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Do We Have A Choice?
http://www.fireonthealtar.com/7/urban/
- Josef
Urban
Josef Urban <greatlycommissioned@hotmail.com>
Greetings in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ;
To the remnant of
God in the United States;
It is with utmost
brokenness and urgency that I write to you this day. I do not
particularly desire to write such a thing, but I believe this truth
needs to be known. To some of you this is nothing new, just a
re-statement of what you already know. To others, this may be eye
opening or revolutionary to your current beliefs and views. Still yet
to others, this may be offensive. Please permit me to lay my case and
consider what I'm saying with openness, discernment, prayer and
sensitivity to what the Spirit is saying.
I recently had a
dream. In this dream, I decided to go back and visit the church that
I used to go to when I gave my life to the Lord. This is a
Pentecostal church that believes in the gifts of the Spirit and has
some fiery preaching, but it's dead and apostate and totally neglects
the essential doctrines of scriptural holiness, without which no one
will see the Lord, and stewardship (not laying up treasures upon
earth and bewaring of covetousness), among other things. The people
are living in sin and compromise, and the pastors are too. It is by
the mercy of God that He led me to the truth and led me out, and
praise be to His name for it! But, sadly, as with almost every other
church in this nation, there are many people still there who are
"Hallelujah-ing" their way straight to Hell.
In this dream, I
decided to go back to this church. I now had lots of ministry and
preaching experience, and an anointing from the Holy Ghost, and for
some reason, I thought they would welcome me back and be happy to see
me and at least hear what I had to say. I had the notion that I was
going to preach the service and that the pastor was having me as a
guest speaker or visiting evangelist. So I went on Sunday morning,
and soon discovered that there was no way now that he was going to
let me preach. I was planning on preaching on holiness and he wasn't
having any part of it. So now I wasn't preaching, but my heart was
still burdened for all the people.
Seeing I had no
further business in the sanctuary, and that the service had not yet
started, I walked out of the sanctuary and into the fellowship hall
where all the people were sitting before service. They were all
sitting at big round tables and talking with one another when I
walked in, laughing, talking, and "fellowshipping" with one
another. I soon noticed that they had just finished partaking of
communion and still had the remnants of bread and empty glasses of
wine on their tables. Immediately, I felt compelled to at least try
to reach them with the truth.
So in the middle
of the fellowship hall, in the midst of probably about 100 or more
people from my old church, with a few new faces, I started preaching
in a very calm manner. I remember exactly what I preached on:
holiness. I even remember the scriptures I preached on. I quoted and
clearly expounded on Hebrews 10:26-27, Hebrews 12:14, 1 John 3:5-9,
and some others in the most simple and straightforward manner,
exhorting the people before me to examine themselves in light of the
Word and see that they weren't truly saved because they were living
in sin and compromise. With utmost sincerity, and in a calm yet
urgent tone of voice, I desperately pleaded with them to not be
deceived. I told them they have believed a lie and were living in
false assurance, quoting and expounding upon clear scripture to prove
it and urging them to repent.
Soon, a heavy
weight of conviction came down. Every face was affected, some had
"conviction" written all over their faces so to speak, and
others couldn't bear to look at me and had their heads down in shame.
I thought they were going to start screaming in agony of soul, or
falling out of their seats, or wailing at the top of their lungs. The
Holy Spirit was obviously bearing witness to my words in a tremendous
way and prevailing in power within their hearts, and I thought a
genuine revival was going to break out within seconds.
Seeing the
conviction so heavy and the people's hearts right at the breaking
point, and having proved to them with clear scripture that they did
not truly know Christ because they were living in willful and
unrepentant sin, I was almost sure the whole place would soon be on
their knees or faces crying out to God for mercy, like I said. The
weight of conviction was so thick you could tangibly feel it. I
continued preaching, and now drove the point straight home. I called
out the fact that they had just taken communion and were completely
unworthy and that this was sin on top of sin -- not only are they
living in sin, but they have the audacity to eat the Lord's body and
drink His blood in such a state as if they were holy. I told them
this was the gravest of sins and they were eating and drinking
damnation to themselves and provoking the wrath of God. The
conviction was very heavy and this sent it off the charts. I was sure
that a revival was breaking out now as the whole place seemed to
freeze with the sense of great guilt and personal awareness of sin.
