The Thing Satan Fears Most

THE THING SATAN FEARS MOST

The thing Satan fears most is the testimony of two witnesses—the elephant and the mouse. For the most part, the two thousand years of the Church Age have experienced the testimony of one witness—the mouse. During the closing days of the Age the testimony will be borne by two witnesses—the elephant and the mouse.

Introduction
Bearing a True Witness
Two Witnesses
The Lord Jesus and the Father Are Our Example
Cultivating the Presence of the Lord
Conclusion

THE THING SATAN FEARS MOST

Introduction

It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. (John 8:17,18)
But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. (Matthew 18:16)
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; these things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; (Revelation 3:14)

“The faithful and true witness.”

Once upon a time, it is told, there was a huge elephant who worked for a lumber company. Although elephants ordinarily do not like mice, this elephant was lonesome and asked a little mouse to be with him and help him with his work.

One day the elephant and the mouse were assigned to haul a giant tree to the river so it could be floated down to the sawmill. The elephant and the mouse put on their harnesses and began to pull with all their might. Slowly the great tree began to move along the path to the river.

When they got there the mouse wiped the sweat from his forehead and exclaimed, “It was hard work but we got the job done.”

After the day was over the elephant and the mouse crossed on a hanging bridge over a chasm to the quarters where they would rest for the night. After they got to the other side the mouse looked back and saw the bridge swinging back and forth because of the weight of the two animals that had just gone across it. The mouse said, “Look how we shook the bridge!”

Ridiculous you say?

But this often has been the attitude of the Christian churches.

For two thousand years the churches, in many instances, have not recognized that it is the Elephant who does the work. Often they have tried to haul the log without the Elephant, supposing the work of the Kingdom is performed by their plans, programs, money, and talents.

They have been as one witness. Sometimes the other Witness has been present, sometimes not.

During the closing days of the Church Age there will be two witnesses. This is what Satan fears most—that the Christians will lay aside their own plans and programs and seek the Presence of the Lord. Satan will permit any type of religious activity (although Christian efforts may be irritating to him). But he is deathly afraid the believers will cease from their own works and permit the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to perform the work of the Kingdom, in their ministry, in bearing a true witness of God, in their personal growth in Christ—in all they are and do.

Bearing a True Witness

God needs witnesses today. There is an abundance of ministry but little witness of God. The purpose of ministry is to instruct and heal people, to help them find Christ and then walk in Him. The purpose of the witness, on the other hand, is to present a clear picture of the Person of God, His plan of salvation, His holiness, His desires, His demands on people, and the nature of the Kingdom He is about to install on the earth.

Gifts of ministry are given by the Holy Spirit and the believer becomes increasingly effective as he or she operates the gifts that have been given.

However, it requires a period of time, much pain, many trials and prisons, and endless instruction in order to form a true witness of God.

Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. (Isaiah 43:10)

Before he can bear witness the individual must come to know Christ, to hear His voice and to see His holiness and majesty.

But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; (Acts 26:16)

Throughout the present century there has been much excellent ministry, but often a false witness of God and Christ have been given. God has been presented as a kindly old gentlemen who continually forgives and blesses people whether or not they present their body a living sacrifice to Him, whether or not they bury their talent. His consuming wrath, His demand for righteous and holy behavior on the part of those who would have fellowship with Him, His attitude toward the members of the churches who are not diligent in their pursuit of the Lord, are not being presented clearly.

Because of God’s great love for people, and because neither the churches nor the world is prepared for the power, the fury, the destruction that will accompany the installation of the Kingdom of God on the earth, God shall empower two witnesses so all people may see and understand what will come to pass in the near future.

Two Witnesses

And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. (Revelation 11:3)

During the Church Age the testimony concerning the coming of the Kingdom of God has often been given by “one witness.” Well-intentioned believers have set out to save souls, build churches, operate Christian schools, and construct denominations. The Christian workers have always sought the Lord’s blessing on their efforts but often have operated blindly, that is, the work was not initiated by the Lord nor was it conducted in a constant awareness of His Presence and will.

The ministry sometimes proceeds by momentum. God gives a burden to someone or a group of people to carry out a task. After the task has been completed the workers continue to plan and operate a continuation or enlargement of the original commission, assuming this is what God desires.

