After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind should blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree (Revelation 7:1).
Understanding these "four winds of the earth" is crucial for understanding the end times. We also need to understand how these "winds of the earth" are distinguished from the "winds of heaven," or which winds of change are coming from above and which are coming from below. To understand this we need to briefly look at the historic foundations of these "winds of the earth." Then the present and the future will become more clear.
These "four winds of the earth" are the four great powers that brought winds of change on a civilization-wide basis. As each one developed, it became a primary power on the earth that has continued. These powers are: 1) Military power, 2) Religious power (not faith, but religion as a social power), 3) Political power, and 4) Economic power. The first of these great powers to dominate the earth was Military power. This gave birth to the first historical epoch--the age of the conquerors and the development of the great Military empires. Some of the more famous of these conquerors were Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Alexander the Great, and the Roman Caesars. These laid the foundation of Western civilization that is still the source of the most powerful social influences on the earth. It is interesting that these great military empires were all portrayed in the dream that Nebuchadnezzar had of the statue with the golden head, etc.
The next great "wind of the earth" to blow was Religious power. Because these are "winds of the earth" we must understand that this Religious power was born from the earth rather than from above. This was the period when the major dominant religions of the earth were born. During this time religious leaders eclipsed military leaders as the most powerful people on earth, and the military powers became subservient to the emerging religious powers such as Islam in the Middle-East, Hinduism in the Far-East, and Catholicism and Protestantism in the West. This period began around 300 AD, reached its peak during the Crusades and the time of the great Ottoman Empire, and only began to wane in the late 1500s. Most wars during this period were religious conflicts, and religious leaders motivated most of the conquests.
The next great civilizational epoch was dominated by Political power, and the great winds of change during this period were mostly political in nature. This period began about the time of the signing of the Magna Carta and continued until the twentieth century. This was the time of great political changes, when new forms of government were born, and most of the wars were political conflicts such as the French, American, and Bolshevik Revolutions.
During this time both the Religious and Military powers became subservient to Political powers. There were still great conquerors such as Napoleon, but much of his influence and ability to mobilize France was born out of the sweeping political changes that emerged during the French Revolution. There were still many religious wars and conflicts, but overall the great sweeping social changes of this time were almost all political in nature.
We are now living in the time of the last great "wind of the earth"--the emerging dominance of Economic power. Most of the great social changes from now until the end will be based more on economics than any other influence. Most of the wars and conflicts will be economic in nature, and the most powerful people on the earth today are economic leaders, not military, religious, or political leaders, which are all now becoming more and more subservient to the Economic powers.
Of course, religion and politics are still very much alive. However, even those struggles seem to be religious and political in nature, such as the Islamic terrorists organizations who are targeting the economic structure and well being of the West to achieve their purposes. They are doing this because they recognize that the Economic powers are the real powers on the earth at this time.
Transitional times between each of these great epochs were general in nature and would sometimes take hundreds of years. The foundation of this Economic age was laid during the Industrial Revolution, then at the beginning of the twentieth century the world began to shift into a whole new civilizational epoch dominated by Economic power. In this transition period we can see that the Bolshevik Revolution was both a political and an economic revolution. We can also see how the "Cold War" was a very real war, and it was also an "economic war" fought more with industries, banks, and trade agreements than armies. Even so, it
dramatically changed national and cultural boundaries as much as any other "hot war" in history.
Clauswitz wrote his classic book On War during the middle of the Political epoch. Because the great sweeping changes of his time were mostly political in nature, he wrote: "War is the attempt of one nation to impose its political will over another nation." Had he written his book before the birth of Christianity, he would have written that war was the attempt of one nation to impose its military power over another nation. If he had written in the few hundred years after the birth of Christianity he would have written that war was basically the attempt of one religion to impose its beliefs on others. If he were writing today he would almost certainly conclude that most wars were simply the attempt of one nation to impose its economic will over others.
The Mark of God and the Mark of the Beast
Now that we have a basic grid for understanding these winds of the earth we need to look briefly at an important prophetic application: "the mark of the beast." It is clear that this is an economic mark as we read in Revelation 13:16-17:
"And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand, or on their forehead,
and he provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark...
As we read before in Revelation 7:13 we see that the four angels are sent to hold back the "four winds of the earth".... until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads." This is the time that we are now in. God has sent forth His angels to mark His bond-servants so that they will not be subject to "the mark of the beast."
