HomeARC ML 0168
"BAALZEBUB--LORD OF THE FLIES"--MO June 12, 1972 NO.168--LTA
Copyright © June 1972 by The Children of God
P.O. Box 31, London, WC2E 7LX England or GPO Box 3141, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936
1. ONE OF OUR COLONIES HAS RECENTLY BEEN HAVING A PROBLEM with a young prophet who was afflicted with a lying spirit. He had joined us as one of the outstanding leaders of the Jesus People Movement, and was good leadership potential and was put in a place of considerable responsibility, so his sporadic affliction with this lying spirit had caused quite a bit of difficulty from time to time. But each time he would repent and apologise, so we would forgive him and permit him to resume his duties; but each time his trouble recurred, it seemed to be getting worse instead of better!
2. FINALLY, DURING A MAJOR LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE on an important new worldwide move for the Lord, the Enemy, as usual, tried to hinder and delay by using this boy to stir up trouble to try to get our minds, time, and energy all involved and taken up with trying to solve this young man's problems, instead of the Lord's major business at hand. This is one of the Enemy's stock tactics to keep you from getting God's Work done, and he always tries to get into one of you yourselves, to cause the trouble where he can do the most damage through inside turmoil, dissension, contention, and division. "Divide and conquer!" is the Devil's own slogan!
3. THE LORD HAD WARNED ME ABOUT THIS VERY PRECIOUS YOUNG MAN when he first joined us, that he had been through some very terrible and trying experiences, including drugs, evil spirits, demonic religions, and incarceration, which had left him both bodily and spiritually weak, so weak that he could not be put under too much pressure or in a position of too much responsibility, or he would crack up again, as he had before. Also the Lord warned me that since this precious young man was so earnestly desirous of serving the Lord in a capacity of some leadership, he would be tempted by the Enemy through pride and jealousy.
4. RECENTLY, THOUGH SOMEWHAT OF A NOVICE IN OUR WORK, he had become quite exalted in a position of primary leadership, due to our great need for the ministry in which he was involved. He apparently, therefore became somewhat lifted up in his own mind, began to challenge the authority of others, dealing critically, proudly, jealously, harshly, and unlovingly with some of his brethren and co-workers. We had the same problem with him before in other places with other people, so obviously the difficulty was with him and not his situation. However, because of his weaknesses, we had not dealt with him severely about it, since each time, he would be sorry and seem to repent and temporarily reform, and we did not want to push him too hard or precipitate a crisis in his condition.
5. HOWEVER, HE REALLY LET THE DEVIL IN THIS TIME, denouncing leadership as false prophets and the Children of God as a false cult. He not only listened to the Devil's lies himself, but he passed them on to others. In one prophecy alone, written in his own hand, which I have here, he utters a false prophecy which contains exactly 40 lies about us all, and he has written other prophecies along the same line, as well as bitter and scathing denunciations of some of our dearest, sweetest, humblest, and most hardworking brethren!
6. WHEN INFORMED OF THIS, AND THE HAVOC HE WAS CREATING and the burden he was becoming, not only letting the Devil drag himself down, but dragging others with him and impeding the progress of the Work of God, as well as cursing his own brethren and showing his utter disregard and lack of appreciation for our immense patience with him and our longsuffering with his childish temper tantrums of many times past, so that we just couldn't take it any longer, I became so furious with the Enemy that I was overheard early in the morning rebuking the Devil violently in tongues, and saying the following in the Spirit:
7. "WE REBUKE THE DEVIL IN JESUS' NAME! Send Thy Word, O Lord, and heal him by the power of Christ! Stupid, little, sickening Devil! I'm tired of his talking back to us! We can't let the Devil have that boy! Where's the boys' power? They're afraid to rebuke one little devil in Jesus' name! They could even rebuke him in the name of David and he would flee! I'm sick of them trying to appease the Devil!"
8. (JUST THEN I HEARD A DISTANT SHOT AND SAID:) "The children of this world aren't afraid to fire at their enemies!" (Then remembering a demonic case we prayed for years ago, I said:) "It took four men to hold that girl down, and we just went in and prayed, and immediately the Devil had to leave!" No power in this world can stand the power of the Spirit of God in David!
9. "IT MAKES ME SO MAD AT THOSE WEAK IDIOTS! David is a man of war! David is a man of [ALERT! CHECK FOR SANITIZATION: spiritual ]power! David is a man of [ALERT! CHECK FOR SANITIZATION: spiritual ] force! David is a man of [ALERT! CHECK FOR SANITIZATION: spiritual ] violence, and I hate the Enemy with a perfect hatred! We can resist all the devils in Europe with just the Name of Jesus, and they're afraid of one little old lying spirit! The Devil says "Boo!" and they run! How can they expect to conquer a whole Continent of evil spirits, when they're afraid of one little spirit in one person!"