By this time there may be heavy financial commitment and certainly considerable ego involvement. Salaries and prestige are at stake. That which has been put in motion rolls on and on for hundreds of years until the institution and its buildings are little more than sepulchers filled with relics.

The second Witness, the Elephant, the Lord Jesus Christ, has long since departed. The denomination has become a business and its leaders are executive officers. Its goal is to add members to its ranks, persuading them to adopt the beliefs of the institution. The freshness of the Presence of the Lord is absent. “Ichabod” (no glory) is inscribed on the corporation.

Momentum can occur in our personal life. It is a good idea for every believer (and every denomination) to pause frequently and wait to see if the second Witness is still with us, to allow Him to give new guidance—even to lead us aside to rest for a season. In this case we are not asking the Lord to bless what we are doing but rather to find out what He is doing! Otherwise there is only one witness, the mouse; and while there may be a great deal of activity (the mouse running around the log), nothing actually is taking place that is of eternal value in the Kingdom of God.

The reason Christian institutions have tortured and murdered “heretics,” have become involved in politics, and have fought one another, seeking in their ambition and envy to excel other Christian groups, is that they have not conducted their business in the Presence of the Lord but in their own fleshly zeal.

The Lord does not fight against Himself!

It will not be so in the days prior to the coming of the Kingdom. God shall empower two witnesses who will present to the churches as well as to every nation on earth a true witness of the Person and will of God. After the witness has been borne, God will permit Antichrist to overcome the witness so the Bride of the Lamb through suffering may be made ready for the Bridegroom, and so sin and lawlessness may come to maturity in preparation for Divine judgment.

The symbolic description, in Revelation, Chapter 11, of the end-time witness as two lampstands and two olive trees is taken from the fourth chapter of the Book of Zechariah.

And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, And behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. (Zechariah 4:2,3)

The reason one lampstand was shown in Zechariah and two in Revelation is that the second lampstand, the Christian Church, had not been created at the time of Zechariah.

The lampstands of the Scriptures are always solid gold, representing Christ. In the Scriptures, only Christ and the Christian churches are pictured as lampstands. The churches are golden lampstands because Christ has been born in them. The reason the Church is seen as one lampstand in the eleventh chapter of Revelation, instead of the seven as in Revelation, Chapter Two, is that it is the church within the churches that will bear witness with Christ. The one true Church within the seven churches consists of the overcomers, the victorious saints—those who truly follow the Lord Jesus and are not careless in the things of the Lord.

The two olive trees emptying into the lampstand of Zechariah signify that the Lord Jesus Christ possesses the Spirit of God without measure. The High Priest did not have to fill the oil cups each twenty-four hours, because the lampstand was receiving the oil directly from the olive trees.

The two olive trees of the eleventh chapter of the Book of Revelation mean that the warlike remnant of saints, who will bear witness along with the Lord Jesus of the Kingdom of God, will have a double portion of the Spirit of God (the Elisha anointing) so they can perform the works of power needed to open the doors and arrest the attention of the nations of the earth.

The two witnesses will be clothed in sackcloth. The fancy show of ecclesiastical leaders with their expensive suits and luxurious automobiles will be no more. The witness of the last days will be given by ordinary people who have been shown for many years that glory belongs to God alone.

There will be no more giving glory to people instead of to God, as happens so often in our day. The second witness, the true and faithful saint, will truly and faithfully always point toward the Lord Jesus instead of to himself or herself. The ministers of today often say they are giving glory to the Lord Jesus, but the circumstances of their ministry indicate otherwise.

The witnesses of the last days will be so close to the Lord Jesus, so filled with His Presence, they will portray His glory naturally and often unconsciously—because they truly will be seeking His glory.

The mouse will understand he is a mouse and that it is the Elephant who is hauling the log and shaking the bridge.

The Lord Jesus and the Father Are Our Example

It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me. (John 8:17,18)

An examination of the relationship of the Lord Jesus to the Father in Personality and in work will help us understand what the Lord expects of His witnessing saints during the testimony to be given in the closing days of the Church Age.

The Lord Jesus never attempted to do the work of God by Himself. He never was alone.

