Back in the 70’sThe news media have been keeping us informed on the current world situation. They tell us that world governments are near crisis level, that scandals, political fragmentation and economic headaches are toppling governments across the world and threatening to bring down others. The Gaullist party has lost control of the government in France after sixteen years in power. The sex-and-spy scandal in West Germany brought an end to the chancellorship of Willy Brandt, who had improved West Germany’s relationship with the Soviet Union, and had always maintained close ties with the United States. Within a week’s time both the coalition government of Premier Johanneson in Iceland and Prime Minister Trudeau’s government in Canada fell from power. In Australia, the Labor Party is being pushed into a midterm election by the existing state of crisis which may upset the party in power there.
It is not only democracies that are ailing, for the authoritarian government of Portugal has fallen, and in Spain, the one-man government of Generalissimo Franco is being brought into jeopardy. Italy has had thirty-six different administrations in thirty-one years, and political analysts are predicting that the continuation of the three-year-old divorce law will upset the present government again.
“The Christian Science Monitor” recently featured an article titled, “Why government after government is falling.” Incidentally, this newspaper seems to be more objective and factual in its reporting than most others; it is not as absorbed with trying to take up the partisan view.
The political situations throughout the world indicate that something very significant is happening. It makes me feel like the little flea that was riding on the ear of the elephant. The elephant came to a long swinging bridge, and as he walked across, the entire bridge began to swing and sway. When they reached the other side, the little flea buzzed in the elephant’s ear, “Man, we sure did make that bridge swing, didn’t we!” That’s a picture of what the Lord is allowing us to do. It’s the Lord’s power that is in the earth, but He has seen fit to move through His people. He’s making us a part of it. The prophet tells us, “Surely the Lord doesn’t do anything unless He first reveals it unto His servants, the prophets” (Micah 3:7). Is He doing anything in this day without first perfecting channels through whom He shall do it? human channels who are prepared and anointed of the Lord?
In the book of Habbakkuk we find an account dating back to about 600 B.C., a period in human history that most nearly approaches what we are experiencing today, in which all things are being shaken. It speaks of the time when the Chaldeans were sweeping westward, but had not yet reached Judah. Habbakkuk stood in fear and trembling, waiting for the hour of doom to strike, wondering what was going to happen. The prophet was concerned because God kept speaking that He was ready to judge His people, to deal with them for their sin. This bothered Habbakkuk. He was concerned about the fact that the Chaldeans were much more wicked than the people who were going to be judged, and that was very true. Nevertheless, there was a principle involved which must be understood, for it applies in the present world situation too. God could use a righteous people to judge on the national and international scene right now, but that is not His plan.
Here in the United States, I doubt whether any politician could be in power without practicing things that would be very difficult to reconcile with the moral code of a Christian. I don’t question the fact that even the President of the United States may have been guilty of some of those things, and that bribery and other activities which are probably impeachable offenses may have entered into the picture. But it is very difficult to understand the inconsistency in the situation. While the front pages of the newspapers scream with the awful things he is supposed to have done, on page seven or eight we find an inconspicuous statement by the President in which he tells that his airplane and office had been bugged in previous elections, according to information given him by the FBI. No one seems to care about that. They are determined to nail the President. Even some of the people prominent in the Watergate hearings that were aired on television were responsible for previous buggings of the Republicans. But now they have their opportunity to nail the Republicans for what they themselves were guilty of in two previous elections.
Someone may ask, “Why would God allow that?” All of this is coming out because we have been prophesying, “Nothing shall be hidden.” If the Republicans are sinning, they’re going to get it. If you are a Republican, you will probably say, “But the Democrats were guilty too. If God is using the Democrats to harass the Republicans like this, why doesn’t He use the Republicans to down the Democrats?” That is beside the point. I’ve said over and over again, that at this particular time it is impossible for you to have a conscience as a Christian and also be aligned with any political party. Heed that very carefully; it is impossible! You will have to understand that from now on, the only allegiance you can have is to the Kingdom. We have slowly come to this place, that we must position ourselves in another way.
What is our role in this? God could have used righteous people, prophets of God, to judge the present national and international situation and to expose the sins. But He chose to speak the word of judgment through His people some months ago, and once that word of judgment is spoken through His people, then forces are turned loose, and men are delivered over to whatever is in their hearts. We can’t help but be appalled at the vile, foul things that are being said about the President. In the first place, the Scripture requires that the people render honor to those who are in office. That Scripture (Romans 13:1–7) was published at a time when the Christians had to render a certain kind of homage even to a tyrannical Nero. The lack of respect for the government that God has set over us is typical of the rebelliousness of the age. What is the ultimate answer? God is using the wicked to destroy the wicked.