Many have spent a lot of time trying to figure out the form in which this mark is going to come, but that is not nearly as important as understanding the spirit behind it. Taking the mark of the beast is not the main sin here, but rather the worshiping of the beast. The mark is simply evidence that this is what the one who has the mark has been doing. Regardless of the form in which this mark comes, or has come, the only way we will keep from taking it is by taking God's mark which He gives to His bond-servants. Satan cannot put his seal over God's seal.
One crucial question here is: How are we sealed as a bond-servant? First we must understand that not all believers are bond-servants. Many claim the redemption of the blood of Christ, but they go on living their lives for themselves, not as a true bond-servant of the Lord. They may attend services every week, pay their tithes, and even be highly involved in their church or ministry, but they live for, and base most of their decisions on what they want or need, not on the purposes of the Lord. A bond-servant cannot live that way.
A bond-servant is a slave of Christ. A slave owns nothing, including time, money, resources, even their family. A bond-servant does not freely spend money because it does not belong to them. A bond-servant does not wake up trying to decide what they want to do that day--they inquire of their Master what He wants them to do--their time is not their own. There is a profound difference between the way bond-servants live and the majority of those who may profess to be bond-servants.
We were bought with a price and we are not our own. The only way not to take the mark of the beast and become the devil's servant is to become a true bond-servant of the Lord's. This is a reality, not just a doctrine. Being a bond-servant of Christ is the greatest freedom that we can ever know on this earth, including freedom from the mark of the beast that is soon to be required for anyone who wants to "buy, sell, or trade" with the systems of the world.
If we are the Lord's bond-servant, then He is obligated to take care of His own, and He can do it much better than we could ever take care of ourselves. Those who have this relationship with Him will never be in fear of their provision. Neither can a single one be plucked from His hand. These need not fear anything that is going to come upon the world.
How Then Should We Live?
Does this mean that we should separate ourselves from all of the world's economic ways? No. The time may come for that, but presently we must learn to recognize the economic ways that are the nature of the beast
and determine that we are not going to serve them. We must be sure that we are in all ways serving Christ in our economic transactions. Only true bond-servants will ultimately do this.
In Matthew 13:39 the Lord says, "...the harvest is the end of the age..." We can also deduct from all of His teachings about the harvest that it is the reaping of everything that has been sown, both the good and the evil. Both good and evil will be coming to full maturity. As Isaiah 60:1-2 declares, at the very time that deep darkness is covering the earth, the Lord's glory will be rising upon His people. As we approach the end of this age we can therefore expect the darkness to increase and those who walk in the light to likewise grow in righteousness. Money is one of the primary things that will determine which way we go. This is why the beast is an Economic power. How we handle money will be a major point of conflict at the end that will determine who we really belong to. It is for this reason that teaching on Christian economics and ethics is going to become increasingly critical.
It is noteworthy that when John the Baptist was questioned by the multitudes as to what they should do to repent and prepare for the Lord, every one of his answers was economic in nature (see Luke 3:10-14). Basically, these answers were to be just in all of our dealings. Never take more than you have earned, and always give what is right to others. This is because integrity in financial matters is fundamental to integrity in everything. If we are not true here we have a wide open door for the enemy to get in and take control of our life. This will become increasingly pronounced as this age draws to a close.
Destroy Your Idols
Another basic issue if we are not going to worship the beast is to stop worshiping anything but God. One of the most basic offenses to the living God is to worship idols. We may think that an idol is an object that the heathen bow down to, and this is something that we would certainly never do, but many Christians worship idols far more than they worship God. An idol was not just an object that the heathen bowed down to, but it was anything that they put their trust in instead of God. Even though we may not bow down to objects, what are we really putting our trust in? Is it our jobs, our abilities, our money? All of these can be idols when we put more trust in them than God. They can also be things that we really have more affection for than God.
This is not to imply that we should not appreciate our jobs, our God given abilities, or the material things that He has blessed us with. However, we must never allow our trust in, or affection for them to eclipse our trust in and affection for Him. This we will only be able to do if we truly live as a bond-servant. Our bank accounts are therefore not really ours, but something that we have been made a steward over. As stewards we want to manage them well, but we must not cling to them possessively in our heart.
The Lord has promised if we will put His kingdom first everything else will be added to us. Therefore, His kingdom purposes must be first in everything we do. Nothing must ever be allowed to assume that place for even the shortest period of time. Our homes do not belong to us. Our money is not ours, rather it is something we are given to manage by our Master. Our families are not even ours, but His.