But then, to my
absolute amazement, the people did not start weeping and wailing for
their transgressions and terrible delusions. To the contrary, they
immediately hardened their hearts after being so obviously convinced
and convicted. One of them suddenly burst out into some kind of sick
and twisted laughter. Then they all began laughing. They mocked me
and laughed at me. I loved these people and hought they were my
friends, but now they were laughing and mocking at me, and everything
I had to say. Not only did they reject the truth and want nothing to
do with it, but they mocked me as a fool for trying to bring it to them.
That was it. That
was the dream. When I woke up, suddenly it hit me like a ton of
bricks: It is not that these people don't know the truth and need
someone to tell them so they can be aware and repent, but the fact
is, they don't want to know the truth. Even though they don't know
the truth, they still don't want to because they love their lies,
false assurances, and false doctrines that justify their compromised
lifestyles and are deceived by their own lies and self-justifications
on top of the delusion that God handed them over to. They are in love
with mammon and are playing the harlot with the things of this world,
/"lovers of
pleasure more than lovers of God"/.
The dream is
self-explanatory. But please permit me to speak my heart. The
churches in America for the most part are totally apostate. I have
realized that there is no hope for them as a whole. A few souls from
their midst may be plucked from the fire here and there, but as a
whole, the system is apostate and the people in it are handed over to
strong delusion. It will not be revived. It is fallen from the truth
and its eyes have been blinded to it. Revival can't happen to
apostate people who are handed over to strong delusion. Backsliders:
yes! Apostates: no! Their consciences are seared as with a hot iron.
Many are saying,
"Judgment is coming! Judgment will soon come!" but I say,
"Are you blind"? The judgment of God upon America is not
yet to come - *it is already here*! While physical judgment may tarry
yet a little longer, the fact is that spiritual judgment, which is
the most terrible and damnable form of judgment there is, is already
here in full force.
Physical judgment
is an act of mercy because, depending on the scope and devastation of
it, will either wake some people up to repent, or it will destroy
them all before they store up more wrath against the day of Judgment
when the punishment will be greater eternally. But spiritual judgment
doesn't prevent greater eternal wrath; instead, it only increases it!
Spiritual judgment doesn't wake anybody up -- it only sends strong
delusion to keep them all asleep while the weight of God's wrath
accumulates from above until the weight of it becomes so great that
it bursts forth with the fury and ferocity of a fire that burns so
hot that it can never be quenched!
O dear remnant of
God, get your eyes off the physical, and put them on the spiritual,
/"for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things
which are not seen are eternal"/. I believe we in America are in
the midst of the most terrible and greatest spiritual judgment that
the world has ever known this side of the Cross. We are in the midst
of the great "falling away" (Gr. "apostasia",
apostasy) that was spoken of by the Apostle Paul (2 Thessalonians
2:3). These are the last days of which many explicit warnings were
given by Christ and His Apostles against being deceived. And the
great masses have ignored the sure word of prophecy.
/"...because
they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they
should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not
the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness"/ (2
Thessalonians 2:10-12). The great masses do not love the truth; they
hate it! For this reason, God Himself has sent them strong delusion.
They now believe a lie and will be damned because of it. Do you
realize what this is saying? /"God shall send them strong
delusion"/. God sent it! You cannot preach the truth and wake
people up if God is the one who has sent the delusion to put them to
sleep. If it is against His sovereign will for them to be brought to
the truth, then no matter what you do or how hard you preach, they
won't be brought to the truth! It doesn't lead them to repentance,
instead, it only seals their fate.
