THE MINISTRY OF JUDGING

THE MINISTRY OF JUDGING

In the Bible the ones whom God raised up as judges for His people did more than just settle disputes between individuals or hand down and execute judicial decisions. Those judges were actually THE DELIVERERS OF GOD'S PEOPLE! There is one book in the Bible that is specifically named "Judges." As a book it is a thriller! Therein we read of the fearless exploits of those mighty men whom God, "the Judge of an the earth," raised up for the salvation and deliverance of His oppressed and afflicted people. Hail the day of judgment that began when God raised up a judge to execute judgment for His afflicted ones! for these judges were, indeed, "saviours" of Israel by a special anointing of the Spirit of the Lord. 

Throughout the administration of the judges the people were blessed. Note, for instance, how, when under oppression by their enemies because of transgression against the Lord, Israel was again and again released and blessed by the raising up of judges. Thus we read: "When the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a DELIVERER, who delivered them ... and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he JUDGED ISRAEL, and went out to war ... and prevailed ... and the land had rest" (Judges 3:9-11). And again, "The Lord raised up judges that DELIVERED THEM out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And when the Lord raised up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge" (Judges 2:16, 18). 

Those wonderful judges were raised up long millenniums ago for the deliverance of Israel; but now, in this glorious age, God is preparing a mighty COMPANY OF JUDGES whose responsibility it shall be to JUDGE THE WORLD in righteousness! "And he that overcometh ... to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron" (Rev. 2:26-27). "To him that overcometh will I grant tosit with Me in My throne" (Rev. 3:21). "And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given unto them..." (Rev. 20:4,6). So, though the church and the world have long been under the power and oppression of the great adversary, yet He who paid for the sins of all with His own precious blood will take His great power and reign in blessing over realms that hitherto have not known Him. He will judgeand deliver ALL THOSE WHOM HE SO LOVED AS TO REDEEM. With this ALL the prophetic declarations agree. It is written, "With righteousness shall He JUDGE THE W-O-R-L-D, and the people with equity" (Ps. 98:9). Thank God! The very thought of an age governed by the sons of God who are filled with the seven-fold intensified Spirit of the Lord leaves me absolutely breathless! Words become totally inadequate and human ability to articulate the wonder of such a thing fails completely. Our faltering minds cannot totally appreciate nor comprehend the wonder of Isaiah's prophecy: "But with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: He shall smite the earth with the rod (authority) of His mouth, and with the breath (Spirit) of His lips (Word) shall He slay the wicked. The earth shall be FULL of the knowledge of the Lord, AS THE WATERS COVER THE SEA" (Isa. 11:2-9).

THE MINISTRY OF REDEMPTION AND RESTORATION

The day which God has appointed, in the which He shall JUDGE THE WORI.D, is now at hand. The judges for this day are now m preparation for their awesome task. Yes, you shall judge the world, saints ... but you will do it in humility and with a broken heart full of compassion and love. The first aspect of the ministry of the judges in the coming age is judgment. This work, however, shall be swiftly followed by the second ministry of mercy and restoration, for God's judgments are ever unto correction and redemption. Praise God! Let us now consider the processes involved in this wonderful work of redemption and restoration. 

To Israel, two millenniums ago, the hope of their coming Messiah, the Deliverer, was the fervent prayer and burning desire of the devout. When Jesus came God's people Israel were baffled and perplexed in mind, because they had learned to look only for a Messiah who would come to deliver them from their enemies and from the hand of all who oppressed them. The prophecies plainly declared that a DELIVERER would come out of Zion. Of this they were confident and assured, but their unregenerate hearts and unspiritual minds did not comprehend that the first work of the great Deliverer would be to DELIVER THEM from the awful curse of THEIR OWN SINS and to transform THEIR WICKED HEARTS by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, which deliverance could only be accomplished by the shedding of His righteous blood and the renewing of the Holy Ghost within them. 

