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-7-
Satan the devil is real and he is alive. Our battle is not against
flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against
the rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits in
high places.
And brethren, there are wicked spirits and they are active and they're
having an impact. And I think we need to realize this and understand
this deeply. We are being attacked by many different types of spiritual
attitudes. We're attacked from different directions by Satan the devil.
Some are being influenced to follow a rebellious individual who has
directly rebelled against his father, having gone contrary to every
thing he said he would never do. Some are being swayed in that direction.
Others are being swayed to just get upset generally because of rumors
about Mr. Rader or alleged improprieties of all sorts. And Satan will
use that to take those people out if they want to let their minds be
blown and go off in that direction. And then others may be taken away
because they have liberal tendencies or doctrinal errors themselves
and want to follow a kind of a liberal way of life. They don't want
God's way of life that He's established in the Church for the past 45
years under Herbert W. Armstrong, the anointed of God. They have
constantly been subtly, but persistently, undermining that man. And
so they will say, "I'm not going to change and decide to really follow
from the heart what Mr. Armstrong says, so I'll get out."
All those pulls are going to be exerted on people and perhaps other
pulls from other directions, and other spirit personalities will be
pulling and tugging at people to try to get them to leave the Church
of God of which Jesus Christ is the Living Head. And I hope that none
of you fall for those things.
Mr. Armstrong has said that he does want any improprieties to come out
and those who have perpetrated them to be punished. And if there have
been other wrongs or grievances done where individuals have been
treated unjustly in any way, I hope and pray we can rectify that as
best as we can and be sure that we do administer God's government in
wisdom and in patience and in love, and yet with proper firmness
because God does that too.
I have a note here /handed to Mr. Meredith/ reporting that something
is coming from Mr. Armstrong--we'll see if it arrives.
Now, God says, "Remember them who have the rule over you, who have
spoken unto you the Word of God, whose faith follow." And we are to
follow their faith and we are to be loyal to God and to His government.
That is the test at this time. Can you have faith in God's apostle and
be following the one that God has ordained as His anointed all of
these years? You are to submit yourselves and do it willingly and
gladly and not with a lot of argument, because that makes it that much
harder for God's servants, if they have to operate under that kind of
situation.
Now God's servants will always make some mistakes. You read about
Peter how that before he was filled with God's Holy Spirit, he cursed
and denied Christ three times, and even after he was ordained and was
the leading apostle in the New Testament Church, he and Paul had this
confrontation when Paul confronted him over his lack of understanding