Habakkuk asked, “Why is it that those who are more guilty than we, are now going to be the ones who will punish us for our wickedness?” That’s the way God does it. But we also see in the Word that as soon as this is done, God will go after the wicked for what they’ve done. As much as possible, God allows things to run their natural course. This is difficult to understand. He does not make us spend all of our energy and time trying to uncover some dirt or scandal involving some individual so that we can destroy him. It isn’t in the heart of a Christian to do that. But there are many people out in the world who are that kind of dog. And once the word of prophecy comes, they are turned over to whatever is in their hearts. Then they proceed to do the thing that is in them to do. There are enough rebellious people in the country who can do these things. God just turns it over to what is in their hearts and they do it.
Punishment comes from those who are even more wicked than the accused. But then God sets about to destroy the wicked destroyers as He did at the time of Jehoshaphat’s victory, recorded in II Chronicles 20. Jehoshaphat said, “Lord, we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are upon Thee.” The word came, “Listen to His prophets, believe His Word, and you will be established.” The singers went before the army, singing and worshiping the Lord. Then the Lord set ambushments against the children of Mount Seir, Ammon, and Moab. They fell upon each other and destroyed one another. When the children of Judah finally came upon the scene, not one of the enemy was left alive. All had fallen to the ground. All were dead men. Those who were singing before the Lord were not the bloody destroyers. The words of the prophet and the faith of the people had turned loose the forces that caused those destroyers to destroy themselves.
That is exactly what God is doing today. What do we do? We keep right on prophesying. Don’t take part; just keep prophesying. Be impartial in the situation. God has given the word; Prophesy. You may say, “But I want to pray for poor America.” Pray for her, but continue to prophesy. This is a period of unbelievable corruption and filthiness. A moral cancer has filled the whole land. What do we do? We pray, we prophesy, we turn the wicked over to judgment. We turn them over to do the thing that is in their hearts. We believe that God has a remnant, the salt of the earth, and He can bring the kind of judgment that is corrective, so that America can see something happen which will turn the hearts of its people to Him again.
Today God is moving in the spirit realm. He is moving through His sons. It must be understood that this is war in the heavenlies. These things that you see and read about in the newspapers are only the expression in the physical visible realm; they are not the cause. The prime cause is the activity of principalities and powers and the raging of Satan in the earth. Satan is raging because he knows his time is short. And that is why we see all of these things happening. That is the cause behind the small groups of revolutionaries that kidnap and kill and intimidate. What is the purpose of all the bloodshed and violence? What is the purpose of the bands of guerrillas that go out and kill and those who retaliate? What’s the purpose in all of this? Is there some great wisdom behind it? No, only satanic power. Only satanic power.
Today God is moving through His sons to deal with the spirit realm, because the spirit realm is the prime cause of all that we see and of all the wickedness that is being visibly manifested. What is behind Communism? You can’t contain it by war. We’ve reached the place where the visible wars accomplish nothing. When we try to hold a nation back from Communism, we still do not deal with the spiritual forces, and that nation becomes exceedingly corrupt. We have nothing to give them in the realm of the spirit. The United States has wasted billions of dollars fighting wars that can never be decisively won because we’re not spiritually qualified to supply a country with what they need.
Forget about the politics. Forget about the international strategies. As citizens of the Kingdom, start praying and believing and prophesying. One prophet of God can be a greater force in controlling the prime causes of trouble, in dealing with them and bringing them to a divine resolution, than all the marching armies of the world, for the basis is in the realm of spirit. Remember—the basis is in the realm of spirit. As far as the political picture is concerned, we’re in it from now on—not that we’re striving to be presidents or governors; we’re out to be kings in the Kingdom. Our goal is to control things, to bring them down in the name of the Lord. This is not accomplished by election, because this happens to be a monarchy that we’re involved with. Our appointment is by the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
In a very practical way, in every service we should stand and bind this country over to the will of God. We should believe God for everything to be exposed. It is interesting to see the amount of effort and money that was spent in trying to cover up the Watergate scandal. We know that in many cases wicked liberals and vicious men were doing everything they could to destroy, but they still could not have uncovered the situation if God had not declared that the time had come that nothing should be hid. Nothing is going to be hid! Therefore they were able to ferret it out. You may say, “Oh, it’s a terrible thing they’re doing.” No, let the wicked expose the wicked. Let them stand in nakedness in the day of the Lord. “Strip from them,” as the Word says, “the refuge of lies” (Isaiah 28:15). Let them stand exposed. Let’s prophesy. Let’s loose and bind in the name of the Lord. Is this word acceptable to your heart? Is it more than acceptable? Do you believe that this is a course of aggressive action for us from now on?