We Must Choose
The Lord will not force any of us to be bond-servants. In the Old Testament, Hebrew bond-servants were all set free every seven years. Only those who did not want to go free because they loved their masters were taken to the tent of meeting and permanently marked as owned by their masters. We too can go free. The Lord will not force us to be a bond-servant. He will place His mark on the bond-servants who love Him enough and prefer to be His slave rather than go on living for themselves.
One way the Lord showed me to make this bond-servant commitment practical in my life was to take everything that I have been trusted with to the cross every day. This is a very dangerous thing to do because there are things that He may choose to take at any time. I lost my business and a fortune when I put them "on the altar" in this way. However, after they were consumed I felt better than I had in years and I was more free than I could ever remember. He took them because they had such a grip on me that I was in bondage to them. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me, and the experience helped to prepare me to be a steward of much greater things. Even so, do not make this commitment lightly. It must be real, and we must understand that the Lord may very well take what we offer to Him.
As stated, one reason why the mark of the beast is an economic mark is because money tends to be the primary idol that people put their trust in instead of God. This is why we are told in I Timothy 6:10, "For the
love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang." In the original text this reads simply "The love of money is the root of all evil."
We should note that this does not say that money is the root of all evil, but the love of it is. If this was true in the first century when this verse was written it is even more true today when the economic powers are dominant. This is why we are exhorted in Hebrews 13:5-6, "Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you," so that we confidently say, "The LORD is my helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?"
It is true that when we know the Lord as our Helper and Provider we will not fear what man can do to us, even the taking of our ability to buy, sell, or trade will not be of much concern to us--that ability is not our source. This is why one of the most crucial things for all Christians is to know the Lord as their Source and Provider above anything or anyone else on this earth.
Step Two to Freedom
The very first thing that we must do is learn to take up our crosses daily. The next thing that we must learn to do is tithe. Tithing is giving the first ten percent that we make to the Lord. I am sure that many of you immediately balked at the last sentence. Most of the others of you who are reading this probably at least twitched! I understand this, but I implore you to read on with an open heart. It could be one of the most important issues in your life at this time, and the key to releasing you into a power and freedom that you have never known before.
There are a multitude of doctrines and beliefs that people come up with to avoid tithing, but they will all deceive you and ultimately lead to your poverty and bondage. Let's briefly look at a couple of the more prominent of these before we go on.
If tithing was a part of the Law, and we are no longer under the Law, Christians do not have to tithe.
First, let me ask a couple of questions. Loving God and loving our neighbors were also a part of the Law. Are we now free from those obligations? How about the commandments not to steal, envy, commit adultery, etc.? These were all standards of morality that preceded the Law, and were made a part of the Law, and will always be a part of the basic standards of morality--and so was tithing. Abraham, the father of faith, paid tithes hundreds of years before the Law, which is noted in the New Testament (see Hebrews 7:8-9) because the writer of this book was reminding Christians of this. Under the New Covenant we are a part of the Melchizedek priesthood and Melchizedek received tithes. If this was not more clearly spelled out, it is only because it was so obvious that it did not need to be.
Tithing was not just bringing ten percent of income to the Lord, but it was bringing the first ten percent--the very best. Giving is basic Christianity, and it is basic to true love. God so loved the world that He gave His best to us. How could anyone who has really been touched by Him not want to give far more than ten percent? As one of my friends put it, "Only backsliders just tithe." When we really understand what God promises to those who are faithful in this we would have to be under serious deception not to consider it the greatest investment that we could ever make. We will look at this as we address another common deception that people have in relation to tithing.
If I have committed everything that I have to the Lord why should I tithe?
Out of obedience. Tithing is a clear biblical mandate that we will obey if we are truly living in submission to Him. We don't have to be "led" to do something that is already made clear in the Scriptures. Those who say that they do not tithe because they gave it all to the Lord are really not giving anything to Him.
Obviously the Lord does not need our money. "For the earth is the LORD's, and all it contains" (I Corinthians 10:26). Giving is more for our sake. If we are going to be free from the love of money or the idolatrous trust of money in place of trust in God, tithing is a crucial foundation in our life. Christians, churches, and ministries who are living under financial stress or bondage can usually trace their problems to this one issue.
We should want to tithe whether there was any benefit to it or not, but one of the greatest promises in Scripture is given to us for being obedient in tithing, Malachi 3:10-12:
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.
"Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it may not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes," says the LORD of hosts.
