And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. (John 9:39)

Today there is such a spirit of humanism pressing upon us that the saints, if they are not prayerful, will begin to think of the gifts of the Spirit as being the Divine means of solving the problems of people.

The release of mankind is not the purpose, during the present hour, of the miracles of God. We have not been called to enable people to avoid the consequences of their behavior except as they are willing to repent and turn to the Lord. Our task at the present time is to bear a clear witness of the Kingdom of God, warning all people everywhere to bring forth the fruits of sincere repentance.

Sometimes deliverance does accompany the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom. But such deliverance is for the support of the witness of the Kingdom, not primarily for the purpose of setting the earth free from the chains of Satan. The release of the earth will take place when Jesus returns with His victorious saints.

The fine distinction we are making here may seem academic when weighed against the great joy that accompanies the healing of an individual. But it is important that God's people understand the difference between the present era and the era that is to come. For the notion that the business of the Church in the present hour is to use the miracles of the Lord to establish the Kingdom of God prior to Christ's return is becoming increasingly prevalent and it can lead only to Antichrist and the False Prophet. It is not of the God of Heaven.

Before we shall be allowed to be the Lord's deliverers we must become willing to be the Lord's witnesses. There is a witness to be borne, and some of that witness is a harsh indictment of the conduct of the peoples of the churches and of the world.

The saved and the unsaved will welcome God's delivering power when they are hurting badly enough. But the same people (particularly church people) who welcome the Divine deliverance will kill God's true prophets. They will attack those who bear a true witness. Most of Jesus' followers welcomed the healings and the loaves and fish. But they fled when He told them they were required to eat His flesh and drink His blood and to live by Him as He lives by the Father.

Miracles gather people. The cross repulses people. Both the cross and miracles are essential parts of the Divine witness.

God is sending the power of the latter rain upon us. This power is not being given for the purpose of relieving the afflictions and bondages that have come upon people because of their sins. Rather it is being given for the purpose of bearing witness of the holiness of God and of His desire that people live in righteousness, holiness, and obedience to God.

All of us rejoice when the sick are healed. But if that healing does not lead to greater obedience to God, then God's will was not permanently performed even though the affliction was lifted.

Indeed there shall come a day when we will go throughout the earth delivering mankind from the chains of Satan. In that day we shall not be bearing witness only, we shall be releasing the material realm into the liberty of the glory of the children of God (Romans 8:21). We shall be bringing justice to the nations of saved people.

To be continued.