When leaders become afraid of those whom they are supposed to be ruling, when they lose the courage a ruler must have, they lead their followers astray. God removes the wisdom of the rulers from them. Destruction soon follows.

God did not choose Moses and Aaron to be moved by the whims and appetites of the Israelites but to govern and lead them according to the will of God. Those who were resisting Moses and Aaron were resisting God Himself.

When Aaron feared the people he led them into sin.

God demonstrated His opinion of the democratic emphasis of Korah:

And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. (Numbers 16:32,33)

God has not changed. He still will bring destruction on every individual who despises authority.

Jude speaks of those who "despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities."

God's people always resist God's Spirit and the prophets through whom the Spirit speaks. It is true today. People are the same in every generation.

We can observe already the spirit that will be prevalent in the period following the latter-rain revival. It is a lawlessness, a lack of moral restraint, an unwillingness to obey authority. We see this in the Christian school movement when parents support their children in their rebellion against the school dress-code. The believers go from church to church as their fancy moves them. They will not accept the authority of the eldership. They return to their houses and prophesy to themselves concerning the Lord's will for their own lives.

In emphasizing the authority of the Christian eldership we are not advocating the excesses of the "discipleship" movement of the last few years. The believer always must go to the Lord Jesus for the decisions of his life. It is well to seek the council of the elders, but the elders must never bring the believer into bondage to themselves. There only is one Shepherd of the flock of God, and His name is Jesus. No minister of the Gospel, no matter how highly placed he may be in the sight of men, is anything more than a helper of his fellow Christians.

The Christian ministry has yielded to pressure from the believers. The pastor and evangelists give the people what they want and are paid for their service.

Aaron listened to the people. The golden calf, naked dancing, and the "breaking" of the Ten Commandments were the result (Exodus 32:19).

The spirit of lawlessness and man-centeredness will fill the earth during the days of Antichrist. The conduct of the believers of the present hour is demonstrating the behavior of the future.

To be continued.