ISSUE 418

OCTOBER 12TH 2011

Prophetic Brief
Insight and Analysis for the 21st Century Anatomy of a Nation in Decline - Part 7 Reference Point God is Sovereign #3

New Video Series

Several years ago I had a computer that began to act up; the screen would go fuzzy and a loud scratchy sound would come from the speakers. Each time it happened I would turn it off and reboot and it would be ok until the next time, a week or month later. It fuzzed out again when I was in a meeting with some fellow leaders and good friends and as I explained the problem and tried to find an explanation, one of them commented that is the sound of inevitability. My friend was right, of course and I had to replace that defective laptop with a new one. In a far more sober and far reaching reality, the economic crisis that is rippling across the nations is the sound of inevitability that God is judging the nations and also the false apostolic order that has been masquerading within the church. It is inevitable that falseness will be judged and removed, and the time predestined by God to uncover pseudo-apostles who are filled with Babylonian value systems has arrived. Revelation 18:4 "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues20 Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets! We looked in the last newsletter at Babylons fall in Revelation 18 and concluded that a) the presence of economic chaos in the earth is an indication of the Sovereignty of God. b) the events that move us to the end of time cannot be fixed by the efforts of man. We also looked at the powerful call of repentance that is coming from heaven for Gods people to come out of Babylon because her inevitable judgment has come due. This judgment is indiscriminate it doesnt care if you were genuinely saved or how long you have been a leader in the church if you are functioning by Babylonian standards you will share in the plagues being poured out into the earth. As God is Sovereignly moving in the earth there is a powerful contrast being highlighted from the spirit realm between a functional apostolic leadership that reforms and builds the church on the one hand, and a false apostolic order on the other. We are required to discern between the two, so we must know the differences and make a clear assessment as the church in Ephesus did: Rev 2:2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. NIV The word tested is the Greek word peirazo which means to learn the nature or character of something by submitting it to thorough and extensive assessment. God requires that we look beyond the surface of ministry operations to assess the true substance of the apostolic something he commended the church in Ephesus for doing. The use of the word apostles
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We are living in an unmatched time in the earth; a time when crisis is erupting through natural disasters, political destabilization, and economic meltdown. Politicians and religious leaders are all weighing in on these events, but they dont seem to have the answers to a world in intense distress, and are rightly wondering:

What in the World is Going On?

In this series of Prophetic Briefs, Scott Webster addresses questions that are on peoples minds, and brings prophetic perspective to the events happening in the earth today, so that we can stand effectively in a day when so many things are falling apart. View the full six episodes in the series What in the World is Going On at scottwebsterministries.org.
2011 SCOTT WEBSTER MINISTRIES.

ISSUE 418

OCTOBER 12TH 2011

Revelation 18:4,20 (NIV)

"Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues20 Rejoice over her, O heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets!
(plural) in Revelation 18 indicates that a significant emphasis of the church in the End Times is an apostolic order that is highly functional. These apostles are building and strengthening the people of God during a time of global economic crisis the verses are plainly referring to life in 2011. It has always been Gods intention to have apostles build Christ-likeness in the people and those apostles have been powerfully raised up by Him in the last several decades. However, along with the true have come false apostles. It makes sense that if the rise of functioning apostolic leadership is one of the required components to bring the church to maturity, the enemies intent is to distort the apostolic and keep people in blindness so they will be destroyed when Babylon is judged. The false apostolic order is satanically inspired to keep the true church from emerging and taking its rightful place of partnership with God that is why it must be assessed. Assessment is mature spiritual activity that occurs at the end of time because deception within the church is rampant. We must assess those who claim to be apostles to see if their claims line up with the Biblical requirements and definitions.

Wheat and Tares

I can remember the rise of apostolic emphasis that emerged in the late 1980s and into the 1990s. It seems you couldnt go anywhere around the world without finding hungry believers and leaders inquiring as to the validity and functionality of those called to the apostolic. The resurgence of the prophetic at that time brought forth prophecy after prophecy over individuals regarding their calling to the apostolic many of which were not quite correct. We had apostles over nations, apostles over regions and cities, apostolic leaders in the marketplace, and apostolic seminars with breaks where apostolic punch and apostolic cookies were served. The term became somewhat meaningless because it was so distorted and it described such a divergent spiritual reality. While apostles are designed by God to be diverse in ministry, the values they operate by must be the same regardless of their unique calling and diverse operations. In many cases the birthing of an apostolic order was couched within systems of traditional church values, high levels of ignorance and some degree of human ambition and pride. In other words, Babylonian values
2011 SCOTT WEBSTER MINISTRIES.

