What It Means to be Filled with the Holy Spirit # 36

"He That Hath Understanding, Let Him Calculate" (continued)

Let us remember that when Goliath came on the scene Saul and his army were the chosen people of God, and they were circumcised with a circumcision made with hands; but neither Saul nor his army could stand up to this giant. The works of the natural man cannot meet the challenge of this giant. You cannot defeat carnality with carnality! You cannot destroy the works of the enemy with the works of the natural man! You cannot defeat carnal reasonings with carnal reason! The weapons of our warfare cannot be carnal, cannot be of the natural man (2 Cor. 10:3, 4), because carnality, the strength and force of the natural man, in any form, always strengthens this uncircumcised giant. It is the strength of the natural man that allows that which is antichrist to have full sway among God's people. This is why most of what is called the church today has little or no impact against the forces of evil. This is also why God has called forth those who would become overcomers.

David was able to defeat this giant of uncircumcision, Saul and the army of Israel could not. So let us calculate the number of the name of the beast, whose name is "blasphemy," as we search into the origin of this Philistine giant. The first mention of the Philistines in the Word of God leaves no doubt that they are part of satan's evil strategy against the Christ of God; for they are found in the infamous list that makes up the kingdom ruled by Nimrod. "And the beginning of his (Nimrod's kingdom was Babel ... and Mizrim became the father of Ludim ... and Casluhim (from which came the Philistines) ..." (Genesis 10:10-14).

We all know that Nimrod, whose name means, "We will rebel," or "Come, let us rebel," was the first one used by satan to build a religious kingdom. Nimrod was a mighty hunter, and in his rebellion against God, he hunted the souls of men. He needed the soulish man, the natural man, the carnal nature of man, in order to build his religious kingdom; by the works of their own hands they would attempt to reach the heights of God: - which satan proclaims is his goal, "I will exalt myself above the Most High."

There is a question that we want to ask, "How did Nimrod become so strong?" The very first time he is mentioned (Gen. 10:8), the Holy Spirit draws our attention to the fat that, "he (Nimrod) began to be a mighty one in the earth." The Holy Spirit uses the same word "mighty" to describe Nimrod that He uses to describe the giants, the monsters of iniquity, in Genesis 6:4: and He does this to draw our attention to the fact that they are both of the seed of the serpent. - Let him that hath understanding calculate the number of the name of the beast.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 37)