Final Quest by Rick Joyner

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This is the account Rick Joyner gives of a vision he experienced over the course of a year in which he claims to have viewed the unfolding of the last battle between light and darkness. This is the complete vision, including parts not previously seen.

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The demonic army was so large that it stretched as far as I could see. It was separated into divisions, with each carrying a different banner. The foremost divisions marched under the banners of Pride, Self-righteousness, Respectability, Selfish Ambition, Unrighteous judgment, and jealousy. There were many more of these evil divisions beyond my scope of vision, but those in the vanguard of this terrible horde from hell seemed to be the most powerful. The leader of this army was the Accuser of the Brethren himself

The weapons carried by this horde were also named. The swords were named Intimidation; the spears were named Treachery; and the arrows were named Accusation, Gossip, Slander and Faultfinding. Scouts and smaller companies of demons with such names as Rejection, Bitterness, Impatience, Unforgiveness and Lust were sent in advance of this army to prepare for the main attack.

These smaller companies and scouts were much fewer in number, but they were no less powerful than some of the larger divisions that followed. They were smaller only for strategic reasons. just as John the Baptist was a single man, but was given an extraordinary anointing for baptizing the masses to prepare them for the Lord, these smaller demonic companies were given extraordinary evil powers for "baptizing the masses." A single demon of Bitterness could sow his poison into multitudes of people, even entire races or cultures. A demon of Lust would attach himself to a single performer, movie, or even advertisement, and send what appeared to be bolts of electric slime that would hit and "desensitize" great masses of people. All of this was to prepare for the great horde of evil which followed.

This army was marching specifically against the church, but it was attacking everyone that it could. I knew that it was seeking to pre-empt a coming move of God, which was destined to sweep masses of people into the church.

The primary strategy of this army was to cause division on every possible level of relationship-churches with each other, congregations with their pastors, husbands and wives, children and parents, and even children with each other. The scouts were sent to locate the openings in churches, families or individuals that Rejection, Bitterness, Lust, etc., could exploit and make larger. Then the following divisions would pour through the openings to completely overcome their victims.

The most shocking part of this vision was that this horde was not riding on horses, but primarily on Christians! Most of them were well-dressed, respectable, and had the appearance of being refined and educated, but there also seemed to be representatives from almost every walk of life. These people professed Christian truths in order to appease their consciences, but they lived their lives in agreement with the powers of darkness. As they agreed with those powers their assigned demons grew and more easily directed their actions.

Many of these believers were host to more than one demon, but one would obviously be in charge. The nature of the one in charge dictated which division it was marching in. Even though the divisions were all marching together, it also seemed that at the same time the entire army was on the verge of chaos. For example, the demons of hate, hated the other demons as much as they did the Christians. The demons of jealousy were all jealous of one another. The only way the leaders of this horde kept the demons from fighting each other was to keep their hatred, jealousy, etc., focused on the people they were riding. However, these people would often break out in fights with each other. I knew that this was how some of the armies that had come against Israel in the Scriptures had ended up destroying themselves. Wien their purpose against Israel was thwarted, their rage was uncontrollable, and they simply began fighting each other.

I noted that the demons were riding on these Christians, but were not in them as was the case with non-Christians. It was obvious that these believers had only to stop agreeing with their demons in order to get free of them. For example, if the Christian on which a demon of jealousy was riding just started to question the jealousy, that demon would weaken very fast. Wien this happened the weakening demon would cry out and the leader of the division would direct all of the demons around that Christian to attack him until the bitterness, etc., would build up on him again. If this did not work, the demons would begin quoting Scriptures that were perverted in such a way that would justify the bitterness, accusations, etc.

It was clear that the power of the demons was rooted almost entirely in the power of deception, but they had deceived these Christians to the point where they could use them and they would think they were being used by God. This was because banners of Self-righteousness were being carried by almost all of the individuals so that those marching could not even see the banners that marked the true nature of these divisions.

