Jim Martin Ministries/Grace Ministries international
4184 East Patterson Dayton, OHiO 45430
© 2001 - All Rights Reserved
www.jmmgrace.com

Dear Friends,

The deeper I press into God, the more He shows me about the days in which we are living. Over the last few years, one of the things I have asked Him in prayer is to show me what He is sees - and what I need to see - regarding the Body of Christ.

More and more God has been showing me scripture in the Old Testament as it pertains to the Church today. Over and over, He has opened up passages of prophecy to reveal how they not only addressed problems of the time, but how they are also prophetic warnings for the Church. I want to share something He revealed not long before I sat down to write this letter. To keep this brief, I need to go directly to specific verses of scripture and explain how God used them in reference to what is happening today.

During prayer one day I heard the Lord say to me, "The spirit of Babylon is rising in the church." Babylon was known for its abominations, acceptance of all forms of sin, idolatry and pagan religions. It was a city so debased that God eventually brought about its destruction (Jeremiah 25:12-14).

In a manner of speaking, a "city of Babylon" has been under construction for quite some time in the Church and it is nearing completion. It's "citizens" are Christians who are backslidden and/or way off on their doctrine, but whose seared consciences prevent them from recognizing it. They are going to be very instrumental in laying the groundwork for the end-time anti-Christ, beast system and false prophet. In Isaiah chapter 47 God declared His judgment on Babylon. It was in that chapter He showed me parallels to the spirit of Babylon in the church today.

And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it. Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children

For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me. (Isaiah 47:7-8, 10)

"Babylonian Christians" are firmly convinced that they will always be a "lady unto the Lord;" in other words, they believe they will never lose their position as the Bride of Christ. The have not taken to heart the warnings God has given in His word about sin and accommodating sin in their churches. They are given to pleasures - seeking only to satisfy their corrupted soul with things associated with the world and that gain them popularity with those in the world. They dwell carelessly - living as though there is no accountability unto God for the holiness of His word. They say in their heart, "I am, and none else beside me," - meaning, they have deluded themselves into thinking that their doctrine of sin and compromise is scripturally accurate and those who disagree are narrow-minded and missing God.

Beginning in Jeremiah chapter 39, the Bible records the events surrounding the time Babylon attacked Jerusalem with a vengeance. The end result was that the Jews were taken captive for 70 years. In the same fashion, the Babylonian Christians are rising up in increasing numbers and their attacks on uncompromising Christians are beginning to intensify. They are joining their voices with the voices in the world to declare that sin is acceptable and that Christians who disagree are wrong, needing to be less intolerant of others and accepting of people the way they are. The effect of this is that those Christians and churches who refuse to depart from the standards of God's word will be fighting a two-front battle: one from the world, and one from within the Church. To quote from Jeremiah 50:22, A sound of battle is in the land; and of great destruction, and this battle is within the Body of Christ.

An example of this is how one denomination after another is approving homosexuality and crying out for "gay rights." Just the other day I became aware of four prominent ministers who are now standing with the world in this compromise. One husband and wife pastoral team ministered in a conference for homosexual Christians and at one point asked all of the homosexual pastors to come up on the stage. This couple then proceeded to bow down before those pastors, wash their feet, and ask forgiveness "on behalf of all intolerant Christians and churches" who have refused to accept them. But Jesus warned us in Matthew 24:24 that if the very elect can be deceived, they will be deceived.

Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it. Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee. Isaiah 47:12-15

The Lord explained to me that the astrologers, stargazers and monthly prognosticators symbolize the vast number of pastors, "prophets," and other ministers who have been delivering messages of compromise, acceptance of sin, scriptural error and promises of prosperity that cannot be supported with the Bible.

The image He showed me was of such a preacher standing on a stage in front of an arena full of thousands of people. As he spoke, it was as though an odd kind of mist went from his mouth and covered the people. When the mist landed on them, it was like a spell had been cast on them and a look of great joy spread across their faces as they embraced everything he said.

This is very similar to what Paul wrote in Galatians 3:1, "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you...?" and what he wrote in 1 Timothy 4:1, "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils."

However, there were a very few people - very strong in the Lord - who recognized what was happening and, with a look of holy, righteous anger on their faces, stood up in the middle of the sermon and walked out of the arena, even though some of them were sitting close to the front.

God is now confronting the Babylonian Christians because they have turned so far from Him and rejected so much of His truth: Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail."Laboring from thy youth" means they have feasted on the heresy and error of wrong teaching, depending on it for spiritual growth. God is telling them to go ahead and trust in it and see if it will enable them to live in His promises.

Where it says, Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame,"this is a reference, in part, to what the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:11-13,

For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

These preachers have been polluting the foundation of Jesus Christ with sermons of wood, hay and stubble. Some have even gone so far as to corrupt the foundation to the point that they will not be able to deliver themselves from the holy fire of God's judgment and they will be lost for all eternity, which is confirmed in 1 Corinthians 3:17,If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

But notice in the warning from Isaiah 47:12-15 God said,Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.The Lord is telling the Babylonian Christians to take a hard look at what they have embraced from these preachers to see if the doctrine they've heard can "save them from the things that shall come upon thee." The question would then be: What are the things that shall come upon them? The answer is in Isaiah 47:9-11,

But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments. For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me. Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.

"The loss of children" is, in part, a reference to the fact that things they claim they have "birthed in the spirit," are nothing more than a combination of acts of the flesh and the works of devils. Yet they have deceived countless numbers of Christians with their charlatan ways, all of which they claim are given to them of God. Their works and teachings will be tried by the fire of God's eternal truth and holiness and found to be fruitless in producing the works of God and His true Kingdom purpose on earth.

God's warning of "widowhood" is the most severe. I shared earlier that the Babylonian Christians think they "shall be a lady forever," believing they will never lose their position as the Bride of Christ. But what is a widow? A widow is a woman without a husband. Many of the Babylonian Christians will drift so far away from God that He will be as dead unto them; they will have no true fellowship with Him at all, having "trodden under foot the Son of God" (Hebrews 10:29).

The reason for such pronounced judgment is,for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments. For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am,and none else beside me. They have put their faith in the witchcraft of false teachings. They have embraced the strange and bizarre antics of false prophets. They have upheld wickedness - that which is sin and that which opposes the very foundational truth of the apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:19-21). They have allowed their hearts to be perverted with knowledge that did not originate with God and wisdom that is "...earthly, sensual, devilish," (James 3:15). They have deceived themselves into believing they are setting the standard for the Church today. Quite startling is how similar all this is to what Lucifer said of himself before his fall,

For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (Isaiah 14:13-14)

The prophet Joel wrote,

Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? (Joel 2:12-17)

The trumpet of alarm must be blown in our churches to warn of the spirit of Babylon. We must develop a holy fear of God and realize that a spiritual "city of Babylon" is being constructed within the Church. Those who are serious about standing strong with God must separate themselves from the teachings of Babylonian ministers and get out of Babylonian churches. We cannot forsake the assembling of ourselves together to encourage each other for the battle that is only going to get worse. We must repent before God for the way we have flirted with Babylon, occasionally venturing over into that land of compromise. We must also intercede for Christians who have given themselves over to Babylon, if so be that they have not yet fully corrupted their hearts and completely seared their conscience.

In spite of all these things, Jesus is still Lord! He will never leave us nor forsake us. If we turn to Him, He will strengthen us with His glory to withstand any trial. And don't forget, the Holy Spirit can release an anointing within our hearts that will help protect us against the influence of the spirit of Babylon.

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice...Jesus is coming back SOON!

May God's will be fulfilled in your life,

Jim

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