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On May 9, 1998, I was given a very strong prophetic
experience. I had been seeking the Lord for an answer concerning the constant whirl
of confusion and mistrust that is pervasive among the leadership in the Body of
Christ. There had to be an answer for the breakdown in communications. The
Lord permitted me to go into the second heaven, which is where the devil makes his wicked
schemes, and there I was able to observe evil twins. These come from the
bowels of Satan himself. These twins were not identical, but were extremely wicked.
Deceptive Disguise
I observed them in their dressing room, watching them as they made preparations for their
malicious mission. Putting on their deceptive disguise they dressed as telephone
repairmen. Each had a very winsome personality and had the appearance of being so
very helpful. In their disguise they appeared handsome, and even charming. No
one could ever detect their dark demonic plans and purposes in the natural - those can
only be seen by the Spirit.
Malicious Mission
They were dispatched to every home and office of all those that are in leadership; their
mission is to place "bugs" in the telephone receivers. These "bugging
devices" were planted in the telephone receiver in order to distort what was being
said and heard.
Contaminate Communications
I was given their names. The names of these two evil twins are,
"Accusation" and "Suspicion." Their mission is an attack against
Christian leadership’s communication. Their goal is to totally contaminate our
communications in order to breakdown our unity and trust of one another. They seek
to hinder our exchange of information and expression of ideas by clouding and confusing
our words. One of the definitions of the word "accusation" deals with
charging someone with a crime by using our words. If we give ear to accusation,
soon we will receive the evil ministry of suspicion, which fosters mistrust. This
evil suspicion causes the suspicious person to always look for the very worst in others,
whether they be one person or a large group. Additionally, a person with
suspicions seems to be blinded to the good qualities of the other person(s).
Deception in Perception
These evil twins affect what is being said and heard. They cause deception in
one’s perception. These bugs infect the system of communication causing doubt,
skepticism, and apprehension which breeds mistrust and distrust, which brings about
cynicism. Their goal is to bring about the paralyzation of pessimism. They
bring about slander and all types of false allegations and contentious complaints.
Our words are twisted and are used to promote a lack of trust that paralyzes the people of
God.
Skepticism Separates
Many in leadership, because of this strife and debate, are driven to solitude and
detachment. They detach and disconnect themselves from walking in real unity.
When these two evil spirits minister their deception, it brings about a spirit of
self-pity and a feeling of being alone. (This makes it seem that no other Christian
can really be trusted.) The foe of our soul strikes best when we are going through
self-pity and a feeling of isolation. An example of this would be John the Baptist
when he had been placed into prison. The once bold prophetic voice who stood
proclaiming the Lamb of God sits in a lonely prison cell and the thief of his soul comes
to rob him of faith. The dark cloud of doubt moves over his heart and soon he is
questioning if anything he has done is truly of God. (Matthew 11:1-8) We can make
terrible mistakes while in this spirit of desperation and detachment. Look at Elijah
after he withstood the hundreds of prophets of Jezebel. He now flees and asks the
Lord to take his life. He is so misguided he thinks he is the only one left.
(1 Kings 19)
Identification of the Bugging Devices
I was shown the names of some of these bugging devices. They are rivalry, which
produces a spirit of competition, slander, gossip, faultfinding, murmuring, smearing,
using our words to bring about insinuation and bitter backbiting. When this happens
the very poison of malice is in our mouth. The Lord said He would give the Church
power to take the sword of the Spirit and cut the throats of these two evil spirits.
This would be accomplished by bringing every hidden feeling into the light. This
will require us to be open and transparent with each other. We must be willing to
confront each other concerning issues of the heart. We must guard our words when
doing this. Our words are to be used to build up the Body of Christ, not to tear
people down. Our words can be used by the Spirit of God to help or by Satan to hurt;
to minister healing or inflict wounds. Words have a very powerful affect upon
people.
Once a lady in the community had gotten very bitter in the local Church. She had let
hatred build up in her heart and she began to go all over the community spreading slanders
and lies about the Pastor. This went on for days. She would gossip to any and
all who would give her their ear. Soon, the Spirit of God began to move powerfully
on her, bringing about deep regret, moving her to go to the Pastor and apologize.
The Pastor said, "Oh yes, I forgive you, but please come with me." He took
a pillow filled with feathers, and led the repentant woman to a windy hill side where he
cut open the feather pillow. The strong swirling wind took the loose feathers,
blowing and scattering them all across the community. Then the Pastor said to the
woman, "Now, please go and retrieve each feather." She exclaimed,
"That is impossible. I could never gather them all up. They have gone all
over the town!" The Pastor answered and said, "That’s right and
neither will you be able to take back all the lies and allegations you spoke."
God will give grace to bridle the tongue if we are willing to face these foes. One
of the main intentions of these demons is to bring about such a contamination in
communication that all lines of communication are shut down. They intensely seek to
foster allegations, malicious words and spiteful slander so that people in leadership will
totally separate themselves from one another.
The Tongue
The Word of God reminds us that our tongue is an indicator of a person’s
spirit. It reveals what is in the heart. Jesus said, in Matthew 12:33-37,
"Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and
his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye,
being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good
things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I
say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof
in the Day of Judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words
thou shalt be condemned." The Lord warns us that our words are a window to our
heart so that what comes out of our mouth is a revealing of what is deep within our
heart. Additionally, Christ declares in Matthew 15:18, "Do not ye yet
understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out
into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from
the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts,
murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies."
