To comfort all who mourn, to put all who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.” Isaiah 61:2-3.
But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. Hebrews 2:9.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Too many of My children are being taken captive by the devil because they are unaware that what is oppressing their soul is from him, he has deceived them into thinking it is from within them, but it is not, it is straight from the pit of hell. Of what am I speaking? It is generally called “depression” and the current medical practice in defining this wide spread phenomena is “ Depression (depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act.”
And now I will tell you exactly what depression is, it is an influence from the devil that is felt in the soul which, if not stopped (checked, rebuked, driven out), then permeates into the body and hangs over your life, and becomes the habitual condition of your soul (your mind, will and emotions). It is a taste of the state of the souls who are forever in hell that you are experiencing on earth. The devil is trying to put on you the spirit of oppression that rules in hell. A taste of the inner condition of the damned, a taste of eternal death. No hope, no purpose, no meaning to existence. It is the spirit of fainting, of heaviness. It will make your inner lamp sputter and wax dim.
Remember the story of the rich man who went to hell that My Son told? He was in torment. Once cast in hell, there is no way out. It is being trapped in no future, no hope, no love, no joy, no light, no freedom, no purpose, and nothing but regret, blame, and self-condemnation. Depression is tasting of the spirit on the damned. But there is a way out of depression for you who are in the land of living.
And that is today’s life lesson on what to do when Satan attacks: “The Mantle of Praise Instead of a Spirit of Heaviness.” Since depression is a taste of hell, the cure would obviously be to spit that out of your mouth and instead take a taste of Heaven. What is going on in the confines of hell where the worm dies not and the fire is never quenched? Cries of condemning regret and sorrow. What is going on in the vast vistas of Heaven where there is light and peace? Songs of grateful praise and joy.
“O taste and see the goodness of the LORD; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” Psalm 34:8. You find your refuge in Me, tasting My goodness, from the spirit of depression. And what do you do there, safe in Me? “Under your wings, I sing for joy until harm passes by.” And in My tabernacle you sing and shout for joy as I surround you with songs of deliverance.
First and foremost to get rid of the spirit of depression, however, you must be sure you are not headed for that place of eternal death and torment, otherwise, you are open to it as where you are headed since you have chosen to follow the devil, for then death is their shepherd. “This is the way of those who are foolish (the fool says in his heart there is no God and builds his life on a foundation of shifting sand rather than the rock of My Word), and of those after them who approve their words. As sheep they are appointed for hell; death shall be their shepherd; and the upright shall rule over them in the morning, and their form shall be for Sheol to consume so that they have no habitation. But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, for He will receive me. Psalm 49:13-15. And after the sin of Adam and his transfer from My Kingdom of Light to the realm of darkness under the jurisdiction of the devil, “no man could by any means redeem his brother or give to God a ransom for him—for the redemption of his soul is costly, and he should cease trying forever—that he should live on eternally, that he should not undergo decay.” Psalm 49:7-9. But Jesus has redeemed you with His eternal blood, which more than covered the cost of the ransom for every soul from the beginning to the end of time.
Jesus came to heal the broken hearted, to set the captives free, to destroy the sting and power of death, and to heal all those oppressed by the devil. Luke 4:18-19; Acts 10:38. “The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8. When He opened the great Isaiah scroll in the synagogue of Nazareth He announced His intention to undo the works of the devil. “The Spirit of the Lord LORD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year (Jubilee) of the LORD.” Isaiah 61:1. And as stated in the Gospel of Luke, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD.” Luke 4:18-19.
So first, you must take Jesus as your Lord by believing in your heart I raised Him from the dead with all your sins punished in full on Him and gone, and confess Him as Lord with your mouth, Romans 8:8-10, and then “having been justified by faith, you have peace with God through your Lord Jesus Christ through whom also you have obtained your introduction by faith into this grace in which you stand; and you exult in hope of the glory of God.” Romans 5:1-2. My glory—My goodness, My presence, and My power, and it is shining in your hearts upon the face of Christ, Christ in you and you in Him, your hope of glory. In Him you are holy, blameless and beyond reproach, there is cause for rejoicing here. I have rescued you from the power of darkness and translated you into the Kingdom of My beloved Son, in whom you have redemption the forgiveness of your sins. He is now your great good Shepherd and He has prepared the place of grace for you in Heaven, and once I raised Him from hell, I raised you with Him, and seated you in Heaven with and in Him. You who are saved have NO BUSINESS accepting a spirit of depression for it is not yours to taste eternal death in your life FOR JESUS TASTED DEATH FOR YOU. Hebrews 2:19. Yes, He went down to the dust of death for you all so that you who receive Him as Lord receive all that He did for you.
