1974 VISION of CHARISMATIC DECEPTION
Posted by: prophetic <prophetic@...>
the baptism of the Spirit in 1967, and have used the gift of speaking
in tongues in our private prayer lives ever since. We have also been
God's instruments in areas of deliverance ministry, healing, and in
receiving visions and revelations from the Lord. Normally we should
not wish to advertise this fact, but it seems necessary to say so at
this juncture to avoid being misunderstood..
.
I am attaching a vision [below] I received in 1974, which speaks for
itself. You may find it useful, especially as it was given to me long
before the "crazy manifestations"......
"A DECEPTION made of SUGAR"
-extracts by Arthur Eedle. (Sept 1994).
Twenty years ago this month the Lord gave me one of the strangest
visions I have ever received, and on reflection I still believe it to be
one of the most important, revealing the subtlety of the enemy's
intrusion into the end-time works of God. The vision became the
subject of our very first edition of The Prophetic Telegraph, which
we published on 27th June 1986. In view of the way things have
gone in the western world in the last twenty years, we now believe
that it is timely to review this vision in the light of developments. The
Lord said that in the last days He would send "strong delusion" to
those "who received not the love of the truth." This was the basis of
the vision, which may now be set down once again for analysis.
The Crown Agents in London had appointed me to teach in the King
George V School, Hong Kong.... I was told there were more
millionaires per square mile in Hong Kong than anywhere else in
the world, and after being there for some time, I could well believe
it. Looking back I now believe that what happened next was related
to the Hong Kong way of life, as it was going to influence the newly
forming charismatic churches in the west. Except that the luxury
relates mainly to the spiritual realm rather than the material realm.
As I sat looking at this amazing scene I began to see something
else, and because of its strangeness my mind was alerted
immediately to the fact that God was conveying truth in visionary
form. I saw a duck, and I knew that it had been made of icing sugar
because a hand was smoothing down the surface with a knife. When
all was complete, the strange thing padded along on its webbed feet
as though alive, and settled down on a flat surface somewhere. But
if this was strange, the next part of the vision took me even more by
surprise, because I saw dozens of people arriving at the duck, and it
was only then that I realised how large it was. It must have been all
of forty feet tall! The people were excited about the coming of the
duck, and some of those who were braver than the rest even went up
to it and touched it. One of them licked his fingers and the taste was
sweet. Breaking a fragment from the surface he ate it, and jumped for
joy. Others gained confidence and followed his example until they
were all delerious with excitement. I saw them singing, dancing,
throwing up their hands in the air, and embracing each other. The
festive atmosphere was its own advertisement. People arrived in
droves, pushing and shoving, and climbing over the duck with the aid
of ladders in an effort to obtain a handful of icing sugar and join in the fun.
This continued for some time until one man gave a very loud shout,
which brought everything to a halt. They saw him pointing to a hole
that had appeared in the icing sugar. It was therefore not solid as
they had originally thought. No one had imagined the sugar icing
might give out sooner or later. After this, caution was exercised in
the eating. Everyone agreed to ration what was left. But they found
to their joy that even the smallest taste produced the same effects
as a handful, and they wished they had learned this lesson earlier.
In the process of time many more holes appeared. Some tried
looking inside the duck, but all was pitch dark. Nothing could be
seen. Gradually the duck became wafer thin. All of a sudden the
crash came as the remainder of the duck disintegrated in a cloud of
very fine dust. The crowd became silent, waiting and watching.
It took a while for the dust to settle, and then I had a shock. Inside
the duck there was a terrible black beast about forty feet long, in
shape like a scorpion with bulbous green eyes. It also had wings
similar to those of a dragonfly. I fully expected the crowd to disperse
at great speed, but instead they became delirious with excitement
once again, and accepted the beast as their accredited leader. If
anything, the excitement became greater than before. At this point
the vision changed, and I saw the hand once again. It was
outstretched with some white pills on the palm. A small number of
people were arriving to receive one, which they ate. The result showed
on their faces as an inner sense of peace and tranquillity. And then
the two visions merged. Once again I saw people taking the icing
sugar from the duck and jumping about in excitement. The group from
the second vision were approaching, and mingling with the crowd,
warning them, "Don't eat it! It's dangerous!" But there was very little
response. Some shouted at them, "Go away, you prophets of doom!
Don't tell us that YOU have the Spirit of the Lord. Where is your joy?"
Disheartened they eventually wandered away, feeling a dull ache in
the pits of their stomachs.
Later on, when I had made a record of the vision, the Lord spoke to
me, and I wrote down the message, as follows:-
"The hand that formed the bitter pill fashioned also the duck. This
is my work, and by it my name will be magnified. Twenty centuries
of progress has not changed the nature of man, and neither has it
changed mine, says the Lord. My Son is the Way, the Truth and
the Life. All those who reject the bitter pill of the cross will find
themselves prey to the lie. I will send them strong delusion, and
they will believe it and rejoice in it because their hearts are not set
upon the Way. They will accept falsehood in a season of careless
security, indulging in spiritual flirtation with powers of darkness
dressed up in acceptable guise. They longed for sweet things and
I gave them sugar, but it was not in tune with my heart, says the
Lord. And each bite of the duck they take, so grows the beast within.