Let us take a running tour through the book of Habakkuk, reading selected verses, and see how they experienced this in another day, six hundred years before our Lord came. The oracle (the burden) which Habakkuk the prophet saw. How long, O Lord, will I call for help, and Thou wilt not hear? I cry out to Thee, “Violence!” Yet Thou dost not save. Habakkuk 1:1–2. This book is like a dialogue between Habakkuk and the Lord. The prophet brings his burden and the Lord gives the answer. Habakkuk begins with a lot of why’s: “Why, Lord? Why does this happen?” The Lord shows him why it happened, and the third chapter concludes with Habakkuk saying, in effect, “Okay, Lord, If it isn’t the Chaldeans, but Your hand that is behind it, then I’ll sing a psalm to the Lord. I’ll rejoice if the Lord’s hand is behind it.”
We must have the same attitude today. Instead of worrying and becoming sick at heart from reading the newspapers and sitting in front of the television, you will have to look at the world situation with a new idea in mind: Hallelujah! The King reigns in Zion and we’re believing for an end of this that has to come down, and the coming of the King in the name of the Lord. This has to be the hope and vision of our hearts. When men’s hearts are failing them for fear, we look up, for our redemption draweth nigh.
Verse 3–4: Why dost Thou make me see iniquity, and cause me to look on wickedness? It goes on to tell how the law is ignored and justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore, justice comes out perverted. That sounds like tomorrow’s newspaper, doesn’t it?
The Lord gives him an answer: Verse 5: “Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days—you would not believe if you were told.” In other words, “I’m going to do something that will surprise you. It will be tremendous.” He went on to say that He was raising up the Chaldeans and what they were going to do (verses 6–10).
Verse 11 brings the end of God’s speech. He tells how they were mocking at everything; nothing was sacred to them. “Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on. But they will be held guilty, they whose strength is their god.” Their strength was their god. This applies also to the present pragmatic, scientific age, when people don’t believe in God, but only in what they can do with their atomic bombs. They will trust in anything, but not in God. They, too, are going to be held guilty.
Habakkuk continues, verse 13: … Why dost Thou look with favor on those who deal treacherously? (Why are You blessing these Chaldeans?) Why art Thou silent when the wicked swallowed up those more righteous than they? That’s a good question, and we have the answer. The Lord turned it loose; the wicked destroyed those even less wicked than themselves, but to justify that, God will deal with their treachery and hypocrisy and destroy them also. The Lord is going to make a full end.
Verses 14–15: Why hast Thou made men like fish of the sea, like creeping things without a ruler over them? The Chaldeans bring all of them with a hook, drag them away with their net… Of course, that was the way they brought back their captives—leading them with a hook, just as if they were fish. This was quite literally done—a rather rough way to be led, wasn’t it?
I will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart; and I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, and how I may reply when I am reproved. Now the Lord speaks to Habakkuk: “Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run. For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal, and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay.” Habakkuk 2:1–3. God was saying, “Listen to Me, Habakkuk. This is all going to come to pass. You take the vision that I’ve given you about what I am going to do in the earth—this that seems so impossible—and you write the vision and make it plain, like a signboard, that he who reads it may run. When he sees it, he gets the message and he runs. The vision is yet for an appointed time. It’s going to come on schedule and you’d better believe it! And when it comes, you had better be ready.”
That was quite an answer, Habakkuk. What do you have to say now? “No more questions. I’m ready to prophesy. I’m ready to speak the word.” He starts to make the vision plain. He begins to prophesy against the things which God is judging.
This will be the outcome: Behold, as for the proud one, his soul is not right within him; but the righteous will live by his faith. Verse 4. There’s a reason why the Lord is bringing such humility to the remnant. There’s a reason why He humbles you, brings you into submission, makes you fully obedient. Only the humble ones will be preserved and only the meek are going to inherit the earth and walk in the Kingdom. This applies now as at no time in history.
The prophet speaks of several woes.… “Woe to him who increases what is not his—for how long—and makes himself rich with loans?” Verse 6. Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house to put his nest on high (evil gain) to be delivered from the hand of calamity!“ Verse 9. According to James 5:1–2, this will happen in the last day: “Woe to you, rich; your gold is corrupted, your garments are motheaten. God is going to bring it down.”