“But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” Hebrews 2:9. He paid the ransom for all. 1 Timothy 2:6.
He set you free. Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:34-35.
“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” Hebrews 2:14-15.
Why then are so many believers tasting, eating, and living under the unclean spirit of depression? When Jesus went down and tasted the dust of eternal death for you in hell itself and won your freedom, why are you still playing in the dirt? Why is your mind not above where you are seated with Christ at My right hand but instead fixed on the things that crawl in the dirt?
“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1.
It is a yoke of slavery straight from hell and no amount of worldly godless counseling or medication will remove it.
Now, I will show you the answer when the spirit of depression tries to come upon and envelop you. For I have sworn to swallow up that enveloping covering that is over you, but in a particular way that you must follow to be free. Isaiah 25:7-10.
Let Me first go back to the passage from Isaiah My Son read in the synagogue at Nazareth. He stopped at His earthly mission but let Me go on to what will happen when He ushers you to that place of grace in which you now stand that is covered by My glory. Romans 5:1-2. For deep darkness is covering the earth, but My glory is shining on you who believe in My Son, the redeemed. “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you.” Isaiah 60:1-2. And for whom will this happen? “And they will call you the city of the LORD, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 60:14.
Now let us return to the place My Son read from in that great scroll of Isaiah. Here is what follows what He read and is your key to getting rid of the spirit of depression.
“To put (שׂוּם) (sum or sim: to put, place, set) all who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.” Isaiah 61:3. And there is your answer. He has taken you from Mt. Sinai, the place of the Law, and set you in Mt. Zion, the place of grace. It is the heavenly city, the place of grace where you are seated with My Son in the spirit even now:
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels in festal gathering, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.” Hebrews 12:22-24.
“And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering (lot (לוֹט), which means envelope, covering) which is over all peoples, even the veil which is woven over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord LORD will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth.” Isaiah 25:7-8. And when will this happen? Who is it that removes the veil? Jesus. “Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation (in Hebrew the word here is Yeshuah-which means Salvation and is the Name of Jesus). For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain.” Isaiah 25:9-10.
And what do you find there? Beauty instead of ashes (your sins gone by the fulfillment of the burnt offering in My Son), the oil of joy, which is the anointing upon My Son that you share with Him as your great High Priest and a member of His Body, Hebrews 1:9; 1 Corinthians 2:16, Psalm 133:2, and the MANTLE OF PRAISE INSTEAD OF THE SPIRIT OF FAINTING. Isaiah 61:3.
There is so much here that you must take as your own and stand on in order to overcome the spirit of depression, that is the spirit of fainting. The Hebrew word used for the “spirit of fainting” in which the Old Testament was originally written is ruach keheh, the word “keheh (כֵּהֶה),” which is translated as “fainting” or “heaviness,” means dim, dull, faint, dark, waxing dim, fading away, growing dim. It is the same word I use speaking of a dimly burning wick. Isaiah 42:3. Which is a good description of a person under the mantle of depression. They are weak because they have no joy, and without the anointing the devil’s burden is not lifted and his yoke is not destroyed.
So what is the cure? Instead of continuing to taste death, get out from under the covering woven by the devil and wrap yourself in the taste of Heaven, for the taste of Heaven is joyful songs of praise. The mantle (maateh (מַעֲטֶה) in Hebrew, which means a wrap, a mantle) of praise (tehillah in Hebrew, and it is from the root “halal,” which is the root of Hallelujah, and tehillah means praise, but primarily a song of praise, it is the Hebrew title of what you call the book of Psalms, in Hebrew the title is “Tehillim” (in plural) which means Praise Songs). Yes, the praise cure.