Taming the Tongue
In the timeless New Testament passage on the tongue, the Apostle James warns precisely
against the evil of an uncontrolled and uncharitable tongue. James 3:1-12 (NIV),
"Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we
who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. If
anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body
in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can
turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and
are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot
wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great
boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The
tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the
whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by
hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed
and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil,
full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we
curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come
praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt
water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a
grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."
Small but Powerful
The tongue is a very small yet powerful organ used for talking and taste. The Bible
reveals many different descriptive examples using the tongue. For example:
The tongue can be sharpened like a sword. In Psalms 64:1-4, David states,
"Hear My voice, O God, in my complaint; guard and preserve my life from the terror of
the enemy. Hide me from the secret counsel and conspiracy of the ungodly, from the
scheming of evildoers, Who whet their tongues like a sword, who aim venomous words like
arrows, Who shoot from ambush at the blameless man; suddenly do they shoot at him, Without
self-reproach or fear." The tongue can be used to speak forth words as a
weapon for attack (Jeremiah 18:18), wounding like a sharp sword (Psalms 57:4).
The tongue can be deadly like a serpent. (Psalms 140:3) This is a reference to
its ability to utter sarcastic, caustic and poisonous words. The tongue is like a
warrior’s bow, in that the tongue can project lies (Jeremiah 9:3), which can fly like
an arrow, striking down with its deadly deceit. (Jeremiah 9:8) The tongue can
be used for flattery which can be just as deadly and destructive as criticism. (Psalms
5:9, Proverbs 28:23)
Also see:
Backbiting (Psalms 15:3, Proverbs 25:23)
Cursing (Hosea 7:16)
Deceit (Psalms 50:19)
Destruction (Psalms 52:2)
Craftiness (Job 15:5)
Unrestrained speech (Psalms 73:9)
Lying (Psalms 109:2, Proverbs 26:28)
Strife (Psalms 31:20)
The tongue can be yielded to the Spirit of God and used for good. Or yielded to the
evil spirit and used for harm and hurt. Our words can heal or wound.
People may use the tongue to sin (Psalms 39:1) or to speak of the Lord’s great grace
and tender mercies. (Psalms 35:28) Our tongue can be used to sound out the praises
of God. (Psalms 126:2) The tongue of the wise renders health. (Proverbs 12:18)
The tongue of the righteous is a treasure, like choice silver. (Proverbs 10:20) The
Bible speaks of keeping the tongue from evil (Psalms 34:13), of guarding the tongue
(Proverbs 21:23), and of bridling the tongue. (James 1:26)
Note the following verses from Proverbs:
Proverbs 8:8
All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse. (NIV)
Proverbs 10:19
When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.
(NIV)
Proverbs 12:6
The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues
them. (NIV)
Proverbs 16:24
Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
(NIV)
Proverbs 17:27
A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is
even-tempered. (NIV)
Proverbs 18:4
The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling
brook. (NIV)
Proverbs 18:8
The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost
parts. (NIV)
Proverbs 19:27
Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of
knowledge. (NIV)
Proverbs 22:12
The eyes of the LORD keep watch over knowledge, but he frustrates the words of the
unfaithful. (NIV)
Proverbs 22:17
Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I
teach, (NIV)
Proverbs 22:21
teaching you true and reliable words, so that you can give sound answers to him who sent
you? (NIV)
Proverbs 23:9
Do not speak to a fool, for he will scorn the wisdom of your words. (NIV)
Proverbs 23:12
Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge. (NIV)
Proverbs 29:19
A servant cannot be corrected by mere words; though he understands, he will not
respond. (NIV)
Proverbs 29:20
Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for
him. (NIV)
Proverbs 30:6
Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar. (NIV)
Hatred and Strife
Contention is as a fire. It burns and sears the soul, burns up all that is good, and
puts families, friends and even entire societies into a consuming flame. In Proverbs
26:20-22 we are told how that fire is commonly kindled and kept burning so that we may
avoid the occasions of strife and so prevent the devilish consequences of it. The
Scriptures warn that we must not give ear to talebearers for they feed the fire of
contention with their verbal fuel. Each time we permit ourselves to join in slander
or gossip, (it does not matter if we are the one speaking or the one listening), we are
guilty of spreading wild fire set on fire by hell itself. (James 3:6) These words we
speak are fireballs, causing devastation and destruction everywhere they fall. The
souls of men are in a time of drought because of a lack of unity and mistrust; these winds
of mistrust and doubt have fanned the flames of these wild fires into a burning raging
fire. We cannot continue to give ear to anyone who is busy revealing secrets, and
misrepresenting words and actions. These people are doing what they can to make
relations, friends and neighbors jealous one of another, to alienate them one from
another. This is the work of the accuser of the brethren himself. When a
person is used to sow discord among believers they are working against the Spirit of
God. Whisperers and backbiters are incendiaries not to be allowed to burn out of
control. In Proverbs 18:8, the word declares that the words of a tale-bearer are as
wounds - deep and dangerous wounds.
See Proverbs 26:23
by Bobby Conner
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