God, Taking His Glory Back From The Philistines

1 Samuel 5: 1-2 ~ "And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod. 2-When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon."

Because of the seriousness of this hour and this post, I will not display any pictures, and I will name names on a limited basis. I will however, speak specifically to what I believe the Lord is giving me to say for all of those who read this blog and who are further in anticipation of God reclaiming HIS church for himself.

Our brother in the Lord, Elder D.L. Foster, of Witness Freedom Ministries has been led of Lord to post one of the most serious and egrigious posts that I have read. It is entitled, "T.D. Jakes Becomes A Conduit For False Homosexual Theology". In the post Elder Foster sets forth Jakes's own false and perverted interpretation of scripture and brings to light the testimony of an individual who has experience with the ministry of Bishop T.D. Jakes. The claims are serious and the church should demand an answer from the minister who was hailed only a short time ago as "The Next Billy Graham"

This serious situation leads me to the thoughts that I will share with you and those who look back on these events in the future. The message is simple and plain:

God Is Taking HIS Glory Back From The Philistines

A tribe of people who had migrated from Caphtor or Crete as it would come to be known, would be the villains of the Biblical story for many years and enemies of the people of God. For a little historical context, these individuals had made their journey through Egypt before Abram was called by God from Mesopotamia. Between the times of Abraham and Joshua the Philistines (as they would come to be known) had changed their quarters, and had advanced northward into the plain of Philistia.

They were initially a peaceful people. They also had great wealth and appeared to be prosperous (Judg. 16:5,18) The had the ability to make and participate in great business ventures and display material wealth. They were strong fighters and defeated the inhabitants of Sidon around 1200 BC. They owned a portion of the promised land and during the life of Joshua, Israel was not able to overcome them:

• Joshua 13:1-3 ~ "1-Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed. 2-This is the land that yet remaineth: all the borders of the Philistines, and all Geshuri, 3-From Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites:"

After the defeat of Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron in Judg 1:18 the Phillistines quickly retaliated and regained their land. King Saul was later able to accomplish what had not been accomplished previously.

• 1 Sam. 13:3 ~ "3-And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. 4-And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal."

The Philistines had been defeated at Geba but for 25 years the Philistines would rebuild and reposition themselves in preparation to retake what they considered to be their land. During this time they would flex and send forth a champion named Goliath who would utter perverseness against the Lord and would be defeated at the hands of an anointed boy named David.(1 Samuel 17:50) Saul would later loose his life to the Philistines in valley of Esdraelon.

God blessed David to be able to subdue the Philistines. They would continue to serve under Solomon's Empire. However the Philistines would later gain liberation once again by aligning themselves with Syria, Assryia, and Egypt. Through all the ups and downs the Philistines seemed never discouraged in planning their next uprising. Even when Israel was taken into captivity, the Philistines were evil hearted towards Israel and had what God called "old hatred" toward Israel. This ultimately represented sinful man's hatred towards God.

• Ezekiel 25:15 -17 ~"15-Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred; 16-Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast. 17-And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them."

Now that you have a full sense of the rift between the Philistines and the Israelites, we can look closer at the text.

Our text places events around 1116 BC. Israel was in a serious battle with their Canaanite enemy, the Philistines. The difference was that Israel was suffering from a lack of integrity among their spiritual leadership. The Priest sons Hophni and Phineas were lascivious men who were stealing sacrifice from the Lord, taking advantage of the people by not rendering godly service, and using the women of the temple as prostitutes and personal cohorts.

• 1 Samuel 2:12 ~ " 2-Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD

These Priest had no relationship or fellowship with the Lord, but they were in the position as a servant to the people and as one of spiritual authority. They had found a way to have popularity, materialistic wealth and control over people. Eli, the high Priest had already been warned his sons of the problem but failed to end the situation only speaking to this children and telling them that they shouldn't behave that way.

• 1 Samuel 2:22-25 ~ "22- Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 23-And he said unto them, Why do ye such things? for I hear of your evil dealings by all this people. 24-Nay, my sons; for it is no good report that I hear: ye make the LORD’S people to transgress. 25-If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them."

The Battle For The Glory

The conditions were ripe. This was the prime opportunity for the devil to do what he wanted to do from the beginning, steal the Glory of God:

• Isaiah 14:12-16 ~ "12-How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13-For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14-I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15-Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. 16-They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;"

During the initial charge against the Philistines in 1 Samuel 4, Israel was disappointed and turned back. The defeat caused the Elders of Israel to call for the "Ark Of The Covenant". Previously, when the Ark appeared things happened. The Jordan parted (Jos. 3:17), and cities fell (Joshua 6). The dimensions of this box or Ark were about 45in. by 27in. by 27in. (Gen. 50:26) This was a powerful and small package because all hopes were dependent upon God. However:

The Ark Was Never Meant To Be Used As A Charm

The Ark Of God wasn't powerful because of itself...it was powerful because of the Glory Of God. The Church is not powerful because it grows, looks good and has a lot of cars parked around it. It is powerful IF it belongs to God and is controlled and directed by God.