As I looked far to the rear of this army I saw the entourage of the Accuser himself I began to understand his strategy, and I was amazed that it was so simple. He knew that a house divided cannot stand, and this army represented an attempt to bring such division to the church that she would completely fall from grace. It was apparent that the only way he could do this was to use Christians to war against their own brethren, and that is why almost everyone in the forward divisions were Christians, or at least professing Christians. Every step that these deceived believers took in obedience to the Accuser strengthened his power over them. This made his confidence and the confidence of all of his commanders grow with the progress of the army as it marched forward. It was apparent that the power of this army depended on the agreement of these Christians with the ways of evil.

The Prisoners

Trailing behind these first divisions was a multitude of other Christians who were prisoners of this army. All of these were wounded, and were guarded by smaller demons of Fear. There seemed to be more prisoners than there were demons in the army. Surprisingly, these prisoners still had their swords and shields, but they did not use them. It was a shock to see that so many could be kept captive by so few of the little demons of Fear. If the Christians had just used their weapons they could have easily freed themselves, and probably done great damage to the entire evil horde. Instead they marched submissively along.

Above the prisoners the sky was black with vultures named Depression. Occasionally these would land on the shoulders of a prisoner and would vomit on him. The vomit was Condemnation. When the vomit hit a prisoner he would stand up and march a little straighter for a while, and then slump over, even weaker than before. Again, I wondered why the prisoners did not simply kill these vultures with their swords, which they could have easily done.

Occasionally the weaker prisoners would stumble and fall. As soon as they hit the ground, the other prisoners would begin stabbing them with their swords, scorning them as they did this. The vultures would then come and begin devouring the fallen ones even before they were dead. The other Christian prisoners stood by and watched this approvingly, occasionally stabbing the fallen one again with their swords.

As I watched, I realized that these prisoners thought that the vomit of Condemnation was truth from God. Then I understood that these prisoners actually thought they were marching in the army of God! This is why they did not kill the little demons of fear, or the vultures-they thought these were messengers from God! The darkness from the cloud of vultures made it so hard for these prisoners to see that they naively accepted everything that happened to them as being from the Lord. They felt that those who stumbled were under God's judgment, which is why they attacked them the way they did-they thought that they were helping God!

The only food provided for these prisoners was the vomit from the vultures. Those who refused to eat it simply weakened until they fell. Those who did eat it were strengthened for a time, but with the strength of the evil one. Then they would weaken unless they would drink the waters of bitterness that were constantly being offered to them. After drinking the bitter waters they would then begin to vomit on the others. When one of the prisoners began to do this, a demon that was waiting for a ride would climb up on him, and would ride him up to one of the front divisions.

Even worse than the vomit from the vultures was a repulsive slime that these demons were urinating and defecating upon the Christians they rode. This slime was the pride, selfish ambition, etc., that was the nature of their division. However, this slime made the Christians feel so much better than the condemnation that they easily believed that the demons were messengers of God, and they actually thought this slime was the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

I had been so repulsed by the evil army that I wanted to die. Then the voice of the Lord came to me saying, "This is the beginning of the enemy's last day army. This is Satan's ultimate deception. His ultimate power of destruction is released when he uses Christians to attack one another Throughout the ages he has used this army, but never has he been able to use so many for his evil purposes as he is now. Do not fear I have an army too. You must now stand and fight, because there is no longer anyplace to hide from this war You must fight for My kingdom, for truth, a and for those who have been deceived. "

This word from the Lord was so encouraging that I immediately began yelling to the Christian prisoners that they were deceived, thinking that they would listen to me. When I did this, it seemed that the whole army turned to look at me. The fear and depression that was over them started to come toward me. I still kept yelling because I thought that the Christians would wake up and realize what was happening to them, but instead many of them started reaching for their arrows to shoot at me. The others iust hesitated as if they did not know what to make of me. I knew then that I had done this prematurely, and that it had been a very foolish mistake.