Israel wanted to be delivered from ROME! In their clouded minds and distorted vision they could see only the flashing of Roman swords and the snapping of the heels of the Roman legions as the source and substance of their bondage. But of what value would it have been had the blessed Redeemer come only to deliver them from the power and authority of Rome if there was to be no change in their wicked and rebellious hearts? God's Word is full of accounts of His mighty acts of deliverance on their behalf, but no sooner were they delivered from their enemies than they utterly corrupted themselves and forsook the Lord. 

The book of Judges records how Israel corrupted themselves utterly before the Lord. "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim: and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, and followed other gods and provoked the Lord to anger. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and He sold them into the hands of their enemies so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil. Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them. And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they corrupted themselves more than their fathers; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way" (Judges 2:11-19). 

What a sordid state of affairs! Do you get the picture? Again and again, over and over, time after time, repeatedly, the cycle goes on and on..."And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord ... and the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of their enemies ... and the children of Israel cried unto the Lord ... and the Lord raised them up judges ... the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge ... and it came to pass, when the judge was dead that they corrupted themselves more than their fathers ... and the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord ... and the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of their enemies ... the children of Israel cried unto the Lord ... and the Lord raised them up judges ... and the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hands of their enemies all the days of the judge ... and it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they corrupted themselves more than their fathers ... and the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord ... and the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of their enemies ... the children of Israel cried unto the Lord ... and the Lord raised them up judges..." DO YOU GET THE PICTURE, N-O-W? How unmistakably evident that it was not their enemies from whom they needed deliverance - they needed DELIVERANCE FROM THEMSELVES! Their great problem was that they continually cried unto the Lord because of the oppression of the king Of Mesopotamia, or the Moabites, or the Canaanites, or the Midianites, or the Ammonites, or the Philistines; BUT NEVER ONCE DID THEY CRY MIGHTILY UNTO GOD BECAUSE OF THEIR OWN DESPERATELY WICKED AND REBELLIOUS HEARTS! How like human nature that is! Great masses of people today in the Charismatic Movement want God to solve all their problems and pour out upon them lavishly of His blessings, but they do not want to change their life style, there is no deep work of repentance, they stoutly refuse to separate themselves from the idolatrous and wicked harlot church systems at whose polluted tables they feast, and they have no desire whatever for God to come in blazing, consuming fire to purge and purify their hearts from the wicked and idolatrous spirit of this present age. 

The book of Judges is a wonderful book. Over and over again it records the loving kindness and tender mercy of God on the one hand and the incredible corruption of the human heart on the other. The corruption of the human heart is beyond belief and it would have been completely useless had the Lord sent His Son to be the Deliverer of His people from Rome, or from any other external circumstance or situation, while leaving their wicked hearts unchanged and their carnal natures not destroyed. As in the days of old they would no sooner have been delivered from their enemies than they would have turned back to heathen gods and to the lusts of their own flesh. Is this not what the unregenerate are doing now? Is this not what the "blessing seeking" crowd is doing, those who preach a message of faith and power and blessing, but not balanced by the message of the inworking of HIS CROSS? Do they not worship Mammon, the god of PROSPERITY and RICHES? Are they not lovers of pleasures more than lovers of GOD? Do men not worship the god of self and the god of lust and sex? No wonder the Lord said, "Ye draw nigh to Me with your lips, but your heart is far from Me" (Isa. 29:13). How well did James proclaim: "Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded" (James 4:8). 

In this age and in the glorious age and ages to come what good would it be to raise up righteous judges to judge the people: to settle disputes between individuals and nations, to pronounce verdicts and sentences, to execute judicial decisions, while the heart of man remains deceitful and corrupt and his mind more nearly the mind of a devil than the mind of God? If ever the world is to be judged and ruled in righteousness, righteousness must first of all be established WITHIN THE HEART OF MAN and the rule of God removed from the external and brought into the very tables of his heart and mind. There must be a new birth, even a birth from above. The wickedness of man demands it. There must be a conversion, a total change wherein evil men who once were afar off from God are made nigh by the blood of Christ. The very well-spring of that conversion must be a birth from above by which a new heart and a new spirit are placed WITHIN THE MEN OF ALL RACES AND TRIBES AND NATIONS. This is why Jesus, when He appeared on the world scene, came preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, and the very first word of that Kingdom Gospel is this: "REPENT, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand!" (Mat. 4:17). "Godly sorrow worketh REPENTANCE TO SALVATION not to be repented of, but the sorrow of the world worketh death" (II Cor. 7:10). 