But let’s go deeper. Do you recall how Elisha got the double portion of the anointing that was upon Elijah? He saw Elijah ascend and then the mantle of Elijah fell upon Elisha and all the prophets knew that the spirit of Elijah was on Elisha. The anointing fell in the mantle. Now, go ahead to the apostles watching Jesus ascend into Heaven, and just before He went up, He told them that that they would wait in Jerusalem to be CLOTHED IN POWER FROM ON HIGH. And the mantle that fell on Pentecost was the promised Holy Spirit, that same with which Jesus was anointed. It fell upon them just as it had on Him at His baptism at the Jordan. I anointed Him with the oil of joy above all others. Hebrews 1:9, Psalm 45:7. And now He has given His anointing to you.
“But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.” John 17:13. “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” John 15:11. “Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.” John 16:22. “At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” Luke 21-22. The Kingdom of Heaven is a kingdom of righteousness, peace and JOY IN THE HOLY SPIRIT.
And when the Spirit fell upon the disciples of Jesus in the upper room on the fulfillment of Pentecost what did they do? Praised My mighty works as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:4, 11. And how did Peter and the disciples know the mantle of the Holy Spirit had fallen on Cornelius and those in his house? “For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God.” Acts 10:46. And do you remember the believers at Ephesus that Paul taught about the Holy Spirit and then laid hands on them? “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.” Acts 19:6. And I tell you that when you prophesy you are changed into a new man. “Then the Spirit of the LORD will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man.” 1 Samuel 10:6. Do you recall that when David appointed the 288 Levites to draw lots and sing praised before Me night and day that they were to prophesy in song? “Moreover, David and the commanders of the army set apart for the service some of the sons of Asaph and of Heman and of Jeduthun, who were to prophesy with lyres, harps and cymbals.” 1 Chronicles 25:1. “Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah and Mattithiah, six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun with the harp, who prophesied in giving thanks and praising the LORD.” 1 Chronicles 25:3.
Do you remember that despite persecution and trials, the followers of Jesus in the early community of believers could not but be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit? The key is to be filled with the Holy Spirit and that will flood out the enemy spirit of depression. And how do you get filled? You put on the mantle of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness. You sing praise songs, like David, like Paul and Saul, like Jesus. “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father. Ephesians 5:15-20.
You will know when the unclean spirit of depression is invading your soul. David gave a good description of it, “The cords of death encompassed me, and the torrents of ungodliness terrified me. The cords of Sheol (hell) surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry for help before Him came into His ears.” Psalm 18:4-6. So you see as that spirit of hell comes upon you, cry out to Me for help, but how did he cry? “I love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.” Psalm 18:1-3. And the result? He did not stay captive to that unclean spirit of depression, “He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my stay. He brought me forth also into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me.” Psalm 18:16-19. I dwell in your praises; it is the language of Heaven and it brings the taste of Heaven to earth. My Words are sweeter than honey dripping from the comb, there is great reward in keeping them.
And then what happened for David, did he let that spirit of depression return and stay once I had helped him get it out? No. I trained his hands for battle and lit his lamp. And what did he do with My training? “I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and I did not turn back until they were consumed. I shattered them, so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet. For You have girded me with strength for battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.” Psalm 18:37-39. Jesus has given you authority, His authority, on earth and told you to cast out demons in His Name. And remember I have seated you with Him in Heaven in the Spirit and put the devil and all his demons—all the forces of the enemy—under His feet. So you are to tread on the devil under your feet. You bind him and rebuke his unclean spirits—you cast them out. Do not put up with his tactics and NEVER accept his yoke of depression. But you can only destroy that yoke by the anointing, Isaiah 10:27 (“And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.”), which descends with the mantle of praise—the mantle of the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
And the Holy Spirit through the mouth of David again warned you of the spirit of depression, “Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall STILL praise Him for the saving acts and help of His presence. O my God, my soul is in despair within me; therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me. The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; and His SONG WILL BE WITH ME IN THE NIGHT, a prayer to the God of my life.” Psalm 42:5-8.
The steps for you to take when the spirit of depression comes or even if you have had it tormenting you and ruining your life for years are as follows:
1. Cry out to Me for help.
2. Rebuke and cast out the spirit of depression. And that is simple, you call it by name and tell it to go in Jesus’ Name. Like Jesus did, “Be gone Satan!” Imitate Me as My dear children, and get rid of the darkness, if you speak light into the darkness, the darkness will flee. Resist and tread on him.