The Battle Begins

Then I turned and saw the army of the Lord standing behind me. There were thousands of soldiers, but they were still greatly outnumbered. I was shocked and disheartened, as it seemed that there were actually many more Christians being used by the evil one than there were in the army of the Lord. I also knew that the battle that was about to begin was going to be viewed as The Great Christian Civil War because very few would understand the powers that were behind the impending conflict.

As I looked more closely at the army of the Lord the situation seemed even more discouraging. Only a small number were fully dressed in their armor. Many only had one or two pieces of their armor on; some did not have any at all. A large number were already wounded. Most of those who had all of their armor still had very small shields which I knew would not protect them from the onslaught that was coming. To my further surprise, the great majority of these soldiers were women and children. Very few of those who were fully armed were adequately trained to use their arms.

Behind this army there was a trailing mob similar to the prisoners who followed the evil horde, but these were very different in nature. They seemed overly happy, as if intoxicated. They were playing games, singing songs, feasting and roaming about from one little camp to the next. This reminded me of Woodstock.

I ran toward the army of the Lord to escape the onslaught that I knew would be coming at me from the evil horde. In every way it seemed that we were in for a most one-sided slaughter. I was especially concerned for this mob that was trailing the army, so I tried to raise my voice above the clamor to warn them that a battle was about to begin. Only a few could even hear me. Those who did, gave me the "peace sign" and said they did not believe in war, and that the Lord would not let anything bad happen to them. I tried to explain that the Lord had given us armor because we needed it for what was about to happen, but they just retorted that they had come to a place of peace and joy where nothing like that could happen to them. I began praying earnestly for the Lord to increase the shields of those with the armor to help protect those who were not ready for the battle.

Then a messenger came up to me, gave me a trumpet and told me to blow it quickly. I did, and those who had on at least some of their armor immediately responded, snapping to attention. More armor was brought to them, which they quickly put on. I noticed that those who had wounds did not put armor over their wounds, but before I could say anything about this, enemy arrows began raining down on us. Everyone who did not have on all of his armor was wounded. Those who had not covered their wounds were struck again in that wound.

Those who were hit by arrows of slander immediately began to slander those who were not wounded. Those who were hit with gossip began to gossip, and soon a major division had been created within our own camp. I felt that were on the verge of destroying ourselves just as some of the heathen armies in Scripture had done by rising up to kill each other. The feeling of helplessness was terrible. Then vultures swooped down to pick up the wounded and deliver them into the camp of prisoners. The wounded still had swords and could have struck down the vultures easily, but they didn't. They were actually carried off willingly because they were so angry at those who were not wounded like they ere.

I quickly thought about the mob behind the army and ran see what had happened to them. It seemed impossible but the scene among them was even worse. Thousands lay on the ground wounded and groaning. The sky over them was darkened by the vultures that were carrying them off to come prisoners of the enemy. Many of those who were not wounded just sat in a stupor of unbelief, and they, too, were easily carried away by the vultures. A few had begun to try to fight off the vultures, but they did not have the proper weapons, and the vultures did not even pay them any attention. The wounded were so angry they would threaten and rive away anyone who tried to help them, but they became docile and submissive to the vultures. and submissive to the vultures.

Those from this mob who had not been wounded and had tried to fight off the vultures began running from the scene of battle. This first encounter with the enemy was so devastating that I was tempted to join them in their flight. Then, amazingly fast, some of those who had fled began reappearing with full suits of armor on, holding large shields. This was the first bit of encouragement that I remember seeing.

These warriors who were returning no longer had the mirth of the party, but an awesome resolve had replaced it. I knew that these had been deceived once, but that they would not be easily deceived again. They began to take the places of those who had fallen, and even began forming new ranks to protect the rear and flanks. This caused great courage to spread through the army so that the determination of everyone to stand and fight again began to rise. Immediately three great angels named Faith, Hope and Love came and stood behind the army. As we looked at them all of our shields began to grow. It was amazing how quickly despair had turned to faith. It was a solid faith, too, tempered by experience.

