What has happened to the Bride of Christ? She should be the epitome of health and strength; but here she is, at present, as I saw in my dream, knocked down, weak, and in great pain. This condition did not come upon her overnight, and she did not bring it about all by herself; it happened over a period of time, a result of her making many wrong choices, some made because of the influence of others.

When she was first joined to Christ, she knew she was a new creature, that her old life was crucified with Him and that her sins were washed away by His blood. At that time she kept her hand in His and listened to His every word; she could feel His love and protection.

Then, it became time for her to begin to learn to walk by faith rather than feelings; and after a few short steps she let go of the Lord's hand and said, "I can walk by myself." Soon the road became rough and darkness set in as her own light became dim. Instead of reaching for the hand of her Almighty Husband, she looked for human assistance and thrust herself into the weak arms of men, which led to disaster.

Women might find it necessary to take special precautions when they have to go out alone in a dangerous area in the dark of night. Many are now learning self-defense and how to use weapons. Some will even carry a gun in their purse, which may give a measure of protection; but it will not protect them from their spiritual enemy who does not have a body that can be hurt by a bullet or a karate blow.

Satan is called the Ruler of Darkness. He is a vicious beast who lurks in the shadows, waiting to attack his victims. He does not have a conscience; his only desire is to steal, kill and destroy. The weaker his prey, the more ferocious his assault will be. If he can find the Bride of Christ walking in the flesh in a weak and unprotected position, he will attack her with a vengeance. Many Christians have been lulled into a form of spiritual slumber; they do not want to think about the ferociousness of their great enemy, and some do not even want to face the reality of his existence.

Satan is a defeated foe. He has been judged by Almighty God, cast out of Heaven, and is on his way to hell along with all his fallen angels. On their descent they have been permitted a stopover here on earth; that is why the world is such a violent place. Satan knows his time is short and is in great wrath (Rev.12:12). We are living in dark, perilous times and need all the physical and spiritual strength and protection we can get.

The beautiful Bride of Christ should be aware of the hostile environment she is living in while she is here on earth; and as the world draws nearer to the end, she should do all she can to become stronger so she will be able to face the midnight darkness with great faith and confidence.

Regardless of what many religious leaders may tell you, you will not develop spiritual strength by getting involved in their work. It comes through resting and waiting patiently on the Lord. The Bible says, "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isa.40:29-31).

You do not have to be caught up in the frantic, competitive fast lane of this world. God has reserved for you a quiet resting place where you may receive peace and strength for your soul. (It will also do wonders for your body.) It is a place where you can get alone and hear the voice of God for yourself, where you can have fellowship with the Holy Spirit and grow more and more in love with Jesus.

You could search the world over and still not find your resting place, because it is not in a physical location; it is within you, it is a state of being. There are places you can go and things you can do to help bring about this state of being; such as, a walk in the woods or along the seashore; or you could find a quiet time and place right in your home. If you have to get up extra early in the morning to do that, it will be well worth the effort. The Bible says, ". . . in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength . . ." (Isa.30:15).

Entering into quietness will take an effort on your part for it is not the natural thing to do. When you feel anger, frustration, disappointment, or depression starting to creep into your life, you must learn how to deal with it and not let such a thing knock you out of your resting place. Often we Christians react better to a big problem than we do to small frustrations. Perhaps this happens because we fail to realize how much we need the help of God in the small matters that catch us off guard.

Therefore, it would be wise for you to protect your resting place as you would your most valuable possession. It is a private area that should be reserved for you and the Lord. Should the Bride invite others into a place reserved for her and the Bridegroom? Anyone that you allow to enter there, besides Jesus, you will find to be none other than a spoiler. And unfortunately there are a lot of them around.