10. "ALL POWER IS GIVEN UNTO ME IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH! The spirits are subjects unto us! God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind! Perfect love casts out all fear! In nothing be terrified by your Adversary, the Devil! I resist you, Satan, In Jesus' name! Resist the Enemy and he will flee from thee! Get thee behind me, Satan! Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world! When the Enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of God will raise a standard against him! Give no place to the Enemy! Whatsoever is bound on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever is loosed on earth, shall be loosed in Heaven!"
11. "I LOVE TO FIGHT THE ENEMY!--As a strong man that loves to run a race, and a strong man that rejoiceth and shouteth by reason of wine, as a knight that loves the fray, and arouseth himself to fight the Enemy! If you let the Enemy in, I'll knock him out of you! Today, they shock him out! Before, they used to beat him out! They don't know how to resist him in Jesus' name!
12. IT'S SO RIDICULOUS TO THINK THE HOUSE OF BAALZEBUB CAN FIGHT the House of David!--That the Lord of the Flies can fight the Lord of the Living! The flies only eat the dead, the dung, and the dying, and are killed by the Living! I love to fight for the Cause of David and the Name of Jesus! Be strong in the Lord and the power of His Might!" HALLELUJAH!!
13. WE HAVEN'T EVEN BEGUN TO FIGHT YET! It makes me furious when people take the attacks of the Enemy lying down and let the Devil walk all over them, without resistance, or go pussyfooting around trying to appease him or trying not to disturb or upset him or arouse him! I like to hit him head on, and rebuke him in the Name of Jesus in the power of the Spirit, and get rid of him, not just keep putting up with him, tolerating him, and letting him hang around bothering us and the poor people he's oppressing, obsessing and attacking! Hallelujah! Let's declare war on the Evil One! We've declared war on his works and his Churchianity, his Whore! Let's declare war on the Old Boy himself!
14. IN OLD TESTAMENT TIMES, THE DEVIL WAS CALLED "BAALZEBUB"--"THE LORD OF THE FLIES WHO INHABIT DUNG!" Have you ever seen a dung-heap filled with flies?--They breed on dung, eat it, live in it, crawl around in it, sow their eggs in it, hatch in it, and, as maggots, crawl around in it and eat it some more before they develop into flies again! In case you don't know what I'm talking about, and you don't know what dung is, I mean shit!--And if you've ever seen a shithouse boiling with maggots and flies, you know what I'm talking about! They also love garbage and love to live in that, too, breeding in it, crawling around in it, and thoroughly delighting in garbage! Anything filthy is their home! Anything vile is their habitation! They love dirt!
15. JUST LIKE THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEIR LORD!--THE LORD OF THE FLIES, BAALZEBUB, THE DEVIL! The worship of Baalzebub used to be accompanied by all kinds of filthy, perverted, and lascivious sexual rites, plus his own kind of family planning, or birth control: The sacrifice of living children on the fires of his altars.--And even intercourse with his image!
16. HE WAS WORSHIPPED BY EVERYBODY FROM EGYPTIANS TO JEWS, and it seems the Assyrians, Philistines, and Moabites, all heathen Devil-worshippers, were particularly fond of him! He was wicked Queen Jezebel's idol, and she tried to wipe out all the worshippers of Jehovah an get everybody to worship Baal. Young Gideon and Samson had chopped down his altars and groves, and ripped down his temples; And Elijah killed 450 of his false prophets with his own hands! He continually troubled the Children of Israel and Judah throughout the days of the Kings, with the bad kings worshipping him and the good kings trying to stamp out his worship, until the Prophet Jeremiah finally blamed Baalzebub for their fall!
17. --AND THE PEOPLE WHO LET HIM and his flies, his dirty little demons, hang around today, are just as filthy, and headed in the same direction! In Revelation, the Lord calls Babylon, the Whore, the habitation of his devils, and if you want to find plenty of that kind of flies, the churches and their shit are full of them! But he also loves to send those dirty little flying devils of his into our midst whenever we let him, and we need to learn how to shoo'em out, and get rid of them, and not let those damnable little pests hang around contaminating our spiritual food, pestering the brethren, and breeding the Devil's own dung!
18. I HAVE WRITTEN TO YOU ABOUT THIS BEFORE, and several of my Letters have dealt with this subject of how to cast out devils, but some of you still don't seem to have gotten the point, and are still tolerating his little rascals and letting them cause you a helluva lot of trouble. So I've decided we're going to have to be a little more specific and help you take a more definite stand against the Enemy.