The High Way

Now everyone had swords named the Word of God, and arrows that were named for different biblical truths. We wanted to shoot back, but we did not know how to avoid hitting the Christians that were being ridden by the demons. Then it occurred to us that if these Christians were hit with Truth they would wake up and fight off their oppressors. I fired off a few arrows, as did some of the others. Almost all of them hit Christians. However, when the arrow of Truth went into them, they did not wake up, or fall down wounded-they became enraged, and the demon riding on them grew much larger.

This shocked everyone, and we began to feel that this was an impossible battle to win. Even so, with Faith, Hope and Love we were confident that we could at least hold our own ground. Another great angel named Wisdom then appeared and directed us to fight from the mountain behind us.

On the mountain there were ledges at different levels for as high as we could see. At each higher level the ledges became narrower, and more difficult to stand on. Each level was named for a biblical truth. The lower levels were named after foundational truths such as "Salvation," "Sanctification," "Prayer," "Faith," etc., and the higher levels were named after deeper biblical truths. The higher we climbed, the larger both our shields and our swords grew, and fewer of the enemy arrows could reach our positions.

A Tragic Mistake

Some who had stayed on the lower levels began picking up the enemy arrows and shooting them back. This was a very grave mistake. The demons easily dodged the arrows and let them hit the Christians. When a Christian was hit by one of the arrows of accusation or slander, a demon of bitterness or rage would fly in and perch on that arrow. He would then begin to urinate and defecate his poison upon that Christian. When a Christian had two or three of these demons added to the pride or self-righteousness he already had, he was transformed into the contorted image of the demons themselves.

We could see this happening from the higher levels, but those on the lower levels who were using the enemy's arrow could not see it. About half of us decided to keep climbing, while the other half descended back to the lower levels to explain to those below what was happening. Everyone was then warned to keep climbing and not to stop, except for a few who stationed themselves on each level to keep the other soldiers moving higher.

Safety

When we reached the level called "The Unity of the Brethren," none of the enemy's arrows could reach us. Many in our camp decided that this was as far as they needed to climb. I understood this because with each new level the footing was more precarious. However, I also felt much stronger and more skillful with my weapons as I went higher, so I continued climbing.

Soon my skills were good enough to shoot and hit the demons without hitting the Christians. I felt that if I kept going higher I could shoot far enough to hit the main leaders of the evil horde who stayed behind their army. I regretted that so many had stopped on the lower levels where they were safe but could not hit the enemy. Even so, the strength and character that grew in those who kept climbing made them great champ ions, each one able to destroy many of the enemy.

At each level there were arrows of Truth scattered about which I knew were left from those who had fallen from that position (many had fallen from each position). All of the arrows were named after the Truth of that level. Some were reluctant to pick up these arrows, but I knew we needed all that we could get to destroy the great horde below. I picked one up, shot it, and so easily hit a demon that the others started picking them up and shooting them. We began to decimate several of the enemy divisions. Because of this, the entire evil army focused its attention on us. For a time it seemed that the more we achieved, the more the enemy attacked us. Though our task seemed endless, it had become exhilarating.

Since the enemy could not hit us on the higher levels with its arrows, swarms of vultures would fly above us to vomit down on us, or to carry demons who would urinate or defecate upon the ledges, making them very slippery.

The Anchor

Our swords grew after we reached each level, but I almost left mine behind because I did not seem to need it at the higher levels. I almost casually decided to keep it, thinking that it must have been given to me for a reason. Then, because the ledge I was standing on was so narrow, and becoming so slippery, I drove the sword into the ground and tied myself to it while I shot at the enemy. The voice of the Lord then came to me, saying: "You have used the wisdom that will enable you to keep climbing. Many have fallen because they did not use their sword properly to anchor themselves." No one else seemed to hear this voice, but many saw what I had done and did the same.