Part of the problem was that the People of God did not know or respect what God respected. God respected purity, righteous and true holiness. The people respected their ability to gain, achieve and defeat enemies without a commitment to serve God. Therefore they called upon God wrongly and out of their own lusts.

This battle was different. After carrying the Ark to the battle Israel was surprised that the aggression of the Philistines was worse and even more surprised when the Philistines defeated them in battle and took the Ark. Thus one of the worst days in Israel's history is recorded:

• 1 Sam 4:19-22 ~ "19-And his daughter in law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her. 20-And about the time of her death the women that stood by her said unto her, Fear not; for thou hast born a son. But she answered not, neither did she regard it. 21-And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband. 22-And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken."

After all the years of victory someone other than the people of God were in possession of the GLORY of the Lord. The Philistines were deeply imbued with superstition: they carried their idols with them on their campaigns, 2 Sam. 5:21, and proclaimed their victories in their presence. 1 Sam. 31:9. The gods whom they chiefly worshipped were Dagon, Judges 16:23; 1 Sam. 5:3-5; 1 Chron. 10:10; 1 Macc. 10:83, Ashtaroth, 1 Sam. 31:10; Herod. i. 105, and Baalzebub. 2 Kings 1:2-6.

The Glory Was Taken Over By Those Who Had No Right To It, And Didn't Know How To Use It Or Honor It.

At this point I could give more history and theological and Biblical information, but I must cut to the point.

Because of unrighteousness, the church has been given to Homosexuals, Pimps, Jezebels, Adulterers, & Money Changers. They have possessed the Glory of God by possessing the Church. They have acted as if they were acceptable with God all the while creating a scheme, and perpetrating a scam of the worst sort in eternity upon God's people and HIS church, BUT THEY ARE BEING REVEALED AND THE DAYS OF THEIR KINGDOMS ARE NUMBERED!

Jude 4:4 ~ "For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ."

They have sang us into a gospel stupor and persisted to live with see under cover, their gay lovers, sometimes singing with them on stage and pretending to be one of the Holy children of God while the innocent sit and watch sometimes unknowingly being entertained with perverseness.

They have preached us to heaven and back, sold DVD's and books many times telling us what we wanted to hear about ourselves encouraging us to create our world with metaphysical constructs, yet we support their homosexual, lesbian and inordinate desires with tithes and offerings because they are seem to be "nice people"

They have raped and molested our daughters and sons and yet we attend their churches, supporting the very actions we say we hate, but yet living on every action and jumping through every hoop they ask us to because we don't want to be the one sowing "discord"

They have broken up families, under the guise of counseling, while they separate wives and husbands for their own perverted sexual desires.

They have bought TV and Radio air time claiming to preach, while sending messages to their illicit gay lovers, and using the ministry to promote themselves and their evil desires, challenging the righteous to speak against them in any way.

They have used the people of God, bleeding them financially, claiming prosperity and healing as a cliche, even hijacking the words and terminologies of the Saints while redefining anointing and revising the text of God's WORD.

They have stopped preaching the Gospel because they are afraid of it's power, and have become motivational and self-empowerment coaches teaching "how too's" but never "what Christ desires of"

They are the sort that pick up transsexuals and homosexuals and prostitutes late and night in strange cars, get caught and tell the church they were just giving people rides to certain locations. What are they taxi cabs?

They have set out to intimidate the righteousness threatening them with letters, and blinding other weak leaders by telling them to close their pulpits to righteous ministries that call people to repentance and to salvation.

They pretend to be concerned about the the church and the people but will not entertain the questions and concerns of the people because their theology is shallow and only centred on how they can angle the WORD of God to their own personal benefit.

They refuse to offer protections to the very ones they supposedly serve. In fact they expose the youth to perversions through the ungodly individuals, singers and musicians that they parade in the church as roll models.

They have stolen the Glory of the Lord because the people wanted everything BUT Righteousness and true holiness. Singers and musicians were given salaries when they should have been given the altar for repentance.

Prayer was replaced with player. Church leaders have given the Glory to the Philistines to PRETEND and carry on, making things look nice because we have assessed ourselves as weak and have been made ineffective by our flesh.