/"For the
time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after
their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having
itching ears"/ (2 Timothy 4:3). Just as in my dream, I thought
maybe the pastor was the one preventing them from hearing the truth,
but I soon realized afterwards that they themselves do not love the
truth, and they are the ones who have heaped that pastor/preacher
unto themselves to tickle their own itching ears. They do not endure
sound doctrine; they rather speak against it! They laugh and mock the
true Gospel. /"For the time will come"/, said the Apostle
Paul. That time is now here! We are living in the midst of it! They
do not want to hear the truth. Just as they said to Isaiah the prophet:
/"They tell
the seers, 'Stop seeing visions!' They tell the prophets, 'Don't tell
us what is right. Tell us nice things. Tell us lies. Forget all this
gloom. Get off your narrow path. Stop telling us about your 'Holy One
of Israel"/ (Isaiah 30:10-11 NLT). They do not want to hear of
holiness, righteousness and justice. They do not want to hear of a
narrow path that only few find. They do not want to hear the truth
that cuts and pierces to the heart. And the result is that God has sent
strong delusion,
closed their eyes and their hearts, and has given them a spirit of
slumber. /"They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut
their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot
understand"/ (Isaiah 44:18). /"And in them is fulfilled the
prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall
not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For
this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of
hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they
should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should
understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should
heal them"/ (Matthew 13:14-15, Acts 28:27). /"According as
it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that
they should not see, and ears that they should not hear; unto this
day"/ (Romans 11:8).
I have stated all
of this to say this: revival will not and cannot happen within the
apostate church system. I know we have many "pillow
prophets" and "Disneyland seers" who prophesy over and
over again, "A great move of God is coming to America! There is
reformation coming to the churches! There will be great revival!
Signs and wonders will happen in every church! We're seeing the
beginning of it happening right now!" and so on. Enough of that
nonsensical and unscriptural ear-tickling garbage! The only revival
the apostate church in America is going to get is a counterfeit
revival with counterfeit signs and wonders! Go see your gold dust,
angel feathers, and diamonds that fall from the ceiling! Go yield
yourselves to your animal demons! Go writhe like snakes! Go get hands
laid on you and knocked over by that preacher who's addicted to
Internet pornography! This is your revival, apostate Babylon! And yet
you all remain in sin, wickedness, and compromise such as never
before. The earth itself is groaning in pain under the weight of your transgressions.
Babylon (America
and its apostate religious system) has corrupted the whole earth with
the wine of her fornication and has become the habitation of devils!
Physical judgment would indeed be an act of mercy. The spiritual
judgment is already here and it's fallen onto the apostate system and
most of those who are in it, and like I said, this is the most severe
and worst kind of judgment there is!
And now a word to
the remnant:
/"Wherefore
come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and
touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a
Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the
Lord Almighty"/ (2 Corinthians 6:17-18). /"Come out of her,
my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive
not of her plagues" /(Revelation 18:4). Separate yourselves from
the system. Stop wasting your time trying to convince those who God
has sent strong delusion to and go to those who will listen! There is
coming a time when we must wipe the dust from our feet and go to
those who are dying in their sins and willing to hear what we have to say.
Don't get sucked
into Satan's slick counterfeits. Separate yourself from the workers
of Satan who seek to deceive you. /"And no marvel; for Satan
himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no
great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of
righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works"/ (2
Corinthians 11:14-15). Come out from among the deceived and separate
yourself unto the Lord in holiness and righteousness, walking
according to the commands of Jesus and working out your own salvation
with fear and trembling. It's time to walk solemn and serious before
your God in holy fear and sanctification of heart and life.
And before all the
"out of church" crowd gives a hearty "amen" to
what I'm saying and thinks they have everything right, let me state
that it's not enough just to separate yourself and point out all the
faults of the apostate system. You must also stand up and do what is
right in the love of Christ. You want to bash the false gospel, so
when's the last time you preached the true Gospel? You want to
condemn others for not helping the poor as Jesus commanded, so when's
the last time you showed the love of Christ to the poor? You want to
bash others for being pew sitters and not doing anything, so when's
the last time you demonstrated with your actions to the lost world
around you what you claim to believe? When's the last time you
reached out to the lost in your community and sought to lead them
into the knowledge of the truth?