There isn’t enough money to save a man through this thing that God is going to do, because He’s determined to bring down the arrogant. There isn’t enough that you can save back or prepare for. We’re learning to live more simply and naturally, and there is a basic reason for the Holy Spirit’s leading us in this. The artificial way of life and food is not good for you, and it will not even be available for you; nor does God want you to use it. Therefore He is bringing us to a whole new idea of living, but it still will be God preserving the humble. You’re going to be preserved by the Lord.
Verse 12: “Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and founds a town with violence!” Verse 14: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Habakkuk, you have the right idea—finally! Instead of the Lord trying to preserve these backslidden, rebellious Israelites, let God just stomp on them; let Him deal with them.
Let Him bring down the religious world as well as the commercial world. According to Revelation 17 and 18, Babylon is twofold: a commercial system of the world that has to come down, as well as the religious system of the world that has to come down. Both have to come down. Don’t sit and grieve over it. Prophesy it! Something else is coming: the knowledge of the Lord is going to cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.
Verse 15: “Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, who mix in your venom even to make them drunk so as to look on their nakedness!” Today we have the alcoholic corruption and the drug corruption—the whole scene—actually very much like the days of Habakkuk.
In case you have been wondering what God thinks of pornography, notice verses 15 and 16: … who mix in your venom even to make them drunk so as to look on their nakedness! You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor. Now you yourself drink and expose your own nakedness. The cup in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you, and utter disgrace will come upon your glory. We often hear people say, “The body is beautiful.” The fact remains that God started out by covering it up. Even Adam knew something was wrong and he found a fig leaf. Then the Lord took the skin of an animal and made a covering for him. When people advocate nudity on the beaches, it is again coming back to what this passage is talking about.
I think that within the sanctity and privacy of your home such things are understood. But there is not yet enough purity in people’s hearts to suggest that sort of thing—at least until the Kingdom has established a certain righteousness and ways of thinking that are pure. Women aren’t ready for it. In the first place, if they were pure enough to be ready for it, they wouldn’t want it. But because it is stolen bread, it seems to be sweeter than cake. The nude human body has to be viewed with a certain sense of lust, unless it is someone you really love. The human body, properly covered up, is more attractive. If you want to see something that is really repulsive, get some of the old pictures that the Germans took when they lined up the prisoners who were to be put into the incinerator and burned. When you see the picture of them all standing there, various sizes and shapes, naked, you realize that there wasn’t a bit of glamour in it at all; it became repulsive.
Verse 18: “What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it? This is talking about the idolatry, and we see the same thing now.
The third chapter begins with the prophet rejoicing, because God is doing all of these things. But in the midst of it is a real prayer. He says, Lord, I have heard the report about Thee and I fear. O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy. Verse 2. He is filled with joy, and yet he is saying, “Lord, while You’re bringing all of this down, don’t forget what You are bringing up. Revive and establish Your work. In the midst of all of this wrath everywhere, remember mercy. Remember grace.”
We who are being visited by the grace of God, let’s not turn His grace into lasciviousness. Let’s walk carefully before the Lord, because the wrath is coming. But in the midst of the wrath, He’s remembering mercy. I don’t expect to be a partaker of the wrath. We are children of the day, not children of the night. We are to watch and be sober. In the time of judgment and distress, we believe that God is going to help His remnant to walk through it. If there was ever a time to be afraid, it is now. If ever there was a time to be fearful in heart, it is now. Every prophecy in the Old Testament about the day of the Lord speaks of it as a day of gloom and dark clouds, of foreboding and woe. But you must remember that is talking about the general picture. At the same time, He is preserving a people.
I heard and my inward parts trembled; at the sound my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, and in my place I tremble. Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress (notice: a day of distress, a time to be afraid), for the people to arise who will invade us. Though the fig tree should not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail, and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold, and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places. Habakkuk 3:16–19. God is bringing us forth and as we walk on with the Lord, we’re going to rejoice in Him. He will bring us up out of this to the high place of Zion.
God could use righteous people to judge the wickedness in the world, but He is choosing rather to use the wicked to destroy the wicked. First He causes the judgment to be spoken through His own people. Then He will turn around and see that the wicked destroy one another. God repeats the story of II Chronicles 20, where the people worshiped and praised God, and God brought all the invaders to nought. Not one of the enemy was saved; all fell to the earth. Today God is moving, not in the realm of judgments that we see, but in the spirit realm, where everything is originating. The problems of the world originate out of the spirit world. God is going to bring down witchcraft and all of the wicked things. It’s in the spirit realm we enter into this. Oh, if we just see this now and become the real remnant of the Lord, to prophesy, to bring down everything that is being exalted against Christ. It’s the day of His Lordship. It’s the day of the manifestation of His victory.