Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his! Numbers 23:10.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלוהים) says:
Whose anointing are you under? Who is the shepherd you are following? Who is the master you are obeying? Examine yourself, and by that, I mean take an objective and honest look at what your thoughts have been and are now, what your words have been and are now, and what the actions of your life have been and are now. And from those three you will determine who you are following.
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? 2 Corinthians 13:5.
This is very serious. For you must all face the judgment seat of Christ.
Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:9-10.
But there is so much more than just how you walk across the threshold of death. The anointing you are living under will determine the quality of your life as you are presently living it in the world. And it is the difference between being in the world and of the world or being in the world but not of the world. It is the difference of living under the law of sin and death or the law of Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. And it will determine not only your eternity but the manner of your physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing even now.
It all comes down to one question: To whom have you opened the door of your heart? To the devil or to Me? You will find the answer not in your lip service but in your life. You will find the answer in your innermost thoughts, desires, and what you find interesting and important, in how you think about others and yourself, and it all boils down to what you allow yourself to think, say, and do.
This is a matter of life and death, health and sickness, decrepit old age or youthful vigor to the end, a failed mind or a sharp alert mind, ugliness or beauty, light or darkness, love or hate, I could go on.
Even before a word is on your tongue, I know the whole of it, for I know your thoughts from afar and I know when you sit, stand, walk about, or lie down. All is laid bare to Me, the only One to whom you must account.
But let Me backtrack a bit to go forward. You may be thinking there is no other anointing than the Holy Spirit. This is the anointing that is true from on High but there is another oil than the oil of joy. The devil mimics what I do, but with a counterfeit so as to deceive and destroy.
He also loved cursing, so it came to him; and he did not delight in blessing, so it was far from him. But he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment, and it entered into his body like water and like oil into his bones. Let it be to him as a garment with which he covers himself, and for a belt with which he constantly girds himself. Psalm 109:17-19.
If you choose cursing over blessing, then what happens? What does the curser do? Well, read the Scripture: he clothes himself in a filthy garment and appoints a wicked man over him. He lets Satan stand at his right hand. Psalm 109:6. Do you remember that David kept Me ever before him, at his right hand? It makes all the difference who you allow at your right hand, in other words, who you are the most aware of and receiving input from in your day.
I will bless the LORD who has counseled me; indeed, my spirit instructs me in the night. I have set the LORD continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will dwell securely. For You will not abandon my soul to hell, nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo corruption. You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever. Psalm 16:7-11.
Do you recall the vision recorded by Zechariah of what happens when you let the accusations and thoughts of Satan enter your mind and direct your thoughts? It clothes you in filthy garments, not the garments of salvation and the robe of righteousness in which you are clothed in Christ Jesus, the anointed One and the anointing that is true.
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Messenger of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the Messenger. He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again He said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.” Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the Messenger of the LORD was standing by. Zechariah 3:1-5.
Listening to the accusations of Satan had even made the garments of Joshua, the High Priest at the time the exiles returned to Jerusalem from Babylon to rebuild My house and the walls of Jerusalem which had all been burned with fire at the apostasy of the children of Israel, filthy. Andyou see by the filthy turban on his head that Satan’s accusations had corrupted his thoughts with fear and discouragement at the task before him even though the return of the exiles was a miracle of favor by which I performed the words released by Isaiah and Jeremiah of their return and the funding of the work by the very pagan nations that had taken them captive.
But if you will note the Messenger, the Man at My right hand, Salvation, was there to intervene for the anointed priest and He had Me rebuke Satan and He ordered the filthy garments removed. How did He remove them? My Son took away your iniquity and bore your sins in His own body, His cloak is dipped in blood, so He clothed you in festal robes! The garments of the firstborn. And what had to be changed first for Joshua to keep his garments clean? The turban on his head. The thoughts of his mind. So they put a clean turban on his head and then clothed him with the festal garments of the firstborn, of Salvation.
I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10.
Notice too that I rebuked Satan away from Joshua. Under the New Covenant I tell you to rebuke Satan for in Christ the evil one has been conquered and is beneath your feet for he has no part in one born from above for I am your Father. But the unsaved that are born of Adam’s corrupted seed are living under a lie, Satan is still their master and father. That is why you must be born again from above by submitting to the imperishable seed of My Word, which is truth, to be regenerated by My Spirit.
But there is another truth here too that you must know to live in perfect protection from the unclean spirits of corruption, lack, sickness, pain, and death, for those who tithe and make offerings I open the windows of Heaven and pour out blessings and I rebuke the devourer for you. Malachi 3:10-12.
And next, in order to stay free and keep his garments clean, I admonished Joshua to walk in My ways:
And the Messenger of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here. Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch. For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’” Zechariah 3:6-10.
How did I clean everyone who wants to listen and obey? Jesus. He came and removed your iniquity in one day, the day of the power of darkness when He took all your filthy sin on Himself and suffered the punishment that would have been yours. He made you holy and blameless, beyond reproach before Me. Satan’s accusations and reproaches should no longer move you who are in Christ, the anointed One and His anointing. When you are baptized in Christ, you clothe yourself in Christ.