To all of those
who are spending all their time trying to reach their dead churches
with the true Gospel, I hope to stir you up by putting you in
remembrance of Judgment Day. You will have to give an account to God
of why you have wasted all your time casting pearls before the swine
of Babylon when there were masses around the world who were in need
and crying out with a Macedonian call to "Come help us",
waiting for someone to take the truth to them. The ones invited to
the marriage feast won't come, so now it's time to go into the
highways and hedges and compel them to come in that the Lord's house
may be filled (Luke 14). Those that think they are healthy have no
need of a doctor, but only those who are sick. Jesus didn't come to
call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. Can we not learn from
His pattern?
Many of those who
know the truth are spending all their time and labor trying to reach
the deceived crowds inside the steeple-house buildings. The question
is not, "Is this the /good/ thing to do?" The question is,
"Is this the /perfect/ thing to do?" If you are not bearing
fruit with all your labor trying to reach those "at ease in
Zion" who are "laying upon their comfortable couches and
beds of ivory", why do you continue to waste time? Take the
truth to those who will listen! You'll pass through the fire on the
Day of Judgment and make it out, but your fruitless works will be
burned up. Why not go out and gather for yourself the eternal fruit
of lost souls who are hurting and recognize their need so you can
present them at the feet of the Son of God on that Day that He may
receive the reward of His suffering?
Am I saying to
stop preaching the truth to the apostates? God forbid! To the
contrary, /"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a
trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of
Jacob their sins"/ (Isaiah 58:1). If anything, stoke the fire
and increase the heat! Be a watchman, blow the trumpet in Zion, sound
the alarm on the holy mountain, and don't hold back! Draw the line of
separation and make up your mind to stand for truth no matter the
cost; no matter the opinions of men; no matter the sacrifice you'll
have to go through. /"And Elijah came unto all the people, and
said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God,
follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him
not a word"/ (1 Kings 18:21). If you know what's right, then do
it and stop cowarding out! Make up your mind!
There is still
hope for revival among the remnant. I do not believe there will be a
sweeping and massive great awakening in America, but I do believe
that there may very well still be outpourings of the blessed Spirit
of God in various isolated places depending on the desperation of the
remnant in this hour. Right now though, I do not see any such
desperation that is calculated to bring about such an outpouring. All
I see, for the most part with very few exceptions, is apathy and complacency.
I want to sound
out a flat out rebuke to those who know the truth and don't live it
with all their heart. The hour is late and the situation is urgent!
For those who know the truth of these things and yet are not
desperate, do not "sigh and cry" for the transgressions of
the land around you, and refuse to pray in fervency, you need to be
rebuked. Have you no heart for the lost? Have you no love for the
souls of men?
"Because
iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold". Have
you become desensitized to all the wickedness and delusion round you
and now have a cold heart toward the masses of souls headed on the
broad path to destruction? Have you become the slothful and
unprofitable servant? Has even the remnant been duped into a lukewarm
complacency? My God, let it never be!
WAKE UP!!!
Wipe the sleep
from your eyes, dust off your swords, and mount up! The greatest
battle of all time is at hand! Be awake and alert and have your lamp
burning! /"Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning
hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong"/ (Joel 3:10).
I fear that the
greatest spiritual massacre of all time is happening right now.
What's happening with the souls of men right now, souls who are on a
grease-slide to Hell, is so horrific that it makes the Holocaust look
like a picnic. We're talking about the priceless, eternal souls of
men -- hundreds and hundreds of millions of them! How many are being
cast into Hell by the day?
It's time to get
desperate! It's time to agonize in prayer! It's time to declare an
extended fast and seek the face of God like there's no tomorrow! We
can have an outpouring of the Spirit if we will only pay the price
and meet the conditions. Will you do it? Or will you continue to halt
between two decisions and be complacent? The decision is yours, but
just be aware that you will have to give an account of your decision
to God on Judgment Day. Those in the book of Ezekiel who refused to
"sigh and cry" for the transgression around them were
slaughtered (see Ezekiel chapter 9). What will happen to you if you
do the same in light of the extremity of the times we are now living
in? Do you think God and His standards have changed? If His standards
haven't changed -- then you'd better sigh and cry before it's too late.