19. THE PROCEDURES I'M SUGGESTING IN DEALING WITH THE DEVIL in this young man's particular case, I might suggest to all of you Colonies who may have similarly severe problems with the demon-possessed, obsessed, or oppressed--and there's a difference between those who are totally possessed, those who are temporarily haunted, and those who are only attacked by the Enemy from the outside. I don't believe a child of God can be totally possessed by the Devil, but if you believe his lies, he sometimes seems to be able to take over temporary control, and he can certainly give you Hell from the outside! So whatever you do, don't even listen to him, much less believe him or teach or act on his lies!
20. SO I'M GOING TO SUGGEST WHAT YOU MAY WANT TO DO, if so led of the Lord, as we are doing in this particular case and have done in other cases like his in the past: FIRST OF ALL, AS GOD'S WORD SAYS, DEAL WITH HIM PRIVATELY about his problem, alone at first, gently and lovingly calling his attention to it and asking if he noticed it or is aware of it, and that if he thinks he should do these things in view of such-and-such Scriptures, etc. If he sees where he's wrong, confesses it to you personally, seems genuinely sorry and repentant and definitely apologises to any and all whom he has wronged or who have been affected by his discrepancies, you may forgive him, restore him to fellowship and to his responsibilities, provided that he does not do it again.
21. SECONDLY, IF HE DOES DO IT AGAIN and has to be again dealt with about it, but repeats his repentance and apologies, I would suggest that you warn him that he is now on probation, and if he does it again, his job will have to be taken away from him and he will have to be disciplined by giving him some lower task until he learns his lesson.
22. THIRDLY, IF HE PERSISTS IN HIS WAYWARDNESS, IN SPITE OF WARNINGS FROM YOU AND FROM OTHER BRETHREN, GOD'S WORD SAYS YOU'RE TO TELL THE WHOLE CHURCH, OR COLONY, and if this doesn't cause him to repent, you're to cast him out as a heathen and a publican! (Mat.18).--Titus 3:10 says that an heretic, or one who persistently departs from sound doctrine to believe the lies of the Enemy, should be rejected after only two admonitions. And 2John 10 and 11 says that you're not to receive him into you house nor bid him God bless you, lest you be partaker of his evil deeds! And in another place it says not to even eat or walk with him if he's disorderly!
23. ACCORDING TO THESE SCRIPTURES, you're to try to correct him at least two or three times, and if he repents, confesses, and apologises, he's to be restored as a brother, remain in the group, and continue working with you in some capacity, even though perhaps not the more important one with which he had originally been trusted, unless he proves during his probationary period that he has really changed for the better, and can be trusted again!
24. HOWEVER, ACCORDING TO THESE SAME SCRIPTURES, after having been admonished privately, and then by two or three brethren, and finally, by the whole group, if he still refuses to confess, repent, and apologise for his faults, but shows a rebellious tendency to persist in them, you have to ask him to leave, because a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump, and one rotten apple can spoil the whole barrelful, and drag you all down, and hinder the Work of God! So you'll have to ask him to go. Usually by this time, you don't even have to ask them--they usually leave of their own accord because they don't want to change or have to face the music.
25. HOWEVER, OCCASIONALLY, THEIR LITTLE DEVIL WILL WANT THEM TO PERSIST IN HANGING AROUND, SO HE CAN GIVE YOU MORE PROBLEMS, stir up more trouble, cause more turmoil, and keep you busy taking care of him so you can't get God's Work done! Don't let this happen to you! If he won't change, get rid of him, as God's Word says! Maybe he'll fit the Jesus People or some church or bar, better! If he's truly incorrigible, a real reprobate, he'll probably turn Judas and try to sell you out to your enemies, and join them if he can, although they usually don't want him--they just want him to quit you and betray you to prove their point!
26. OFTEN, HE REALLY THINKS HE WON'T DO THIS--HE'LL NEVER BE A JUDAS NO MATTER WHAT--BUT HE USUALLY DOES, BECAUSE THERE'S NO PLACE ELSE FOR HIM TO GO!--And he often claims he just wants to leave to do his own thing, or start something better than yours, and assures you that he likes what you're doing except for So-and-so, and he's going to go out and do the same thing, except for what he doesn't like. Of course, he seldom accomplishes this, because if he can't even get along with the good brethren who've been so patient with him and tried to correct him, how is he ever going to start something better and get along with anybody else?--Only if his brethren are actually wrong, which isn't likely!