And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. (John 8:16)

“I am not alone.”

How wonderful to be “not alone” but to have the Presence of the Lord Jesus with us!

We notice that the Lord sometimes emphasized it was the Father who spoke through Him and who performed the works of power.

Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. (John 14:10)

“The Father that dwelleth in me.”

The Father will also speak through us.

For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. (Matthew 10:20)

On other occasions the Lord pointed out that the Father was working with Him—that He did what He saw the Father doing. The Father worked and He worked.

Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. (John 5:19,20)

Can you see in the above verse that the Lord is not emphasizing the Father who is working in Him, as though the Father were acting in Jesus, but that Jesus looks to the Father and then does what He sees the Father doing?

We too are not to expect Jesus to do everything in us but to look to Jesus to see what He is doing and then do the same.

Notice also the following:

No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:44)

The preceding verse reveals that the Father worked with Jesus, empowering the circumstances in cooperation with what Jesus was doing. Jesus is not alone but the Father is working with Him.

And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him. (John 8:29)

“He that sent me is with me.”

We see that the Father was both in and also with the Lord Jesus.

In addition it must be pointed out clearly that when the Lord Jesus prayed He always prayed to His Father in Heaven, not to the Father dwelling in Him.

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. (John 11:41)
These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: (John 17:1)

The Lord Jesus lifted up His eyes to His Father in Heaven.

The Lord Jesus came from the Father and returned to the Father.

And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. (John 17:11)

The Father lives in the Lord Jesus and the Lord Jesus lives by the Life of the Father.

As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. (John 6:57)

The Father worked with the Lord and the Lord did what He saw the Father doing.

But the Lord Jesus always prayed to the Father in Heaven.

We must never make the mistake of praying to Christ in us or thinking that because Christ is in us we can perform marvelous works. This error is being made today in some instances.

Jesus lives in the Father and the Father in Him. Jesus always does what He sees the Father doing and obeys the Father’s every command. Jesus is seated at the right hand of God in Heaven.

The three relationships, in, with, and in Heaven, work together. Each has its necessary role in the Life and Ministry of Jesus of Nazareth.

The same is true of us.

The Lord Jesus is being formed in us and Jesus and the Father dwell in us. We live by the Life of Jesus.

My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, (Galatians 4:19)

The believers in Galatia had been saved and filled with the Spirit. Now they needed to hold fast their confidence until Christ was formed in them.

As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. (John 6:57)

We are to live consciously by the Life of the Lord Jesus as He lives consciously by the Life of the Father. We are to look continually to Jesus at every moment for the strength and wisdom to do what is set before us.

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)

When we open the door of our personality, Jesus enters us and we dine together. We partake of His body and blood, for these are our life and our light.

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (John 14:23)

The highest point of our redemption occurs when we become the eternal dwelling place of the Father and the Son.

We see then that Christ is formed in us and dwells in us and we live by Him as He lives by the Father. This is the inner kingdom of God (there is an outer kingdom) and we are to live in the consciousness of it always.

Then we find the Lord Jesus works with us.

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:20)
And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. (Mark 16:20)

We understand from the above the Lord is with us as we go forth to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom. However, this is true provided we are seeking the Lord and doing His will. We must continually be having an encounter with Him, not just blindly attempting to fulfill the Great Commission in our own wisdom and strength.

When it comes to prayer, we always are to pray to our Father in Heaven or to Jesus in Heaven, not to the Jesus who is in us. Placing great emphasis on the “God” who is in us is the mark of the false religionist, the False Prophet.

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. (Matthew 6:9)
And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. (Acts 7:59)

Notice that Stephen (above) was not looking inside himself for strength to endure martyrdom but was calling out to the Lord Jesus in Heaven.

And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. (Acts 7:56)

We always are to pray and look to our Lord in Heaven, not to the “God” who is in us.

If we would bear a true and faithful witness of the Lord Jesus we must give attendance to the forming of Christ in us. We must keep the commandments of Christ so God will love us and God and Christ will make Their eternal abode in us.

We must always cultivate the Presence of Christ so as we go forth to the work of the Kingdom, Christ is working with us. When Christ is not working with us the mouse is trying to move logs by himself.