And each bite of the duck they take, so blind they become to the
truth. And then, when antifaith has done its final work the
beast is revealed to the world, enthroned within the temple of God,
blasphemously parading divine nature. Mark well my words, says
the Lord, there is but one great sign for this world, one marvel, one
miracle of challenge that I will accept, and it is the sign of the
prophet Jonah. And those who take the bitter pill shall find
loneliness, derision and sorrow. And they shall walk the way of their
Master, learning of His sorrows, sharing His suffering, conforming
to His death. But I shall raise them to life, life on a higher plane,
and they shall take my message to the nations. This is my sign,
and this shall be their reward. All other ways, however right they
may appear to man, shall be disallowed in my sight, says the Lord.
And those who eat the duck shall refuse this glory when it is
revealed for it shall be folly to them. Choose therefore whilst it is
still possible, choose the salt and reject the sugar, says the Lord,
for the time is now short"...
The people who ate the pills - These have fed on the true word, and
have seen the nature of the evil. They pray for the others, and
whenever occasion arises, they approach them and warn them, but
usually to no avail. Hence the sweetness in the mouth gave way to
bitterness of soul at the outcome of their endeavours.
The Lord's hand - Some might be upset when they realise the Lord
was the One who designed the duck. But it must be remembered
that in olden days, after King Saul's disobedience, the Lord withdrew
His Spirit from him, and gave him an evil spirit instead. In each of
these cases, the Lord takes full responsibility for what happens,
even though Satan was the donor of Saul's evil spirit, as he is also
the architect of the duck.
Those who tried to warn the people of the dangers they were facing,
only received reviling comments. "Where is your joy?" they asked.
But how can you approach such people with a smile, when your
task is to warn them of danger? They were drunk with the wine of
intoxication, produced by the effects of eating the sugary sweet
words of the false prophet, and enjoying the effects.
The Holy Spirit's ministry to believers is essentially towards their
re-creation in the Lord's own image. But in these days, at the latter
end of the twentieth century, vast numbers of believers look to the
Holy Spirit for power, signs and wonders, which instead of crucifying
the flesh, tend to feed it. Oh how easy it is to be captivated by all
the manifestations of supernatural power today. Many Christians go
"conference hopping" in the hope of being present at yet another
occasion of "blessing", where they can witness all manner of effects,
not just by the preacher and those called to the front, but throughout
the auditorium. Ifbelievers persist in praying to the Holy Spirit for
signs and manifestations, the Holy Spirit cannot answer. It is
contrary to the purpose for which the Spirit has come. But there is
always "another" who "comes in his own name", and "him you will
hear." The crucial decision must be made. Is the flesh being fed, or crucified?
The Lord spoke to my wife some years ago saying, "In these days
treat the miraculous very lightly. Look rather to the LIVES of those
who profess to have spiritual powers." We have found it a most valuable word.
It is amazing how hard one may become when striving constantly
for "power". But those who are striving for mastery (lawfully), "walk
in the Spirit and have no confidence in the flesh." All such are
progressively broken on the Rock which is Christ, and in brokenness
they learn to be gentle, even when acting as salt.
Two final words. First of all, over the years since 1986, when we first
started publishing The Prophetic Telegraph, we have frequently
warned our readers about these growing tendencies within the
charismatic movement. But lest any should think that we doctrinally
reject manifestations of God's Holy Spirit in these end days, our
testimony is that my wife and I received the baptism of the Spirit in
1967, and have used the gift of speaking in tongues in our private
prayer lives ever since. We have also been God's instruments in
areas of deliverance ministry, healing, and in receiving visions and
revelations from the Lord.
Normally we should not wish to advertise this fact, but it seems
necessary to say so at this juncture to avoid being misunderstood.
And secondly, over this period of time we have certainly been too
strident and even harsh in our advertisement of the words of warning
given to us. The Lord has graciously revealed these areas to us,
(mainly myself), and where necessary letters of apology have been
dispatched. It is good therefore to reveal this publicly now. My
sincere prayer and desire for all those who are being sucked in to
this present hyped up atmosphere of spiritual worship, is that the
Holy Spirit will bring them through to a stable ground where they
can appreciate the "way of the cross" that Jesus taught. I have no
antagonism towards any of God's people, no matter what their
persuasion is. If God has saved them through the precious blood of
His own beloved Son, then they are my brothers and sisters in
Christ. May God teach me how to love, and yet retain integrity
based upon the revelation granted, until the end come. Even so
come, Lord Jesus. - Arthur Eedle. (Sept 1994).