In Canaanite mythological texts Baal is sometimes called the son of Dagon. Dagon (Judg. 16:23; 1 Sam. 5:2–7; 1 Chr. 10:10) was the chief god of the ancient Philistines, a grain and fertility god whose most famous temples were at Gaza and Ashdod. Dagon continued to be worshiped by the Canaanites up to the time of Christ. In the Apocrypha mention is made of a temple of Dagon at Azotus in 147 b.c. (1 Macc. 10:83–84). Azotus was a later name for Ashdod, one of the five chief Philistine cities.

During the time of our text Dagon was worshipped. He was the God of fertility and celebration. He was the God of seasonal prosperity. Represented as a man with the tail of a fish, he was celebrated by dance, music, and perverted sexual activity.

The Ark Of God was set in the house next to Dagon.

The modern false apostles have taken the Glory of God, set it next to their idolatry and now DARE you to say anything against it and them. They dare you to say anything if you want to be a singer because they control the stage and unless you're willing to give them the Glory of God on your life they will try to hold your gift hostage.

They dare you to talk about the earrings in their ear. At that point they say their stage is greater than yours and there's nothing that you can do because they have the minds and hearts of the people.

They know the people won't believe that they offer perverted and non-biblical doctrines, twisted biblical interpretations, and a string of homosexual and lesbian lovers and lifestyles that display excess.

They DARE the people of God because they have positioned themselves to control the church and change it's message.

But They Forgot That They Can't Handle The Glory

The problem is that the Phillistine does not know that what they want will kill and crush them because they aren't qualified or chosen to handle it. First the idols of the people must come down:

1 Samuel 5: 3-5 ~ "3-And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again. 4-And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him. 5-Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon’s house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day."

The first lesson to the Phillistine is that you are not greater than God. No matter how much material you posess or how many people you pack in on Sunday morning, or how many auditoriums and churches you fill. Ypu are not Greater than God and He will, with a small, powerful recepticle filled with the Glory of God, bring you to a place where you are broken and flat on your face. The Phillistines are falling by the way side as soon as they build churches, houses and proliferate the message Dagon is falling under and because of the Glory and presence of the Lord.

I Samuel 5:6-12 ~ "6-But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof. 7-And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god. 8-They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines unto them, and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither. 9-And it was so, that, after they had carried it about, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction: and he smote the men of the city, both small and great, and they had emerods in their secret parts. 10-Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass, as the ark of God came to Ekron, that the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people. 11-So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there. 12-And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven."

The next thing that God did was affilct the Phillistines in their "secret parts". These are symbolic of those places that are supposed to be kept from public light and review. However it's made manifest when we see Pastors and Ministers of Music murdered and find they they had homosexual lovers and adulturous reltionships in addition to their ministries. The secret part are revealed when we find leaders going to the clinic being treated for STD's (SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES) that they've contracted while serving in the ministry. The secret parts are further revealed when we hear messages of how GOd will keep the mind in perfect peace, while a review of their medicine cabinet reveals Prozac, venlafaxine, duloxetine, nefazodone and mirtazapine to name a few.

They sent the Glory back after 7 months and 57,000 lives and plagues from place to place and city to city. God fought himself for his people and in the end what had been taken from Israel was restored by God:

I Samuel 7:13-17 ~ "13-So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14-And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the coasts thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. 15-And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16-And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places. 17-And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar unto the LORD."

What of those who had posessed the Glory? What of those who thought they could exalt themselves and get away with it without the judgement of the Lord?

Matthew 7:21-29 ~ "21-Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22-Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23-And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24-Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25-And- the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26-And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27-And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. 28-And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 29-For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."

Many have never known HIM. Nice stages, but never have known HIM. Material prosperity, but never have known HIM. Book writer, but never have known HIM. Miracle worker, but never have known HIM. Beautiful church, but never have known HIM.

If they knew HIM they would repent. If they knew him they would confess their deeds. If they knew him they would insure that thier idols are destroyed and chopped up into a million pieces. If they knew him they would stop their silliness, stop their sins and present themselves to God and the people. If they do that they will have a chance to correct what is right and help a new generation that has been the victims of the worst type of spiritual crime in history.

Psalms 51:17-18 ~ "17-The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 18-Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem."

As we witness God removing HIS Glory from the Phillistines, please keep in mind that God must first judge his house and he must first deal with them that have assumed leadership over God's people. Thank God for deliverance, for we must find the true and the Living God and worship him in the beauty of holiness.

1 Peter 4:17-19 ~ "17-For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18-And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 19-Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator."

Blessed!