I wondered why the Lord had not spoken to me to do this sooner. I then knew that He had already spoken this to me somehow. As I pondered this, I began to understand that my whole life had been training for this hour. I knew that I was prepared to the degree that I had listened to the Lord and obeyed His voice throughout my life. I also knew that for some reason the wisdom and understanding I now had could not be increased or taken away while in this battle. I was very thankful for every trial I had experienced in my life, and I was sorry for not appreciating them more at the time.

Soon we were hitting the demons with almost perfect accuracy. Rage ascended from the enemy army like fire and brimstone. I knew that the Christians trapped in that army were now feeling the brunt of that rage. Some became so enraged that they were now shooting at each other. Normally this would have been very encouraging, but those who suffered the most were the deceived Christians who were in the camp of the enemy. I knew that to the world this was appearing as an incomprehensible meltdown of Christianity itself

Some of those who had not used their swords as anchors were able to strike down many of the vultures, but they were also more easily knocked from the ledges where they were standing. Some of these landed on a lower level, but some fell all the way to the bottom and were picked up and carried off by the vultures. I spent every free moment that I got trying to drive my sword deeper into the ledge, or trying to tie myself more securely to it. Every time I did this, Wisdom would stand beside me so I knew that it was very important.

A New Weapon

The arrows of Truth would seldom penetrate the vultures, but they hurt them enough to drive them back. Every time they were driven back far enough some of us would climb to the next level. When we reached the level called "Galatians Two Twenty," we were above the altitude that the vultures could withstand. At this level the sky above almost blinded us with its brightness and beauty. I felt peace like I had never felt it before.

Until I reached this level much of my fighting spirit had been motivated almost as much from fear, hatred or disgust for the enemy as it had been for the sake of the kingdom, truth or love for the prisoners. But it was on this level I caught up to Faith, Hope and Love, which before I had only been able to see from a distance. Here I was almost overpowered by their glory. Even so, I felt that I could get close to them. When I got next to them they turned to me, and began repairing and shining my armor. Soon it was transformed and brilliantly reflected the glory that was coming from Faith, Hope, and Love. When they touched my sword, great bolts or brilliant lightning began flashing from it. Love then said, "Those who reach this level are entrusted with the powers of the age to come." Then, turning to me with a seriousness that was very sobering, he said, "I still must teach you how to use them."

The "Galatians Two Twenty" level was so wide that there did not seem to be any danger of falling. There were also unlimited arrows with the name Hope written on them. We shot some of them down at the vultures, and these arrows killed them easily. About half who had reached this level kept shooting while the others began carrying these arrows down to those still on the lower levels.

The vultures kept coming in waves upon the levels below, but with each one there would be fewer than before. From "Galatians Two Twenty" we could hit any enemy in the army except the leaders themselves, who remained just out of our range. We decided not to use the arrows of truth until we had destroyed all of the vultures, because the cloud of depression made the truth less effective. This took a very long time, but we did not get tired. Finally, it seemed as if the sky over the mountain was almost completely rid of the vultures.

Faith, Hope and Love, who had grown like our weapons with each level, were now so large that I knew people far beyond the battle area could see them. Their glory even radiated into the camp of prisoners who were still under a great cloud of vultures. I was very encouraged that they could now be seen this way. Maybe now the Christians who had been used by the enemy, and the prisoners who were held by them, would understand that we were not the enemy, but they in fact had been used by him.

But this was not to be the case, at least not yet. Those in the camp of the enemy who began to see the light of Faith, Hope and Love started calling them "angels of light" who were sent to deceive the weak or undiscerning. I knew then that their deception and bondage was much greater than I had realized.

However, any who were not a part of either of these armies, the non-Christians, saw their glory and started to come closer to the mountain to get a better view. Those who came closer to see them also started to understand what the battle had really been about. This was a great encouragement.

The exhilaration of victory continued to grow in all of us. I felt that being in this army, in this battle, had to be one of the greatest adventures of all time. After destroying most of the vultures that had been attacking our mountain, we began picking off the vultures that still covered the prisoners. As the cloud of darkness began dissipating and the sun began to shine down on them, they, too, began to wake up as if they had been in a deep sleep. They were immediately repulsed by their condition, especially by the vomit that still covered them, and started cleaning themselves up. As they beheld Faith, Hope, and Love, they also saw the mountain and ran toward it.