The whole problem with Israel as a nation in the Bible times was that they were unconverted. While they willingly made covenants with God and swore allegiance and obedience to Him, their hearts remained unchanged. There was no birth from above! All the while they were forcing themselves to do God's bidding, their unregenerate hearts were wandering after Baal or Ashtaroth or Mammon, because these gods catered to their flesh and to every abomination that is common to the human heart. They did not serve the Lord because their hearts were not attuned to a life of holiness which begins when Jesus comes into the heart. This same condition still exists all about us in the realm of the unregenerate and unconverted people who fill the pews of our so-called churches every Sunday morning. With their lips they serve the Lord, but their hearts are far from Him! They sing, "Holy, holy, holy," while their unconverted hearts dream of business and pleasure and oft times unholy things. The world does not yet understand this truth, but the first essential step in the life of any man entering the Kingdom of God is briefly stated in these words: "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again" (Jn. 3:7). "Except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit, he CANNOT ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD" (Jn. 3:5). 

I have no desire to be sarcastic or cynical, but if we aspire to be of that glorious company of God's sons who shall judge and reign over the earth-realm in righteousness and power, then we must learn first and foremost that "the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God" (I Pet. 4:17). The sooner we learn that the human heart is utterly corrupt the sooner we will come to the fountain of His precious blood, not merely for mercy and pardon, but for CLEANSING and DELIVERANCE that through the grace and power of Christ we might be soundly converted and made an entirely New Creation in Him. I can say without fear of contradiction that most Christians have come only to know what it means to be saved in their sins," but the sons of the Most High must now become the firstfruits of them that are "saved from their sins." Out of the midst of all the empty form and ritual of man-made religion, the violence and war, the cheating and lying, the drugs and heathenish rock music, illicit sex and filth of lesbians and homosexuals, and the plague of every abominable eastern cult and devilish religion, God shall bring forth a blessed "firstfruit company" of people who are UNDEFILED BEFORE GOD. These are they that have repented of sin and every work of the flesh. With Christ, their victorious Head, they have died to all the desires of the flesh and mind. They are a people who have fixed all their hopes in Christ the Lord. Their hearts cry not for the tinsel of the world, nor yet for the trinkets of popular religion, but their prayer ascends to God day and night, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Mat. 6:10). Purged of all Pride, self-interest and filthiness of flesh and spirit these shall be accounted worthy to reign with Christ as kings and judges from the spirit realm, and those who will rule from henceforth are a royal priesthood like unto their Lord, after the order of Melchisedek. 

We have noted that it is utterly useless to deliver men from their external enemies unless first they have been delivered from their own corrupt and wicked hearts. All mankind desperately needs DELIVERANCE, and the sons of God, the righteous judges to be raised up unto all nations SHALL BECOME THE DELIVERERS. Hallelujah! "And savioursshall come up on Mount Zion (the government of God) to judge the mount of Esau (flesh); and the kingdom shall be the Lord's" (Obad. 21). The "mount of Esau" typifies the RULE OF THE FLESH. Let all men know that the triumph of the Son of God begins within, then, that which is first accomplished in the midst of our own being shall be wrought out in the midst of the earth, and that which is being wrought out in the midst of the earth shall also be fully wrought out in the entire universe, for "He planned for the maturity of the times and the climax of the ages to unify ALL THINGS and HEAD THEM UP and consummate them in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth" (Eph. 1:10, Amplified). 

The salvation of the nations shall not be accomplished upon principles nor by processes other than those that are now working in the firstfruit company for our redemption and perfection. The process for us is clear: "Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God" (Rev. 1:5-6). And again, "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us by Thy blood ... and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth" (Rev. 5:9-10). The glorious God of power and holiness who has constituted us "kings and priests" is the One who first of all "washed us from our sins in His own blood." 