27. ON THE OTHER HAND, IF YOU'LL TRY TO PART WITH HIM IN LOVE and with prayer that he'll someday see the error of his ways and return, he may just do that, in which case, if he returns in the right spirit, with confession, apologies, and true repentance (doing differently), you're of course, to welcome him warmly back into the fold and forgive him and try to use him again in the Lord's Work and give him another chance, if possible. Or he may even return to some other Colony where he feels he can work better, under some other leadership, but he must not be received again into any Colony, unless he makes things right with his former Colony by, say, a letter of confession, apology, and repentance, to the other Colony, or brethren that he wronged--or he'll just continue to cause trouble, because he's not sorry, doesn't care, and hasn't changed! So watch those backsliders!
28. IF THE CASE IS SEVERE, such as this one we've mentioned, and the brother or sister in question continues to listen to, believe, and spread the lies of the Devil amongst others, sowing seeds of dissension and discord among brethren, one of the seven abominations to God, you will have to use very firm measures in dealing with the case, particularly if it's demonically inspired because devils can frequently cause their victims to erupt in violence, if they don't get their way, and either harm themselves or those around them!
29. SO, TO PROTECT THE REST OF THE COLONY, its members, and its ministry, you may have to restrict the errant member to his quarters, and limit his contact with others until you are through dealing with him, and he has made his decision either to repent or leave. If he is really possessed, obsessed, or oppressed, by an evil spirit, then you should deal with him accordingly, calling the brethren together for prayer over him and laying hands on him to either cast out or rebuke the evil spirit, and pray for his complete deliverance.
30. IF HE DOES NOT SEEM TO WANT TO BE DELIVERED, OR GET DELIVERED hereby, you must, of course, with reluctance, explain to him why he must leave the Colony, in order that he not be a bad influence on others and in order to protect your sheep, according to God's Word. As we are suggesting in this particular case, you could give him two or three days of complete fasting and prayer and reading his Bible and MO Letters, either alone, or under the watchful eye of another brother or two, in order to give him time to make his decision and not disturb others.
31. IN THE MOST EXTREME CASES WHERE THERE'S DANGER OF VIOLENCE and harm to himself or others, which usually occurs at the time of united prayer for his deliverance as the demon comes out of him, or if he refuses to let it go, and explodes, you may have to be sure that you have enough brethren there to physically restrain him from doing any damage, if necessary. It can take as many as ten men to restrain the demon possessed: two to each arm and leg and two to the head, which the Devil often tries to jerk to break his victim's neck! This is no joke!
32. I COULD TELL YOU SOME THINGS ABOUT DEMONS FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCES THAT WOULD MAKE YOUR HAIR STAND ON END, scare you half to death, and maybe give you a few sleepless nights, unless you really know the Lord and have lots of faith, and aren't afraid of the Devil! But I don't care to advertise the Devil's business! But just let me warn you the demon-possessed can do a lot of damage, and have the strength of nearly ten men, especially when the Devil's confronted with the truth of his evil deeds and the prospect of having to leave his happy home! I have known demons to go from the one extreme of having sexual intercourse with their victims to the opposite extreme of choking them to death, as well as knocking the furniture around in the bargain!
33. SO DON'T PLAY AROUND WITH THE DEVIL! Before you deal with a very severe case, have your whole Colony down on their knees in prayer and fasting, and have at least a dozen elders or top men, or maybe all your people, participate together at the crucial moment of the laying on of hands for deliverance, in case he responds with violence. It would be a good idea to have two brethren at this moment of exorcism lay four hands firmly on one leg, two other brethren lay four hands firmly on the other leg, and two other strong brethren firmly gripping each arm, while two others lay hands on his head to keep it from jerking or falling, as they pray! Again, this is no joke!
34. IT MUST BE MADE PERFECTLY CLEAR THROUGHOUT ALL OF THIS THAT THE PERSON IS NOT BEING RESTRAINED FROM LEAVING, but is absolutely free to leave the premises at any time he chooses!--And you're only praying for him in such a way as to be prepared to restrain him from hurting himself or others, should he become violently torn by the devil as you pray which sometimes happens, as in the Bible. Remember some of the cases Jesus dealt with, and the Seven Sons of Sceva! One demoniac beat up seven men, and even chains could not bind another! You better be sure you know what you're doing and what you're dealing with and how to do it by the power of God's Spirit, and know your authority by the Word of God, and pray with faith and conviction, rebuke the Devil definitely, and cast him out firmly in the Name of Jesus, and tell him exactly where to go, because he has to obey you and go exactly where you tell him in Jesus' name! Don't let him re-enter his victim or someone else in the group, or remain on the premises.