We always are to look to God in Heaven and Jesus at the right hand of God. If we have been baptized into the crucifixion of Christ, then we have been raised with Him to the right hand of the Father, there to triumph each day over all the power of the enemy.

And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places) in Christ: (Ephesians 2:6)

We have been raised with the Lord Jesus to the right hand of the Father. This is true today as we walk on the earth. But the hour will come when we literally ascend to be with the Lord in Heaven. As Paul said, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Christ returned to the Father after He was crucified. One day we shall go to be with the Lord Jesus.

We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (II Corinthians 5:8)

Cultivating the Presence of the Lord

The Presence of the Lord must be cultivated. We must make an effort to gain and keep His Presence at all times and under every circumstance.

As we go through life, seeking to grow in Christ, to do our part in building the Body of Christ, to bear witness to the world of the atoning death and triumphant resurrection of Christ, we find many various ideas coming to us. “Maybe I should try this. Maybe I should do that. This might be a good plan. That will help me gain my objectives.”

But we are not to act on these impulses. We are not to go about following our ideas, the ideas of others, or our fleshly enthusiasms.

The sons of God are those who are led in every matter by the Spirit of God.

One of our main efforts as a Christian must be directed toward inviting the Presence of the Lord into every thought we think, every motivation, every word, every action, every plan, every objective. At first the pressures of life make such practicing of the Presence of the Lord quite difficult. As we make the effort to bring Christ into all we are and do it becomes easier—a habit that grows to great strength.

We need to meditate continually on the following concepts:

The forming of Christ in us.
Living by Christ’s Life.
Christ working with us in ministry.
Praying to the Father and Christ in Heaven.
Christ in and with us bearing a true and faithful witness of the Father.

When we are born of God we enter the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of God enters us. The Kingdom of God is God in Christ in us.

After we are born again of Christ the gifts and ministries given by the Holy Spirit travail so what has been born in us will grow until it fills every area of our personality.

When one plants grass and waters the grass seed, the weed seeds in the soil will spring up before the grass does. The gardener must keep on removing the weeds, meanwhile fertilizing and watering the grass seed.

This process must be repeated until the grass becomes mature. Once a thick turf of grass has formed the weeds become much fewer and are dealt with easily.

The Apostle Paul travailed for the believers in Galatia who were undecided about their relationship to the Law of Moses. Paul knew when Christ became strong in them they would not be nearly as susceptible to error (the weeds would become fewer and could be dealt with easily).

The Seed of God, of Christ, has been born in each believer. Now we must make sure that the things of this world, the lusts of our flesh, our personal ambitions, and other factors and pressures do not succeed in crowding out and killing the newly planted Seed. If we keep on confessing our sins, as the Holy Spirit guides us, and allow the Spirit to water and fertilize the new Seed, Christ in us will become so strong we will not be deceived easily.

As we keep the commandments of Christ, the Father loves us and the Father and the Son come to dwell in us for eternity. God sends many tribulations upon us for the purpose of weakening and finally slaying our adamic nature. The weakness of our adamic nature causes us to depend on the strength of Christ until we can say with Paul:

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

We must decrease so He may increase. Each day we are brought down to death and each day the resurrection Life of Jesus lifts us up. In this way we cultivate the Presence of Christ in all we are and do.

Whether our gift is that of an apostle, or the showing of mercy, or whatever else it may be, we are to look to the Lord Jesus for every effort we make. Ministry should be initiated by the Lord Jesus. Sometimes we get the impression the Christian ministers are operating blindly, hoping the Lord Jesus will bless their efforts. Such blindness was not the case with the Lord Jesus and it should not be the case with us.

The Lord Jesus always knew the Father’s will and He did exactly what the Father told Him to do—no more and no less. Such close following of the Father required that the Lord be in continual prayer, always looking to the Father and listening for His voice.

The same must be true of us. We are not to just launch out on some new plan that has been presented as though Christ has left the building of His Kingdom to the ability of man to perform and has withdrawn into the heavens until the job is finished. Rather we are to go to the Lord in prayer about every detail of all we are doing. We must learn to pray without ceasing.