Zechariah prophesied of a day, saying, "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness," and Isaiah spoke of that fountain of cleansing performing its redeeming work upon MANY NATIONS: "So shall He sprinkle (wash, cleanse, sanctify) MANY NATIONS; the kings shall shut their mouths at Him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider" (Zech. 13:1; Isa. 52:15). In Rev. 21:6 John calls the cleansing and life-giving stream of the blood of Christ a "fountain of the water of life." The words of the old hymn are so appropriate: "What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! What can make me PURE WITHIN? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!" Washed by His blood - cleansed and quickened by HIS LIFE! This is the process for the firstfruit company. And then in proportion as the sons of God learn, in their own experience, how far-reaching and all inclusive the effects of the blood are, their hearts are opened up to long for the ultimate and complete experiencing of the power of this blood in the world around them. If the blood can so redeem, cleanse, and perfect the firstfruits that they are suitable to be made KINGS AND PRIESTS UNTO GOD, then surely nothing less than the power of this blood must be ministered to the hearts and lives of the sin-blighted creation unto whom they are sent as kings and priests and judges. Truly it is the blood-washed PRIESTS OF GOD who shall SPRINKLE THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB upon MANY NATIONS in the glorious age and ages yet to unfold before our eyes! 

This is the plain teaching of Scripture. "It pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell; and having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to RECONCILE ALL THINGS TO HIMSELF, whether they be things on earth or things in heaven" (Col. 1:19-20). The power of the blood avails for every creature. The experience of what the blood can accomplish for those who believe, will teach them to regard their fellow men as living under the tender mercy of God, under redemption, and under the call to salvation and deliverance through the precious blood. It will fill them with an irresistible impulse to consecrate their lives, which have been bought and transformed by blood, to be blood-sprinkling PRIESTS OF THE MOST HIGH, fellow-workers with God for the deliverance of all nations, that the blood may ultimately have the full honor which belongs to it. 

Hear it! "And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders stood a LAMB as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD SENT FORTH INTO ALL THE EARTH" (Rev. 5:6). The seven Spirits proceed from the SLAIN LAMB. The seven Spirits from the slain Lamb are sent forth INTO ALL THE EARTH. The seven Spirits are nothing short of the FULL AND COMPLETE POWER OF THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. The blood is the life of man; the Spirit is the life of God. "The life is in the blood" (Lev. 17:11). This is why we find, in Scripture, that what in one place is ascribed to the spirit, is in another place ascribed to the blood, and the work of sanctification and cleansing is ascribed to both the blood and the Spirit. Life is also ascribed to both. Our Lord said, "He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood hath everlasting life," adding, "It is the SPIRIT that quickeneth (makes alive); the flesh profiteth nothing" (Jn. 6:54,63). We find similar expressions in the epistle to the Ephesians. After having said, "Ye ... are made nigh by the BLOOD of Christ," a little later Paul declares that "We ... have access by one SPIRIT to the Father" (Eph. 2:13, 18). So also in the epistle to the Hebrews, the contemning of the blood and of the Spirit is treated as one act. We read of those who "counted the BLOOD of the covenant an unholy thing, and have done despite to the SPIRIT of grace" (Heb. 10:29). The blood and the Spirit proceed together from the slain Lamb, for the blood of the Lamb and the seven Spirits of the Lamb are the fullness of the redeeming, cleansing, quickening, and perfecting LIFE OF GOD! And, bless His wonderful name, this stream of divine life is SENT FORTH INTO ALL THE EARTH, a mighty river of life to cleanse and revitalize the whole of creation. 