The Bible says, "Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place" (Prov.24:15). In the Hebrew language, the words "resting place" mean "a couch." In my dream, the Bride was lying on a large couch that occupied most of the room. On one side of it was her Husband while she was on the other side, but she was as far away from Him as she could be without falling off. Between them--standing right in the middle of the couch, slashing away at her flesh--was the little doctor. He was the spoiler. Even though he was small, he inflicted a great amount of pain onto the woman. She could have sent him flying with one swipe of her hand; or just an authoritative command from her would have caused him to leave in a hurry. But . . . it was she who had summoned him for help; it was she who had invited him to come into a position between her and her Bridegroom. Of course, when she gave him that invitation, she did not realize he was a spoiler because he had deceived her into thinking he was a helper.

When she was going through a dark time, he appeared to her with a humanistic flashlight in his hand, which he shined upon several diplomas and degrees that he possessed, stating that he was qualified to counsel her and to perform any operation that would be required on her flesh. She was impressed and thought that this man could solve all of her problems. She trusted him and opened her mind and invited him to come into her private thoughts and psychoanalyze her. Then she exposed her flesh by allowing him to see all her faults and weaknesses. That is when he told her of the things that needed to be cut out of her life and reached for the sharp instrument that he used to operate on her, as I saw him do in my dream.

It really bothers me to think that I was among the group of people who was deceived by this man. As we were watching the suffering of the woman through the window, we kept shouting to the one who was operating on her: "Do something . . . do something . . . do something!"

That little doctor in my dream does not represent a medical physician; he is a symbol of CHRISTIANITY OPERATING IN THE FLESH!

This part of the dream shows how utterly foolish we Christians can be. There, right in front of us, was our wonderful Bridegroom: the One who created all things (John 1:3); the One who holds all power in Heaven and in earth (Mat.28:18); the Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Isa.9:6); and there we were, crying out to a little humanistic deceiver for help!

My dream shows how harmful it is for Christians to operate in the flesh. The Bride was hurting so much that she was screaming because of the pain. For us to be spared such grief, we should become aware of the different ways that it is possible to operate that way--and then avoid doing it.

Some operations or works of the flesh are easy to identify; such as, adultery, fornication, idolatry, witchcraft, drunkenness, self-ambition and other such acts that are stated in the fifth chapter of Galatians. Christians who walk after the flesh are capable of doing them all. Paul the apostle told the Christians at Ephesus to stop their lying, stealing and evil speaking about others (Eph.4:22-31). But there are other ways of operating in the flesh that are not so obvious; they are so subtle that it actually seems right to do them.

An example of one such operation is holding a Bible study in what could be called a natural, intellectual way. Here is how it happens: A group of people will gather together, position their chairs in a circle so they can all face one another, and then take turns reading a certain chapter from the Bible and discussing what they get out of it. This method does have some benefits: it gets people participating in sharing their thoughts, it stimulates a lot of thinking, and, best of all, it gets people into the Bible. However, it also has a devastating effect that outweighs all the benefits: When we try to interpret Scripture through our human intellect, all we come up with are our own opinions, which lead only to the making of doctrines that divide the Body of Christ.

It is natural to learn by using our heads. All our lives we have been taught to learn that way. There are countless Christian colleges and Bible schools that teach students to study the Bible just the way they would any other book. A certain amount of this is beneficial and necessary, but only up to a point. We can and should learn the names, places, facts, and figures in the Bible with our human intellect. A person who doesn't even know the Lord can acquire that type of knowledge. But when it comes to spiritual truth, we must make the switch to a whole different way of learning.

Years and years can be spent trying to learn spiritual truth with the human intellect, which results in never getting past the cold letter of the word that ministers death (2Cor.3:6). Jesus said, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63). Only the Holy Spirit can break the Bread of Life and feed it to our spirit.

Sincere Christians can come up with plenty of good sounding advice and back it up with Bible verses; but if it comes from the letter of the word, it will only cause pain to the Bride of Christ. It is tragic when a minister of the gospel thinks he is helping others when he is really hurting them, because he operates in the flesh by using the letter of the word. Are you going to settle for the teachings of a man when you can receive revelatory truth from the Spirit of God?!