It is time you renewed your mind to think, talk, and walk like the redeemed on the Highway of Holiness. Isaiah 35:8-10. No lion or snake is on that highway, so if you are walking there, you are not letting him into your life. Sin is crouching at your door but YOU can be its master. It is time you took your thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ, the anointed One and His anointing, if you want a life filled with goodness and shalom peace. If you want to be above and not beneath the power of Satan to steal, kill, and destroy your life. Do not let him in or your life will go down in sickness, pain, and an unrenewed incompetent mind. He will disable you from fruitfulness. He will cut you off the vine to dry up in the dirt only good to be burnt as fuel for fire. Do not let that be you.
This is serious. Wake up, sleeper, and Christ will give you light. Death and life are in the power of your tongue, stop playing with profane fire. Do not put it on My altar. Do you remember Nadab and Abihu? Leviticus 10:1-3. Never open your door to the evil one.
I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked.
If you study it there is a great difference between the death of the wicked and the death of the righteous. If you look at the deaths of Ahab, Jezebel, Samson, Saul, and Herod, and then look at the deaths of Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, and Elisha. There is a great difference. And think about Enoch and Elijah who were so close to Me they did not go through death at all.
Today also, study the lives of those who are filled with My Word and those who revile and despise My Word, and you will see a great difference in their health, longevity and competency. But the greatest difference is in the memories, fruit, and love they leave behind. No one mourned when Samson died but all of Israel turned out to grieve over Samuel’s death and to honor him.
Balaam understood this. As he gazed upon the encampment of the Israelites around the Tabernacle where I lived among them by Covenant, he prayed that he would be so fortunate as to die the death of the upright and his end would be like theirs. Numbers 23:10.
Yes, the righteous died full of years and satisfied. In contrast, the life and death of the wicked is hell on earth. They are driven by lusts, unclean desires, hatred, remorse (but not repentance), greed, idolatry, and impurity. They defile their flesh, reject authority (are rebellious), and revile My Word and My goodness. They care for themselves alone and only show care for others if they can enslave them to wait on their flesh. They are like clouds without rain, fruit trees in the harvest time with no fruit. They are mockers, following their own ungodly lusts and trying to pull others into the same ungodly behavior. They are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage. Jude 1:10-16.
What is the problem? They do not know Me because they have rejected My Word. Without the imperishable seed of My Word in you, you cannot change from death to life. You must receive the implanted Word to save your souls.
So what can you do to escape all this? Contend earnestly for the faith. And please read My answer carefully from the Letter of Jude as follows:
But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; 23 save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Jude 1:17-25.
And how do you keep from stumbling? By guarding your heart so that you only speak My Words and do My works.
If anyone does not stumble in the words he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. James 3:2.
The one who guards his mouth preserves his life; the one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. Proverbs 13:3.
At the time of your departure from this life on earth, your life will be examined, and it will be judged, but what judges you? It is important for you to know this so you apply this to every moment of your short life here in preparation for what will be your eternity. This life is only a test but it will determine the quality you live here and hereafter. You are judged at the gate. You will see that in the cities of the Old Covenant, judgments took place where the elders sat at the gates of the city.
And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. If anyone hears My Words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects Me and does not receive My Words, has one who judges him; the Word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.” John 12:44-50.
You are judged by what you did with My Word and that determines whether you are in the Lamb’s book of life and are saved or not. MY WORD JUDGES YOUR LIFE. How does My Word do that? It is the plumb line for your life. Use it now. You will be held accountable for every idle, evil, useless word you speak. And here is how My Word judges:
Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. For the Word of God is living and actively working and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is nothing in creation that is hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom we render an account of our words. Hebrews 5:11-12.
By My Word, even now, you can judge the thoughts and intentions of your heart to know if they are of Me or of the evil one. Remember, the one who will then meet you at the gate to take you into eternity will be the one you served, Me or Satan.
For those who have received Jesus as Lord, Jesus comes to take them with Him. For those who refused Jesus and followed Satan, Satan and his demons gather around the dead who die in him like vultures to dismantle and take to hell.
This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. They are like sheep and are destined to die; death will be their shepherd. Psalm 49:13-14.
This is serious, the one to whom you have opened the gate of your heart is the one with whom you will go, now and for eternity. There are two gates, one to Heaven and one to hell, and the path you choose will lead you there.
And for all, your deeds that you have done, good or bad, in your body will determine the reward you receive. Some will go to a lower place in hell than others, and some will shine in Heaven with more glory than others.
Remember Me in the days of your youth, and even unto old age, and keep yourself from sin. The anointing will give you the strength and the wisdom to do so. Let the anointing teach you, lead you, guide you, correct you, and protect you and your entrance through My gate will be well prepared for and long awaited. You will be one to be welcomed. You will hear those precious words of love, “Well done, good and faithful servant, come share your Master’s joy!” And you will enter the heavenly Zion singing. Just as you have been doing every day of your life on earth as you rejoice in Me always, pray without ceasing, and give constant thanks, for that is My Will for you in Christ Jesus and that has already put you through the right gate. For you enter My gate with thanksgiving and My courts with hymns of praise. For the faithful, life is changed but never ended.
This is the gate of the LORD, through which the righteous will enter. I give You thanks, for You answered me; You have become my salvation. Psalm 118:20-21.
I love you. The advice I gave to Joshua is still just as pertinent to you today, you would be wise to do it. And the good news is you can. Jesus died to give you the glorious freedom of the children of God—free from sin, your new life has begun. Make the most of your life now in good deeds, good thoughts, and good words, do not let anyone steal your crown!
This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Joshua 1:8.