In many cases the birthing of an apostolic order was couched within systems of traditional church values, high levels of ignorance and some degree of human ambition and pride. In other words Babylonian values had already infiltrated the mentalities of the church and began to corrupt it from the star t of the present apostolic reformation. Conversely, others have had an authentic journey towards discovering true apostolic leadership and functionality, and they have been actively reforming and building the church into a more accurate expression of the Kingdom. The two (true and false apostles) have grown together like wheat and tares for the last several decades, and this season of global economic crisis is a time of assessment and rejection of the false (Rev 18, Mt 13:41-43).
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had already infiltrated the mentalities of the church and began to corrupt it from the start of the present apostolic reformation. Conversely, others have had an authentic journey towards discovering true apostolic leadership and functionality, and they have been actively reforming and building the church into a more accurate expression of the Kingdom. The two (true and false apostles) have grown together like wheat and tares for the last several decades, and this season of global economic crisis is a time of assessment and rejection of the false (Rev 18, Mt 13:41-43).

From Evangelist to Apostle Overnight

I worked with a network that had powerful evangelism at its core. Churches had gathered around relationship with the primary leader who was himself an evangelist, and they all had a strong ethic of getting people saved and they really had a grace to do it I was in many of their churches over the years and it didnt matter what someone preached about, the guys in this network could get up and very briefly explain salvation and then give an invitation and people would respond to the Lord and get saved. When the apostolic was being birthed in the 1990s many of these pastors had a hunger for it and were trying to move towards it, and some of the guys put real pressure on the founding evangelist to embrace the apostolic and take their whole movement into it. Instead, he simply proclaimed one day that he was now an apostle and their evangelistic network was an apostolic network even though essentially nothing changed. That powerful evangelist has passed on now and Im sure he has been rewarded for his faithful obedience to the evangelistic calling which he fulfilled, but the quasi-apostolic network that remains after his death is a weak group that has virtually no understanding of what the genuine apostolic is. Many of the guys got frustrated or burnt out over the years and left. Some quit the ministry. Some churches splintered and fragmented and the enemy got his way by deceiving them regarding the apostolic he was able to break and destroy some and deceive others into thinking they had an authentic apostolic reality when they did not. We can look into the Word of God to see how a false apostolic position was represented in the early church that Paul exposed by his teaching. There are many issues Paul dealt with but lets look at just one

Enslave & Exploit

2 Cor 11:19-21 You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! 20 In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes himself forward or slaps you in the face. 21 To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that! (NIV) There were self-proclaimed apostles who exploited the church for their own benefit they enslaved and exploited the church in Corinth. The word for exploit is katesthio and it literally means to eat you up or to take advantage of you. The same word is used by Jesus when He rebuked the Pharisees because they devoured (katesthio) widows houses, although they made a show of praying lengthy prayers (Mk 12:40). These are false apostles who outwardly demonstrate spiritual ministry but at the core of their activity is self interest. This is a false apostolic order that takes advantage of the authority acceded to them and they use it to extract from the people and promote themselves. It is no different than a nation that uses its authority (military power, economic strength) to extract resource from a weaker, dependent nation it is Babylonian at its core. The evangelistic group I referred to earlier called me in to consult with them on their attempt to transition into the apostolic. They also asked a guy with a business background in marketing who pitched himself as a consultant to
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churches. Their leaders asked the two of us many questions, and I sought to move them towards the Lord and towards searching out true apostolic ministry and principles. One problem they were having was financial they held many mass evangelism meetings and had quite a few people on staff who worked to expand their ministry and they could not meet their bills. The marketing expert assessed their structures and budget and concluded that they should increase the requirements of financial giving on the churches that related to them to pay for their other missions. Nothing wrong with churches supporting divine mission, but the phrase he used was this network of churches will be the cash cow for this ministry. I recoiled in horror and looked at the lead guy, and when I saw him light up and accept this Babylonian advice I knew they would compromise despite my protestations. They rejected my advice and they enslaved and exploited the churches related to them.