The Bride of Christ must be more careful when she seeks the help of others. She has this habit of wanting to trust everyone. She must remember that even the most trustworthy saint still has a human nature that can deceive him into operating in the flesh.

Many people automatically trust anyone who is labeled a minister, and ministers can be the most deceitful people of all. Some who claim to be ministers of the gospel are nothing but false shepherds who deliberately try to lure the sheep out of their resting place so they can get at them. Jeremiah the prophet said, "My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray . . . they have forgotten their restingplace" (Jer.50:6).

These false shepherds will dress in religious robes, display their ordination papers, speak in an oratorical voice, stand at the church doorway after a service shaking hands and doing a lot of other things to create a good image, when underneath all of that showmanship, they are nothing but spiritual wife beaters, spiritual child molesters, and enemies of the cross. They are wolves in sheep's clothing. It is time they are exposed, especially since many of the children they are spiritually molesting are young believers, and the wife they are spiritually beating on is the Bride of Christ.

You may say, "Well, my minister would never do anything like that; he cares for us, he looks after us very well, he is our spiritual leader." Don't expect false shepherds to appear as wild-eyed, demon-possessed monsters. They will have all the appeal that one would expect a minister to have. The Bible says, "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve" (2Cor.11: 13-15).

They will become your friends. You will invite them into your homes for dinner. Many of them are skillful in other areas than preaching: they will help you fix your car, build your house, or operate your computer. Some have athletic abilities and will join you in sporting events. You will feel privileged to be so closely involved with a minister, and, naturally, you will take him or her into your confidence, which makes it easy for them to deceive you and move you out of your resting place.

Not all of these false shepherds have a ministerial tag on them. Some are called deacons, elders, Bible teachers, prophets, or evangelists; but perhaps the most appropriate name for them is "watchmen." Beware of them, they are dangerous. I have seen in real life--as well as in my dream--what harm they do to the Bride of Christ.

You may be wondering how the Bride could get moved away so easily from her stronghold to an area where she becomes prey for her enemies. Picture in your mind the lovely Bride walking close to her Almighty Bridegroom. That is the place where she should be and where He wants her to be; but the choice is hers either to stay in that secure, joyful position or to wander out in the darkness. Christ will not place a ball and chain on His Bride; she is free to make her own decisions. He will guide but not control her; she is not a robot. Unfortunately she has used her freedom to make bad choices.

Jesus said, "In the world ye shall have tribulation" (John 16:33). We should be prepared to have our faith tested; yet when it is, we often become remorseful and draw away from the other members of the family of God and even away from the Lord. When those faith-testing clouds began to roll across the life of the Bride of Christ, she did not feel the spiritual high she had become accustomed to and quickly reverted to her old way of walking by sight instead of by faith. She tried with her human reasoning to understand why she was going through such a hard, dark time. Her natural compass pointed to her difficult circumstances, and her carnal mind looked at them and said to her, "Your Husband has left you!" Because she was no longer walking in faith, she forgot the promise of her Bridegroom when He vowed never to leave nor forsake her (Heb.13:5).

It was easy for her to switch off her faith and put her emotions in the driver's seat. She began to pour out her complaints to anyone who would listen. She received some sympathy, then craved for more and more human attention, and actually got to enjoy her depression, wanting to share it with everyone she met.

Now the beautiful Bride of Christ began to slip off her robe of righteousness and reveal her flesh. There she was, publicly exposing herself, broadcasting her weaknesses, doubts and feelings. Instead of looking upward and confessing her faith, she looked inward and expressed her doubts. There she was, walking down the street, crying out, "Where did I go wrong? Why did my Husband leave me? Why doesn't God answer my prayers?"

The Bible describes her as saying, ". . . I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not" (S. of S. 3:1). She didn't find Him because she was walking in the wrong direction. She had access to the throne of God where she could come boldly to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb.4:16), but she chose another road to go on. It was the intellectual route, the highway of humanness--not the road of faith.