The evil horde sent arrows of Accusation and Slander at their backs, but they did not stop. By the time they got to the mountain many had a dozen or more arrows stuck in them, yet they seemed not to even notice. As soon as they began to scale the mountain their wounds began to heal. With the cloud of depression having been dispelled it seemed as if everything was now getting much easier.

The Trap

The former prisoners had great joy in their salvation. They seemed so overwhelmed with appreciation for each level as they began to scale the mountain that it gave us a greater appreciation for those truths. Soon a fierce resolve to fight the enemy also arose in the former prisoners. They put on the armor provided and begged to be allowed to go back and attack the enemy who had held them captive, and had abused them for so long. We thought about it, but then decided we should all stay on the mountain to fight. Again the voice of the Lord spoke, saying: "A second time you have chosen wisdom. You cannot win if you try to fight the enemy on his own ground, but you must remain on My Holy mountain."

I was stunned that we had made another decision of such importance just by thinking and briefly discussing it. I then resolved to do my best to not make another decision of any consequence without prayer. Wisdom then stepped up to me quickly, took both of my shoulders firmly and looked me straight in the eyes, saying: "You must do this!"

As Wisdom said this to me he pulled me forward as if he were saving me from something. I looked back and saw that, even though I had been on the broad plateau of "Galatians Two Twenty," I had drifted to the very edge without even knowing it. I had come very close to falling off the mountain. I looked again into the eyes of Wisdom, and he said with the utmost seriousness, "Take heed when you think you stand, lest you fall. In this life you can fall from any level."

I thought about this for quite a while. In the exuberance of the victory we were starting to achieve, and the unity of the brethren, I had become careless. It was more noble to fall because of the onslaught of the enemy than to fall because of carelessness.

The Serpents

For a long time we continued killing the vultures and picking off the demons that were riding the Christians. We found that the arrows of different Truths would have greater impact on different demons. We knew that it was going to be a long battle, but we were not suffering any more casualties now, and we had continued to climb past the level of "Patience." Even so, after these Christians had the demons shot off of them, few would come to the mountain. Many had taken on the nature of the demons, and continued in their delusion without them. As the darkness of the demons dissipated we could see the ground moving around the feet of these Christians. Then I saw that their legs were bound by serpents. As I kept looking at the serpents I saw that they were all the same kind, and had the name Shame written on them.

We shot arrows of Truth at the serpents, but they had little effect. We then tried the arrows of Hope, but without results. From "Galatians Two Twenty" it had been very easy to go higher because we all helped each other. Since there seemed to be little that we could do now against the enemy we decided to just try to climb as far as we could until we found something that would work against the serpents.

We passed levels of truth very fast. On most of them we did not even bother to look around if there was not a weapon apparent that would work on the serpents. Faith, Hope and Love stayed right with us, but I had not noticed that we had left Wisdom far behind. It would be a long time before I would understand what a mistake this was. He would catch up to us on the top, but leaving him behind cost us a much quicker and easier victory over the evil horde.

Almost without warning we came to a level that opened up into a garden. It was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. Over the entrance to this garden was written, "The Father's Unconditional Love." This entrance was so glorious and inviting that we just could not resist entering. As soon as I entered I saw a tree that I knew was the Tree of Life. It was in the middle of this garden, and it was still guarded by angels of awesome power and authority. When I looked at them they looked back- They seemed friendly, as if they had been expecting us. I looked back and there was now a host of other warriors in the garden. This gave us all courage, and because of the angels' demeanor, we decided to pass them to get to the tree. One of the angels called out, "Those who make it to this level, who know the Father's love, can eat."