35. IF YOUR PROBLEM SUBJECT IS NOT DELIVERED IMMEDIATELY, which sometimes happens because of unyielded sin in the person to which the Devil clings, or due to the subject's own stubborn willfulness and refusal to yield up his evil spirit, unless he shows a definite improvement and genuine desire to be delivered, don't keep him around! Get him off the property as soon as possible! With genuine demonic cases, they can cause all kinds of trouble, including violent attacks on their own loved ones, such as wife and/or children, or even themselves! So keep all dangerous articles and possible victims out of reach, and the demoniac carefully watched and restricted until he's left the property--And be sure to search his belongings before his leaving for any Colony property or literature!
36. MEN HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO KILL THEIR OWN WIVES AND CHILDREN UNDER DEMONIC INFLUENCE, AND SAY, "GOD TOLD ME TO!"--Or even commit suicide! So don't let it happen with yours! This is the reason for strict restriction and close observation of their activities before leaving the property, to prevent harm to themselves or others. Therefore, families should not be required to follow them unless they so desire. Disclaim responsibility for them to authorities, if necessary, and immediately notify our office to mail a warning to all Colonies! PRAY!
37. HERE AGAIN IS A SIMPLE SUMMARY OF THE STEPS TO FOLLOW WHICH WE RECOMMEND IN SEVERE CASES OF DEMON POSSESSION OR TEMPORARY OBSESSION manifested by false prophecies, defiance of leadership, lying about leadership, harsh and violent condemnation or lies about other brethren; and one who is sowing discord amongst brethren, causing weaker brethren to stumble or be offended, or a general troublemaker who is dragging down the whole group inciting others to insubordination, leading sheep astray, and making himself a general nuisance in such a way as to disrupt the peace and order of your whole Colony, or in danger of doing so, and continually wasting your time and energy in having to deal with him, and thus truly hindering the operation of your Colony and work for the Lord:
(1) PRAY WITH HIM PRIVATELY about his problem, and for deliverance.
(2) IF NO CHANGE, have two or three brethren pray with him about it.
(3) IF STILL NO CHANGE, restrict him to his quarters in prayer and fasting and Bible and MO Letter reading, with two or three brethren if possible, while you call the Colony together for prayer.
(4) EXPLAIN THE CASE TO THE WHOLE COLONY and have them go to fasting and prayer, while you and other strong brethren join those in his room in desperate prayer and a firm laying on of hands, while you command the demon to leave him in the Name of Jesus and tell it to leave the property, enter none else, and not return.
(5) AS DEMONS SOMETIMES GO INTO A VIOLENT RAGE when being confronted in prayer, be sure your men have a firm grip on the subject, so the demon cannot harm him or cause him to harm others, as it leaves him, or if he refuses to give it up.
(6) BE SURE HIS WIFE AND/OR CHILDREN ARE SEPARATED FROM HIM at this time so he cannot harm them, and she must consent to same.
(7) IF HE SEEMS TO BE COMPLETELY DELIVERED, CONFESSES, APOLOGISES TO ALL, AND TRULY REPENTS (STOPS IT) YOU MAY FORGIVE HIM AND RESTORE him to fellowship, on probation, watching him prayerfully until sure. Do not allow him to prophesy or lead spiritually again till sure. This probationary period should last a week or two or more. Do not permit him to resume leadership except by general consent of all, and only in the presence of other elders to watch and judge until they are sure he is completely delivered and changed.
(8) IN SOME CASES, LEST HE SUBVERT EVEN HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN in privacy, it's wise to request that they both consent to separation during this period of probation. This is a very effective way of finding out whether they love themselves or the Lord the most.
(9) IN SOME CASES OF PROBATION, it's also wise to have the subject continue in fasting and prayer and study for a day or two until he shows definite signs of deliverance or makes a definite decision to leave. Set a definite time limit on his decision to comply or leave.
(10) IN CASES WHICH REFUSE TO RESPOND FAVOURABLY to any of this treatment, but decide to leave or must be requested to leave because of failure to comply, set the exact hour of their required departure at a humane and convenient time if possible, so they'll be able to journey on without too great a hardship. Help them, if you can, with their transportation or fare, if necessary, at least out of your local territory for your own good to prevent local troublemaking.
(11) THEIR MATE OR CHILDREN SHOULD NOT BE REQUIRED TO LEAVE WITH THEM if the mate or children prefer to stay in the Colony and serve God.
(12) SEARCH THE DEPARTEE'S BAGS for Colony property and literature.
(13) IF YOU CAN, GIVE HIM A LITTLE CHANGE to go on and part in prayer.
(14) NOTIFY THE CENTRAL OFFICE at once by phone or mail, depending on the severity of the case so he can't rejoin without permission. PRAY!
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family}