A Developed PROPHETIC PERSPECTIVE

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This enslavement and extraction is possible because people misunderstand the correct patterns of spiritual authority. Well meaning people want to do the will of God and they respect spiritual authority they are predisposed to believe and follow, and spiritual leadership does in fact require a giving of the heart for correct following. This God given authority of the apostolic function can lead to excess in those whose hearts are not confirmed in the rigorous standards of the Kingdom of God in other words they use the power given to them to build the church to instead build themselves up. False apostles promote themselves above the measure stipulated by God, and Paul told the Corinthians that they were foolish to accept this illegitimate state of apostolic authority.

We Are Too Weak for That

Paul described the actions and attitudes of false apostles as follows: Incorrect emphasis and too great a weight on finances flowing from the churches to the apostle (enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you) Relationship intended to build the apostles personal profile rather than divine joining and shared mission (he pushes himself forward) Wrong use of authority (slaps you in the face) In contrast Paul said we are too weak for that what did he mean? In the realms of spiritual authority there are people who will unwittingly try to make you a king and you have to refuse to enter into that kind of illegitimate measure even though it is offered to you. David was a king who had the authority to command people and build the Kingdom, but when men risked their lives to get him water from a well he refused to drink it, instead pouring it out as an offering to the Lord. To drink it is to let the devotion and sacrifice of peoples lives produce ease and comfort within you, rather than accept their sacrifice as an offering to the Lord. Rev 5:6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne8 the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. 12 In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" 13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!" We often have sung the worship chorus taken from the verse that describes Jesus as the Lamb who sits on the throne. I think of this principle each time I sing it because it describes the principle of restraining strength and careful use of authority. The throne of God is the ultimate authority and He is worthy of worship and absolute devotion. In heaven He is being
2011 SCOTT WEBSTER MINISTRIES.

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worshipped by living creatures, angels, and every creature in heaven, on the earth and under the earth. He has absolute authority and ruler-ship over all, yet the one who sits on this throne is the lamb the one who gave himself to be crucified, and an animal that is very mild and non-threatening. You have never heard of a lamb attacking anyone or inflicting pain. A lamb doesnt march up to the lion and demand his lunch money like a bully on the school playground, and then beat the lion up if he wont pay. Paul seemed to be the strongest and most spiritually powerful apostolic figure around, but he chose to restrain himself and be very careful in exercising the power which was inherent in his apostolic calling. God is judging the Babylonian systems of life through global economic meltdown, as well as judging the false apostolic order because they operate on the basis of the same worldly principles of extraction and enslavement. Conversely, true apostolic ministry has arisen and flourished, which we will look at in the next article.

Reference Points
In order to correctly understand this prophetic analysis we must first deal with the context of our knowledge about key principles and platforms. I am calling these Reference Points, and to benefit from this prophetic word they must be understood, accepted and referred back to while reading.
A series of crises has been released upon the earth and all nations will be impacted. There are three key reasons we are focusing on the U.S. specifically

1. Crisis is Global

2. God is Sovereign

He is superintending the events of the earth, and will use both light and darkness events to accomplish His purposes

The dealings of God in the earth (and the U.S.) are part of end time 3. We are Living in movements and realities. No man knows the day or the hour, but we are the End Times intended to understand times and seasons

4. Behind Nations is source. It manifests as political, economic and social but the source of it is a Spiritual Reality unseen. What is pushing the earth is not natural and it cannot be perceived
by earths intelligence

Therefore behind the natural decline that we can see there is a spiritual

Gods judgments are redemptive, and the heart of Anatomy of a Nation in 5. Gods Heart is Decline is not anger or an anti-American stance, it is a redemptive Redemptive bringing of awareness and correctness

6. This is a Call to Awareness

This is not a call to repentance so that God will change the course of a nation, it is a call for us to be spiritually aware so that we can prepare and move into heightened levels of partnership with Gods end time purposes

Releasing The New Prophetic Dimension Activating The Capacity To Build Obeying The Command To Finish 2011 SCOTT WEBSTER MINISTRIES. Page 5 of 5