I did not realize how hungry I was. When I tasted the fruit, it was better than anything I had ever tasted, but it was, also, somehow familiar. It brought memories of sunshine, rain, beautiful fields, the sun setting over the ocean, but even more than that, of the people I loved. With every bite I loved everything and everyone more. Then my enemies started coming to mind, and I loved them, too. The feeling was soon greater than anything I had ever experienced, even the peace on "Galatians Two Twenty" when we had first reached that level. Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "This is now your daily bread. It shall never be withheld from you. You may eat as much and as often as you like. There is no end to My love."

I looked up into the tree to see where the voice had come from, and I saw that it was filled with pure white eagles. They had the most beautiful, penetrating eyes I have ever seen. They were looking at me as if waiting for instructions. One of the angels said, "They will do your bidding. These eagles eat snakes." I said, "Go! Devour the shame that has bound our brothers." They opened their wings and a great wind came that lifted them into the air. These eagles filled the sky with a blinding glory. Even as high as we were, I could hear the sounds of terror from the enemy camp at the sight of the eagles ascending.

The King Appears

The Lord Jesus Himself then appeared right in our midst. He took the time to greet each one personally, congratulating us for reaching the top of the mountain. Then He said, "I must now share with you what I shared with your brothers after My ascension-the message of My kingdom. The enemy's most powerful army has now been put to flight, but not destroyed. Now it is time for us to march forth with the gospel of My kingdom. The eagles have been released and will go with us. We will take arrows from every level, but I am your Sword, and I am your Captain. It is now time for the Sword of the Lord to be unsheathed."

I then turned and saw that the entire army of the Lord was standing in that garden. There were men, women, and children from all races and nations, each carrying their banners which moved in the wind with perfect unity. I knew that nothing like this had been seen in the earth before. I knew that the enemy had many more armies, and fortresses throughout the earth, but none could stand before this great army. I said almost under my breath, "This must be the day of the Lord." The whole host then answered in an awesome thunder, "The day of the Lord of Hosts has come."

Summary

Months later I sat pondering this dream. Alarmingly, certain events and conditions in the church had seemed to parallel just what I had seen when the horde from hell had begun to march. I was then reminded of Abraham Lincoln. The only way that he could become "the Emancipator," and preserve the Union, was to be willing to fight a Civil War. He not only had to fight it, but fight with the resolution not to compromise until the victory was complete. He also had to have the grace to fight the bloodiest war in our history without "demonizing" the enemy with propaganda. If he had done that he might have been able to galvanize the resolve of the North much faster, and win a quicker military victory, but it would have made the reunion after the war much more difficult. Because he was truly fighting to preserve the Union, he never made the men and women of the South the enemy, but rather the evil that had them in bondage.

A great spiritual civil war now looms before the church. Many will do everything that they can to avoid it. This is understandable, and even noble. However, compromise will never maintain a lasting peace. It will only make the ultimate conflict that much more difficult when it comes, and it will come.

The Lord is now preparing a leadership that will be willing to fight a spiritual civil war in order to set men free. The main issue will be slavery versus freedom. The secondary issue, which will be the primary issue for some, will be money. just as the American Civil War at times looked like it would destroy the entire nation, what is coming upon the church will at times appear as if it will be the end of the church. However, just as the American nation not only survived, but went on to become the most powerful nation on earth, the same Is going to happen to the church. The church will not be destroyed, but the institutions and doctrines that have kept men in spiritual slavery will be.

Even after this, perfect justice in the church will not be attained overnight. There will still be struggles for women's rights, and to set the church free from other forms of racism and exploitation. These are all causes that must be confronted. However, in the midst of the coming spiritual civil war, Faith, Hope and Love, and the kingdom of God that they stand upon, will begin to be seen as they never have before. This will begin drawing all men to the kingdom. God's government is about to be demonstrated as greater than any human government.

And let us always remember that, with the Lord "a thou-sand years is as a day." He can do in us in one day what we may think will take a thousand years. The work of liberation, and exaltation of the church, will be a work that is accom-plished much quicker than we may think is humanly possi-ble. However, we are not talking about human possibilities.