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Last week we began to study the one Scripture
which refers to as the "man of sin," or the "antichrist," who is prophesied
to come and dominate the world for a time. The "man of sin" is the personification
of the sin of man. This is why the book of Revelation, which was given as
"the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 1:1), contains so much about
the antichrist. It is by seeing this man of sin, the result of the sin of
man, that we can see how desperately man needs Christ, and how far awry
we will go without Him.
The Destiny of the Seed
of the Serpent and the Seed of the Woman
Immediately after the Fall in the garden, the Lord prophesied the destiny
of the seed of the serpent, and the seed of the woman (see Genesis 3:15).
As we are told in Revelation 12:9, the "serpent of old" is the devil. The
seed of the serpent is the nature of the devil, which was sown in man by
the Fall. A prophecy was given to the woman that she would be at enmity
with the serpent and bruise his head, but he would bruise her heel (see
Genesis 3:15). This was a prophecy of Christ who would be born through a
woman, and as a man destroy the works of the devil. With the first two sons
of Eve, we can discern the nature of these two seeds. In the Scriptures,
we find the story of the development and maturity of these two seeds in
man, and the conflict between them throughout history.
The curse upon the serpent was that he would crawl on his belly and eat
the dust. This speaks of how the serpent's seed would be bound to the earth,
conforming to the contour of the earth. Because man was made from the dust,
and this is what the serpent would eat, it speaks of how the devil would
feed on the earthly or carnal nature of man. This is why the devil is so
intent on sowing carnality in man - he feeds on it.
The Distinction Between
the Two Seeds
One of the most basic distinctions between the two seeds can be seen in
the offerings that Cain and Abel brought to the Lord. Because of the sin
of man, the ground was cursed so that he could only bring forth fruit from
it by "the sweat of his brow" (see Genesis 3:19). Therefore, when Cain brought
an offering of grain to the Lord, he was bringing that which was produced
by his own works. In contrast to this, Abel brought a blood sacrifice, which
was a prophecy that man could only be acceptable to God through the blood
sacrifice of Jesus.
It was the nature of these sacrifices that brought the enmity between Cain
and Abel. Likewise, it will always be the cross that is the enmity between
the two seeds. This is still the primary reason for the persecution against
Christians, and will be until the end. Those who are of the seed of Cain
will be enraged at those who claim the only way we can be acceptable to
God is through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and that our own works
will never make us acceptable to God.
Basic to the true works of the Spirit is the knowledge that we do not work
in order to gain God's approval, but we do His work from a position of having
His approval through the cross. Therefore, all we do is from a position
of abiding in Him, and the works are Him working through us. Therefore, the
true works of the Spirit should point to Christ Jesus, not us.
Understanding the Struggles
that Go On In Our Hearts
Because Cain was "a tiller of the ground," (Genesis 4:2) it speaks of him
being "earthly minded." This is the nature of all who are primarily controlled
(as we are all born with this nature) by the seed of the serpent. Basically
the man of sin is a personification of the nature that is within us all.
This is why we must be born again by the heavenly seed.
When we are born again by the heavenly seed, it begins a struggle between
these two seeds, or two natures, within us. The Bible is a record of the
struggle between these two seeds in mankind, and by studying this struggle,
we can better understand many of the struggles that will go on in our own
heart.
We may not like this struggle or want it, but it is this struggle between
the two natures in our hearts that actually strengthen and fashion our characters
so that we bear the heavenly nature and calling. Then, we will be able to
minister to those who are still trapped in the earthly, carnal nature of
man. For this reason we are told in Romans 12:1-2:
I urge you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy
sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is
good and acceptable and perfect.
Transformed
The Greek word that is translated "transformed"
in this text is "metamorphoo" from which we derive our English word "metamorphosis."
This is the process that a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly.
Since a caterpillar is a "worm" it is bound to the earth. Because of this
change it is then given beautiful wings that enables it to soar above the
earth. This is, likewise, what happens in the normal development of every
Christian. We go from being earthly-minded - conformed to the ways of the
world - to being able to soar in the heavenly realm above the earth. Our
ultimate calling is to be seated with Christ in the heavenly places, as
we read in Ephesians 2:1-8:
And you were dead
in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to
the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the
air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among
them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the
desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath,
even as the rest.
But God, being rich
in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when
we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ
(by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated
us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, In order that in
the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness
toward us in Christ Jesus.
It is said that the greatest struggle for
a butterfly is freeing itself from the cocoon where the transformation took
place. However, if it were not for this great struggle, it would not be
strong enough to flap those huge wings. This, too, is a message for us. The
Lord does not want our struggles to be easy. If they were too easy, we would
not become strong enough to walk in what He has called us to. There is a
principle revealed throughout Scripture and history - the more difficult
your trials, the more significant your calling. Those who come into their
purpose easily and quickly usually do not have a very significant calling.
The bigger the wings you are called to have, the bigger the struggle must
be for you to be strong enough to use them.
Test Yourselves
As we are told in II Corinthians 13:5, "Test yourselves to see if you are
in the faith; examine yourselves!..." One of the most basic tests that we
can give ourselves is whether we are primarily occupied with the things
of this present world, or with the eternal purposes of Christ. What takes
most of our attention, most of our time, and most of our energy? Are we
bound to the earth like the caterpillar, with our ways conforming more to
the ways of the world, or have we learned to fly?
In the coming weeks we will continue our study of the man of sin, but we
will also study the new creation who will rise above the sin and darkness
to conquer it.
Rick Joyner
http://www.morningstarministries.org
Mpiservice@aol.com
"My first book, There
Were Two Trees in the Garden, is an in-depth study of the nature
and conflict between the seed of the serpent and the seed which grows up
into Christ. For nearly twenty years it has remained one of our best sellers,
and may be the most important book I have written."
- Rick Joyner, MorningStar Ministries
[Order Below]
----------------------------------
A Personal Note From Rick
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On June 3-5, 2004, we will be hosting an Advanced Prophetic Conference in
Charlotte, North Carolina. This is for the purpose of stirring up the prophetic
gifts within all who attend so that they leave knowing the Lord's voice
better and walking in a much higher place in the spiritual realm.
Go Here
We will then host a Prophetic Worship Conference on June 6-8 at the same
location. Every conference that we have hosted lately has gone to a higher
level than we have experienced before, and we are expecting these to do
the same. We believe that all who come will leave knowing His voice better
and be much closer to Him. Registration is still only $50 for each conference.
For more information or to register, please call our toll free number at
1-800-542-0278.
Go Here
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"There Were Two Trees In the Garden"
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The Tree of Knowledge of
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"The Surpassing Greatness of His Power"
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The
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free to
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OR by phone (1-8.6.6-881-0477)
http://www.elijahshopper.com/detail.aspx?ID=437
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There
Were Two Trees in the Garden
The
Surpassing Greatness of His Power