"And all the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land," says the LORD of hosts.
This is the only place in the Scripture where the Lord invites us to test Him. I have never met a Christian who has been faithful in tithing that has not found the Lord's promise here to be true. With such a promise why would anyone not do it if they really believe in the Lord and that His Word is true?
Jack Deere told me a story recently of how a businessman in a church he once pastored reacted to his teaching on tithing. First he went to every other pastor in the town (over 30 of them) and asked them if they believed that tithing was required by the New Testament. All thirty said that they did not believe that it was. This was more than a little curious to him, but being an astute businessman he noted that every one of these pastors and their churches were in financial trouble. This caused him to determine to at least try it. His net income from his business rose 75 percent the first year that he began tithing.
I have heard many similar stories. I have yet to meet anyone who has been faithful in tithing who did not ultimately see dramatic results. They may not come immediately or even when we want them to, but they will surely come.
Neither should we construe this to mean that if we are faithful in tithing we can never get into financial trouble. We can be irresponsible, foolish, or disobedient in other areas that can cause us trouble, but tithing is fundamental to true financial health that is based on the kingdom of God and not the kingdoms of this world. You can have a lot of money and still have financial troubles. For many of us just having "the devourer" rebuked as He promises would put us in pretty good shape. Even so, He promises much more-- to open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that overflows. For a New Testament elaboration on this we have II Corinthians 9:6-8:
Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully.
Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.
Every Christian should "have an abundance for every good deed." If this is not our testimony, then we are not doing something right. Tithing is what most Christians are not doing right, which could drastically change their financial life. All Christians should be financially independent, which means that they should never have to make decisions based on whether they have enough money or not, but on whether it is the will of God.
The one boast we can make that is legal, is to boast in the Lord. Tithing was primarily the way the Israelites boasted in the Lord. When they came with their tithes they were boasting about how much God had blessed them. The same is true for us. We should all delight in bringing our tithes into the storehouse, the local church, as a testimony of how the Lord is blessing us.
This is crucial for us now because regardless of what happens concerning the mark of the beast, we know that at the end, the wealth of the nations will be coming to God's people (see Isaiah 60:1-5). The Lord is now preparing stewards who can handle this, and some are even beginning to receive it. This is one reason why the Lord's bond-servants will not care if they can buy, sell, or trade under the beast's system. Just as there was distinction between the Egyptians and Goshen's, there will be a distinction made between God's people and the world. Regardless of what the beast does to try to control the economy of the world, the wealth of the nations will flow to God's people and they will be well taken care of.
Step Three
Christian leaders must start educating their people on biblical economics, and we must start recognizing, equipping, and supporting marketplace ministries. This may sound incomprehensible to many, but most of God's pastors are not called to ever stand in a pulpit. They are called to shepherd their fellow employees, fellow club members, even sports teams. Many of God's greatest teachers will not teach in church meetings, but will teach their fellow workers at lunch tables, or in other public or private places. God is raising up "industrial prophets" who will prophesy to business leaders as well as political leaders. We must begin to recognize and help equip andsupport these ministries to do their work where they are called to do it.
Much of the frustration of Christians in the body of Christ today is the feeling of being called into ministry, knowing that they have been given gifts of the Spirit, but not having a place to either be equipped or released to do the ministry that burns in their hearts. However, there is not enough time or room for all of these to function in church meetings, and this is not where they are supposed to function. Our whole paradigm of church must change. Church is twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. We should be equipped to move in the gifts and ministries of the Spirit at any time and in any place.
Christianity will break out of the four walls and two hours a week where much of it is now imprisoned. At the end, church life will be like it was when the Lord Himself walked the earth--it will be saturating all of life. The Lord did the bulk of His works in real life situations and He wants to do the same through us. One day miracles will break out at the mall, the next day at the beach. Preachers and teachers will soon be drawing great crowds spontaneously in public places to hear the word of God. Houses will be open on every block for people to meet the Lord, be healed, delivered, and taught sound biblical truth. Then the church will not be an institution, but it will be the life force that it is called to be, and the sure witness that the kingdom of God is at hand.
As we are exhorted in Psalm 32:6:
Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found; surely in a flood of great waters they shall not reach him.
Now is the time for us to build our houses on the Rock by hearing and obeying His Word. How we handle money, and whether we are obedient to the Word of the Lord in this, will become one of the primary determining factors at the end to distinguish between those who are true servants of the Lord, and those who are really being blown by "the winds of the earth."