To look to Jesus for every aspect of life and ministry is to enter the rest of God. Entering the rest of God requires faith. The remainder of the church world looks at us and wonders why we are not moving from one activity to another in order to “save souls from Hell.” When we say we are waiting on the Lord’s will we are regarded as an impractical dreamer or accused of being in passivity.

From the invitation to leap off the gable of the Temple to the sarcastic challenge to come down from the cross, Satan continually was tempting the Lord Jesus to act in His own wisdom and strength, to take matters into His own hands.

But the Lord Jesus waited on the Father for every detail of life and ministry. He always cultivated the Presence of the Father. He was not moved by the frantic shrieking of demons—demons who understand well that the individual who waits for the Presence of God is to be greatly feared.

What would be true today if the Christian churches did only what they saw Christ doing?

We are not a true and faithful witness when we draw conclusions. The witness is to tell what he has seen and heard, not what he or she has concluded to be true.

For thou shalt be his witnesses unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. (Acts 22:15)
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) (I John 1:1,2)

Do we dare wait on Christ until we know what we are doing?

One of the emphases of the last days will be on the “god” who is in us. Such emphasis is often a major part of metaphysical doctrine, of New Age teaching. An emphasis on the “god” who is in us contains an element of truth but also is as far removed from the truth as it is possible to be.

We who are true and faithful witnesses of God speak of the Father in Heaven and of Christ who is at His right hand and who is coming again in the clouds of glory. This is not Christ who is in us but the external Christ—the Lord of Glory.

Yet somehow Christ who is in us, Christ by whom we live, Christ who works with us, and Christ in Heaven to whom we pray are all One. But each aspect must be regarded and related to in the proper, scriptural manner just as the Lord Jesus was related to the Father in the proper, scriptural manner.

We are not to attempt to “speak the word of faith.” We are to pray to Jesus. We do not have faith in faith but faith in Jesus. We call on the Lord who is greatly to be praised.

When Joshua commanded the sun to stand still he prayed to the Lord, not to the sun.

Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. (Joshua 10:12)

“Then spake Joshua to the Lord.”

We are to call on the Lord who is greatly to be praised, not to command the metaphysical world or to pray to the “Christ who is in us.”

But aren’t we to “say to this mountain,” and so forth? Yes, but only at the invitation of the Lord. Aren’t we to walk on the water? Yes, but only at the invitation of the Lord.

And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he [Jesus] said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. (Matthew 14:29)

Conclusion

The world is waiting to see two witnesses, the Elephant and the mouse. It is the Elephant who is important and who can do the job. The world wants to see Jesus, but Jesus will appear (with some exceptions) only in His saints. This is the way He prefers to appear. But the mice are so busy in their confidence that they can move logs the Elephant is nowhere to be seen.

God is preparing people today who will become part of the two witnesses of Revelation, Chapter Eleven. They experience many prisons, many denials, many deferred hopes. They hunger. They thirst. They painfully carry their cross in the secret place of the stairs. They are coming to know God.

Such are clothed in sackcloth. They will never take God’s glory to themselves. They do not practice immoral behavior. They are not interested in acquiring money.

As Elijah, they will call for droughts (perhaps spiritual droughts). As Elisha, they will act without fear of man, although the power of the testimony will be lifted when the true witness has been completed just as Elisha was overcome by sickness. Yet, like the dead man who was thrown into the cave where Elisha was buried, they will stand on their feet at the last trumpet and be called up to the sky, thus bearing the greatest testimony ever seen on earth.

The world is waiting to see two witnesses. Two witnesses cannot appear until some of the believers are willing to lay down their own life that the Lord Jesus may live in them.

The greatest fear Satan has is that a once-blind Church, today making sport for the world, will seize the pillars of Satan’s kingdom and by its own death bring wickedness to an end.

And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life. (Judges 16:29,30)

There were the two middle pillars. One typifies the blood of the Lamb. The other represents the Spirit-empowered testimony of the two witnesses. Samson loved not his life to the death.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. (Revelation 12:11)

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are ready to prepare the Church and the world for the coming to earth of the Kingdom of God. Are we willing to faithfully seek Their Presence until all that we are, all that we think, all that we say, all that we do, are a reflection of the Presence and will of God?

(“The Thing Satan Fears Most”, 3920-1)