Where does this cleansing take place, and what is it that the life-giving blood washes? It is the heart. It is the deep, hidden, inner life of man that experiences the effect of the blood. Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is within you." Sin has penetrated into the heart, and the whole nature of man has become saturated with it. The blood too must penetrate the heart; as deeply as the power of sin has gone, so deeply must the inner being be cleansed by the blood. We know that when some article of clothing is washed, the water with its cleansing power must soak in as deeply as the stain, if it is to be removed. Even so must the blood of Jesus penetrate to the deepest roots of our being: our heart, our entire personality must be reached and quickened by His divine life. Where sin has reached, there too must the blood follow it; where sin ruled, there His life must rule: the entire heart must be cleansed by the blood! However great may be the depths of the human heart, however manifold and lively its activities may be, the life of the Lamb is just as wonderful and penetrating. It is INTO ALL THE EARTH that the seven-fold fullness of THE POWER OF THE BLOOD is sent. Blessed thought! Blessed deliverance! Blessed reality! 

And so we read of the seven Spirits of God: "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord ... with righteousness shall He JUDGE ... the wolf shall dwell with the Lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den ... for THE WHOLE EARTH SHALL BE FULL OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE LORD, as the waters cover the sea" (Isa. 11:2-9). 

As the seven-fold Spirit of the Lord flows over the earth from the many-membered body of Christ, what peace, what joy, what blessedness this will result in for the earth-realm! What changes shall be wrought, what altering of attitudes, what changing of personalities, what transforming of lives! Imagine the human personalities and characteristics that are here symbolically likened to the wolf, the leopard, the lion, the bear, the asp, the cockatrice! And while God could certainly alter the whole constitution of the animal kingdom if He so chose, our present application of the type must be to the peace and life of the Kingdom of God on a higher level where men of the most wicked, corrupt, and fierce dispositions have their natures so entirely transformed by the matchless grace of Christ that they live in love and righteousness with the meekest of men and those who formerly were an easy prey. Christ, who is our peace, came to establish PEACE IN THE HEARTS OF MEN! Thus the asp and the cockatrice(poisonous serpents) cease to be venomous, so that parents let their little children play with them. In other words, a "generation of vipers" shall be so converted and made a "seed of saints" that the "little ones" of the Kingdom of God shall be trustingly committed into their care! Matchless grace! Glorious triumph! Wonderful peace! Precious blood! "The seven Spirits of God SENT FORTH INTO ALL THE EARTH." Who would not desire it? 

The nations shall indeed be saved! All creation shall be gloriously reconciled to God! I know some do not believe it, but I do not hesitate to tell you that their unbelief shall not make the faith of God of none effect, nor shall it hinder God's program one bit. Their refusal to embrace God's glorious plan shall only disqualify them from being a part of that wonderful company of the sons of God through which the redemption and restoration shall be effected. I feel a great pity for those who cherish the beautiful hope of sonship, yet fail to permit the perfect work of God's grace and mercy to all men to be fully inworked in their lives. They would still damn men who failed to believe in this life, and the fact that they would consign them to eternal torture without mercy disqualifies them from ministering deliverance to those poor souls for whom Christ died. It is my deep conviction that none who oppose and reject the precious truth of the ultimate salvation of all men and the reconciliation of all things to God will stand in the company of the MANIFESTED SONS OF GOD. For this company of DELIVERERS to have within its ranks men who shut the mercy of God up from men, who have not sufficient faith to believe that Christ can and will save all, and who would damn men to eternal hell would mean the destruction of the MINISTRY OF THE SONS TO ALL CREATION. 

The nations shall be saved. All creation shall be set free. God shall, in His great mercy and love, raise up JUDGES, DELIVERERS unto them. At long last, thank God! deliverance shall come to the great masses of mankind. And it shall not be merely a deliverance from Communism, or Nazism, or Fascism; not a deliverance from Moscow, or Peking, or Washington; not a deliverance from taxes, or tyranny, or bureaucracy, or joblessness, or hunger; but deliverance from SIN and SELFHOOD and SATAN: a powerful cleansing which strikes at the root of all the multiplied sorrows and tragedies of mankind. Deliverance from WHAT WE ARE, blessed be His name! 

"Joy to the world! the Lord is come; Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare Him room, And heaven and nature sing.

"No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow, Far as the curse is found.

"He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove; The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love."

Savior of the World Series by J. Preston Eby 

http://www.tentmaker.org/articles/savior-of-the-world/