power any more in our churches to "search," out the hearts of men and convict those in peril of their sins! 

The number ONE office of the Holy Spirit is CONVICTION! Men need to one again TREMBLE at the convicting power of God's Spirit in these last days! Men will either tremble under conviction or they will one day declare as Israel of old, "the harvest is past, the summer has ended and we are not saved!" When the apostle Paul preached under the anointing of the Spirit to Felix, that is EXACTLY what took place - Felix TREMBLED!

Jeremiah 8:20-22
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. [21] For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me. [22] Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

John 16:7-11
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. [8] And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: [9] Of sin, because they believe not on me; [10] Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; [11] Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

Acts 24:25
And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.

Paul preached under the anointing the sum of God's requirements for all men, not just Felix and he pointed Felix the coming day of retribution and judgment and damnation  for those who reject God's way of reconciliation - Christ and the Cross! The term "righteousness," comes from the Greek: "dikaiosune," and means the principles of justice and right between God and man and man and man in all relations and connections of life.  As one commentator wrote, "Never did a man preach a sermon more fitting than to these two who lived under the power of avarice and unbridled lusts, intemperance, and injustice to others," to see them tremble, be afraid and yet walk away!

The word "trembled," comes from the Greek, "emphobos" is translated "afraid" (Luke 24:5; Acts 10:4; Acts 22:9); "affrighted" (Luke 24:37; Rev. 11:13); here "trembled" or terrified." What has happened to those who attending our church leaving "affrighted," "afraid," "trembling," and "afraid," of their eternal state!!!

Felix told Paul to "go away," until he had a "convenient season." This is always the sinner's excuse when he is under conviction and refuses to surrender but if we fail to keep our lamps with the oil of the Holy Ghost and preach the gospel under the anointing of the Spirit how horrific the scene will billions condemn us while standing condemned for eternity before God. Felix won't have such claim to Paul for the Apostle preached the gospel and the HOLY GHOST convicted Felix's heart. How far away are we from that type situation today in our modern churches? Let me answer that - we are MILLIONS of miles from it with no hope except for very precious few exceptions that things will change anytime soon.

The light cannot go out in the temple of the Lord, which is also where the Ark of God was. We will pick up that theme in part three of this sermon series on Israel's darkest hour of history when the presence of God was taken from her midst. As I close this journal today, let me share with you a dream we had a few nights back that shook us to our core as to the conditions of men's hearts and how deeply we need our lamps to be filled with the OIL of the Holy Spirit.

In this dream I was in a house out in the country, off a dirt road, unseen by the public eye, hidden by several green trees but sitting out in the open when seen from the front. I was was being held hostage along with 50 other individuals who were a different race than myself; I was the only white among the entire group. In the dream I never saw our captors, but I knew somehow that they had left for 1 hour and had told everyone when they returned they were going to kill each one of us. Those in the house were under a death sentence with one hour to go.

I remember in the dream thinking to myself "am I truly truly ready to go to heaven when this life of mine on earth ends in an hour" As I pondered that question in the dream, I began to tremble, weep, and felt anxiety over the fact that there could be even the millionth of a chance I was not ready to go. I asked the Lord again to save me, to cleanse me, forgive me of any sins not confessed and repented of and for anything I had done against the Lord. I declared Jesus as Lord and felt such a peace come over me I cannot describe that in words on this site.

As I felt this peace come over my own heart, I then felt deep sadness as the faces of those in the house passed by me without saying a word. I was in a room off to myself and had not spoke to anyone in the dream up to this point. I remember getting up hurriedly, going to everyone I could find and asking them were they ready to go to heaven when they died? I asked "do you know Jesus and have you been born again; have you repented of your sins and made things right with God?"

Some didn't respond at all, others mocked, some said "sure I'm ready," but their being ready had nothing to do with salvation' others didn't care at all; some denied there was an afterlife at all making fun of my question; there were some who trembled and were afraid of dying but had no thought of what would happen when that moment came.

I kept talking to as many as I could before going back to my room, sitting down, and waiting for the final end when the captors would arrive back at the house. I remembering thinking, "I'll never see anyone again, boy what a way to go out." I sat there in the room off to myself and still talked to those who walked by but not one single individual cared their life was going to end in an hour and what lied ahead when that took place

I again made a point to ask the Lord to make 100% sure. I was so scared of being even 1% wrong of where I'd be going  and started weeping profusely, but this time, not just for myself, but for the rejection of my pleas to those I had spoke to and warned about the things to come. I knew in my heart Jesus was going to be there when I died and the peace the Lord gave me at the beginning came back, but the hurt over those not listening remained. Immediately several youth then walked into the room with tears in their eyes and asked, "what do we need to do to be ready to die?" As I looked at each one of them they were sincere and had felt the same urgency to make things right with God as I had a few moments before. At that moment I woke up and realized that I was not only crying in my dream, I was crying in my sleep as well as the tears flowed on the pillow.

I ask you today, do you know HIM? Do you know the TRUTH, the Way, the LIFE?  Have you met Him sir through the "power of His resurrection," and the "fellowship of His sufferings," and been made "conformable to His death?" Have you suffered the loss of all things and counted them as DUNG, "that you may win CHRIST?" Have you been found IN HIM, not having your own righteousness, which is of the law, but found that righteousness, which is by FAITH of Christ and what He did for us at the Cross 2,000 years ago?  Do we esteem the things we gain as LOSS for the excellency of the KNOWLEDGE of CHRIST JESUS my LORD!? Have we been to Jesus for the cleansing flow, are we washed in the Blood of the Lamb? Are we FULLY trusting in His grace this hour, are we washed in the blood of the Lamb? Have we laid aside the garment stained with sin, oh, be washed in the blood of the Lamb." There is a FOUNTAIN flowing for the soul unclean, oh, be washed in the blood of the Lamb!"

Heavenly Father, the light is going out in my temple today. Father forgive me for the sin that has caused this light to not burn as brightly as it has in the past. Pour fresh oil in my candle holder today so that the light may NEVER GO OUT and I will be a witness for you in your Kingdom. FILL ME WITH THE HOLY GHOST. I believe that You didn't just come to die to save me from sins and deliver me from the powers of darkness but You came to make Me a fit habitation for YOUR SPIRIT. I believe that today and want to receive the precious gift of the Holy Ghost. I pray that you baptize me in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with other tongues. I receive this gift just like I did salvation - FREELY and by FAITH. I know You want me to burn brightly for you and I don't want the lamp of God in my heart to go out in the Temple of your Holy Ghost. I submit my life to you today oh Lord and ask you to make a fit vessel for your habitation and Spirit. Prepare me to be a sanctuary for you! In Jesus name, Amen.

Email: journals@spiritjournals.com  or cmc4jesus@aol.com