I want to ask you:
Do you want revival or not? Don't halt between two decisions. If you
want revival, then get desperate and pray with a fervency and holy
violence until you get it. If you don't want revival, then forget
about all the words of the ear-tickling prophets because it won't
happen at all if you don't seek the Lord with all your heart. It's
not going to just fall onto your lap as you sit by, laugh, eat, have
a merry old time and twiddle your thumbs. There's one way that
revival comes: holy desperation that works itself out in desperate
prayer. We need intercessory prayer, persevering prayer, fervent
prayer, agonizing prayer, and violent prayer! Unless we have it,
revival will never come in any form, not even among a small remnant.
Forget the
Laodicean prophets of America who repeatedly prophesy only good
things. "Revival! Reformation! A new wave of blessing! A fresh
outpouring!" they say. But I say unless you, the remnant of God
in this nation, who walks in holiness and righteousness in the fear
of God, who keeps Christ's commandments, who have been chosen by the
Lamb, who seek the face of God, who know the season of the hour;
unless you start desperately fasting and praying in travail of soul
and agony of mind before God there is no new wave of true revival coming.
/"Didn't I
tell you?" the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat. "He does
it every time. He never prophesies anything but bad news for me."
Then Micaiah continued, "Listen to what the LORD says! I saw
the LORD sitting on his throne with all the armies of heaven on his
right and on his left. And the LORD said, 'Who can entice King Ahab
of Israel to go into battle against Ramoth-gilead so that he can be
killed there?' There were many suggestions, until finally a spirit
approached the LORD and said, 'I can do it!' "'How will you do
this?' the LORD asked. "And the spirit replied, 'I will go out
and inspire all Ahab's prophets to speak lies.'
"'You will
succeed,' said the LORD. 'Go ahead and do it.' "So you see, the
LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of your prophets. For the
LORD has determined disaster for you" /(2 Chronicles 18:17-22).
Remnant of God in
America: NOW is the time! You've been waiting for the word to go on
an all-out thrust of desperate praying and preaching, well the time
is RIGHT NOW!!! Let us put aside our petty differences, unite
together under the bloodstained banner of Jesus Christ, and call a
solemn assembly to weep between the porch and the altar until God
visits us with His grace and mercy! The hour is so very late! The sun
is about to set and the night is soon coming where no man may work.
/"Blow the
trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: Gather the
people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the
children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go
forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the
priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the
altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine
heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them:
wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Then
will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people"/
(Joel 2:16-18).
The King will soon
return. Judgment will be executed. Wrath and vengeance will be
wrought on all the inhabitants of the earth. Are there no intercessors?
/"Yea, truth
faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and
the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no
intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his
righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a
breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on
the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.
According to their
deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompense
to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompense. So shall
they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the
rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the
Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. And the
Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from
transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD"/ (Isaiah 59:15-20).
The remnant of God
must unite to fast and pray in holy desperation until the Lord sends
the blessing. Then they must take it out into their communities -- to
the poor, to the outcasts, to the "highway men", to the
down-and-outs, and to the "foolish things of the world"
with fervency, boldness and urgency. If not, then all hope is lost.
And the hour is so late that there's no time to wait to make up your
mind. Decide now! Then GO DO!!! It's not time to fuss over
unessential doctrines and names. Those days are about over. It's time
to unite together on our common cause -- the holiness of God and the
glory of His name -- and FIGHT, not by might, nor by power, but by
the Spirit of the Lord of hosts!!!
/"The LORD
will demonstrate his holy power before the eyes of all the nations.
The ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God. Go now,
leave your bonds and slavery. Put Babylon behind you, with everything
it represents, for it is unclean to you. You are the LORD'S holy
people. Purify yourselves, you who carry home the vessels of the
LORD"/ (Isaiah 52:10-11 NLT).
Sincerely in the
name of the glorious Lamb of God,
- Josef Urban
Please pass this
urgent message on.
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