3. Ask Me to share My joy with you and then get under the anointing of joy, bring it down, by taking up the mantle of praise instead of the spirit of depression. Sing and shout it out until you are filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit. And sing with tongues and your understanding.
Never speak to or rebuke the devil in tongues, he does not understand them. Tell him what to do in your native tongue. When you speak and sing in tongues you are speaking with Me in mysteries and edifying yourself. You are speaking with Me and not with men or angels.
And be careful what you talk about and call in. Depression will talk of its sadness, grief, weakness, and inability to shake it. It will tell you that it is a condition of your body that is part of you, it is too late for you, that you cannot change, that you ruined your life, that you have made terrible mistakes, done sinful things, and will have you groping in the darkness, trapped in a pit of despair. It will try to be your mantle. But that is not you, and especially not the new creation you are in Christ, that is the old man that was headed to hell like all the rest. Start talking like who you are, more than a conqueror filled with the Spirit of joy. You are a partaker of the divine nature in Christ, and I have joy. It is time you took off that mantle of depression and took up the mantle of praise. Try it you will find the praise cure is the best medicine for a troubled heart, for a cheerful heart does good, like medicine.
David sang, “I waited earnestly for the LORD; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.” Psalm 40:1-2. And how did I do that for him? “He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the LORD.” Psalm 40:3. Will you let Me do the same for you? I can put it in your mouth but you have to give it utterance. The same with tongues. Acts 2:4.
And David advised you, “Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let those who love Your salvation say continually, “The LORD be magnified!” Psalm 40:16. This is a good way to keep the spirit of depression from even landing on you. Make your walls Salvation and your gates praise and let nothing else through your gates. “Violence will not be heard again in your land, nor devastation or destruction within your borders; you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise.” Isaiah 60:18.
I told Abraham that his seed would possess the gate of His enemies. And in Christ this has come to pass for you, for the gates of hell cannot prevail against the Church, the Body of Christ, and you are a member of that Body. And what do I tell you who believe in My Son? “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” Matthew 18:18-20. You have to bind the devil first before you can take all the riches of his house away from him. “But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.” Mark 3:27. I have already condemned and bound the devil in Heaven, so you are to do the same on earth. Bind him so he does not plunder your house like a thief unchecked. And rescue the souls he is oppressing in slavery to sin and depression.
And let us return to that great scroll of Isaiah and read a little further: “To comfort all who mourn, to put all who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting that they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.” Isaiah 61:2-3.
There is something you do not see in the English translation. They translate the Hebrew word “ayil (אַיִל)” as being an oak tree, but actually it means “ram” and is generally translated as such. That was what Abraham took from the thicket on Mt. Moriah to sacrifice in place of Isaac. The word “ram” is first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 15:9, when it was one of the animals I had Abraham sacrifice when I made covenant with him to give his descendants the promised land. But here is a deeper meaning, I call you a ram of righteousness and plant you in My house. A ram is a male sheep that has reached maturity. And rams assert their dominion authority in a territory by headbutting any other sheep or man that tries to take their territory. Ewes also will headbutt as well as lambs. And that is what you must do with the devil. It is a battle of minds. And that is what chess is also about. But what I am telling you that it is up to you to assert your dominion authority to reign in life through Christ Jesus and you must resist and cast out Satan. And a ram does it by headbutting, and so must you. But when you headbutt Satan, he will lose and you will win for My Son has already crushed his head. The Word crushed his head and so will the Word in your mouth as well. He will try to put thoughts in your mind but you can headbutt him right out.
I love you. Know that the spirit of heaviness, of fainting of depression, is NOT from you or from Me. Spit the taste of death out of your mouth, it is a demon from the pit of hell, and take up the mantle of praise for the taste of Heaven. And My Word is sweet. Victory is sweet. Captivity is not. But Jesus came to set the captives free. “Shake yourself from the dust, rise up, O captive Jerusalem; loose yourself from the chains around your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.” Isaiah 52:2. Zion again, the heavenly place of grace.