As the Bride left her resting place, she said, "I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not" (S. of S. 3:2). What is the beautiful Bride doing in a place like that, walking down a city street, exposing her flesh, looking for sympathy, and saying, "Where is my Husband?!"

It did not take her long to run into danger for she went right into the hands of the "watchmen" who had been looking for her. This encounter is described in the Song of Solomon: "The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?" (S. of S. 3:3). It was like a straying sheep asking a wolf the whereabouts of the shepherd.

Beware of these watchmen; they are all over the place, and they are watching you! They watch where you go to church, they watch what clothes you wear (recently a pastor in my hometown told the women in his church how long their dresses should be and that they should never wear slacks), they watch what you read, and they watch your every move.

They keep a close eye on your pocketbook and try to bind you into an Old Testament regulation of tithing, rather than a better way of being ready to give when and as the Lord leads. Jesus said to keep your giving a secret between you and your Heavenly Father (Mat.6:4); how you give is none of your pastor's business!

They are also called "keepers of the walls." Perhaps they are given that name because they try to regulate your spiritual strength as a wallkeeper regulates the water that flows through the gates in the wall of a dam. This is how the Bride tells of her encounter with them: "The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me" (S. of S. 5:7).

These wallkeepers want to see your flesh. They will try to take away your veil by stripping off your spiritual clothing. They will try to rip off your garments of salvation by telling you that if you sin after you are saved you will lose your salvation. They will try to tear off your robe of righteousness by suggesting to you that if you were right with God, you would not have any evil thoughts or be tempted to do wrong.

That robe of righteousness was given to you by Jesus, your Bridegroom, on the day you were joined to Him by the power of God. He purchased that robe for you with His blood. Are you going to let these watchmen get their grubby hands on something so sacred that belongs to you?

While the Bible teaches that Christ is our righteousness (Isa.54:17), these false teachers, after stripping you and inspecting your flesh, will want to cover you up with the filthy rags of trying to obtain righteousness by your own works rather than the work of Christ on the cross. These enemies of the cross will lay out a road map of do's and don'ts for the Bride of Christ whom they themselves have disrobed and caused to stumble.

These blind guides are quick to judge everyone except themselves. They do not know the meaning of the word mercy, especially when they speak of God. They give the impression that your Heavenly Father is sitting up in Heaven, just waiting to catch a child of His doing something wrong so that He can disown that child and cast him into everlasting damnation. These vipers will accuse anyone who is preaching the grace of God of giving people a license to sin, when it is the grace of God that keeps them from sinning (Jude 24).

These watchmen will appear outwardly to be bold as lions, but they are extremely insecure on the inside. That is why they have such a need to control others. They are constantly on the prowl for lambs (young believers) who have not learned to feed themselves on the Word of God.

These boldfaced tyrants who claim to be shepherds, protecting the sheep, are really lonely, frightened, pathetic people who are afraid of losing the few friends they may have. They are terrified of losing their congregations because that would cut off their financial support; they do not want to trust God to supply their needs. But at the root of their insecurity is the fear they have of losing their own salvation. Which is something that should never enter the mind of a child of God!

Are you going to allow the watchmen to quench your thirst for Living Water by drinking from a river polluted with their manmade doctrines? Are you going to let them spoil your appetite for the Bread of Life by spoon-feeding you with their "letter of the word" teachings? Remember that Jesus said, ". . . beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees" (Mat.16:6). Some Christians think it is all right to mix just a little legalistic leaven into the teaching of the grace of God; but the Bible says, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (Gal.5:9).

And what about your inheritance? Are you going to appoint one of these spiritual watchmen to be the executor-trustee of that? Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you" (John 14:27). Will you let this gift pass through the worldly watchmen's hands on its way to you? Jesus also said, "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full" (John 15:11). Are you going to let the wallkeepers regulate the flow of the Lord's joy that goes into your heart?

The Bible says that God will give you wisdom if you ask for it (Jas.1:5). Are you going to let God's gift of wisdom be filtered through the minds of these watchmen? And what about the greatest gift of all that is in your inheritance, eternal life, which is given to you the moment you are joined to Christ? Are you going to let the watchmen fool around with that?

Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24). Are you going to let the watchmen get you to doubt your salvation? Are you going to let them place you under guilt and condemnation? Good grief! If they try to do that, tell them to get out of your life!

If you ask these blind guides for directions, they will try to shove you off the highway of life and faith onto the road of death and despair. When you ask them for spiritual advice, you are opening the door for them to enter into your resting place where they will come between you and the Lord; and they will be like the wicked little doctor in my dream who was standing on the couch, staring and slashing away at the naked flesh of the Bride of Christ.

Beware. I cannot warn you enough about these watchmen; they are everywhere. They have crept into your churches, Bible study groups, prayer meetings, and other fellowship gatherings. They hide under a facade of good works or behind a curtain of spiritual gifts, while they are lusting after the beautiful Bride of Christ. It is time to smoke these varmints out in the open where they can be spotted, which is an easy thing to do.

Want to help? Simply stay away from your church or fellowship and all its activities for a few weeks. This includes Bible studies, prayer meetings, fellowship suppers--the works--everything. I am not suggesting that you remain away from these activities permanently, but just that you take a short break from them.

If you do withdraw from all these activities, some will miss you and be truly concerned about your health and welfare, but others will accuse you of backsliding. Just give them all the same answer: that you have decided to spend some time in quietness--alone with the Lord. (And really do that.) Then watch their reaction.

The ones who enjoy a close relationship with the Lord themselves will understand what you are doing and be an encouragement to you. But your actions will provoke the watchmen, because they fear losing control over you. They will come after you and try to place a guilt trip on you. If they refuse to leave you alone, use your God-given authority and say to them: "SPOIL NOT MY RESTING PLACE!" (Prov.24:15)

Once you smoke out the watchmen and the wallkeepers, you will be surprised at the number of them and who they are. And when they are no longer blocking the view, you will see that there are many fine ministers and all kinds of workers for the Lord who are a real blessing to have around.

They have been through the refining fires and have come out unsinged. Many of them have been slandered, mistreated, and unappreciated; still they go on year after year preaching the gospel, praying for the sick, and teaching others how to become established in the grace of God.

They will not try to control you or tell you to listen to them; they will encourage you to listen to the Lord. They will not try to gain a following, but urge people to follow Christ. They will continue on with the work they have been called to do, doing what they can, with or without financial support, because they realize they have been chosen and ordained by God and have faith to believe that He will supply all of their needs "according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Phil.4:19).

When we break away from the control of the watchmen, we must be careful not to separate ourselves from the true followers of Christ. God's people need one another; that is the way He meant it to be. We need to be united, not divided. The family of God is not held together by man's religious establishments but rather by love for God and love for one another. True fellowship does not come by participating in activities and programs designed by man; it comes by walking in the Light of Christ! (1John 1:7)

The watchmen and the wallkeepers will try to preserve their establishments and keep their followers together by binding them with many different kinds of religious cords. It is amazing how so many Christians are deceived by a worldly imitation of fellowship and a false security in religious systems.

Discerning between the true and the false shepherds is vital for the security of the Bride of Christ. Also, to be able to identity those who mean well but insist on operating in the flesh. And most important of all is that she removes herself from the hands of the watchmen and places herself in the mighty hand of our Heavenly Father, who is the one and only DIVINE WATCHMAN.

He is the only One who has the ability to protect us in every way from all evil. He never fails. He is described in the Bible as the Sleepless Watchman: "Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep" (Ps.121:4). Your Heavenly Father loves you with an everlasting love, and He wants you to live in the protection of His security; but He will not force you to live there because you are free to choose whose protection you want to rely upon.

God longs to protect us, that is His will; but due to our stubbornness in making wrong choices, His will is not always done here on earth as it is in Heaven. How often does He want to gather His children as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings . . . but we "would not" (Mat.23:37). Just think of the protection He has available for you. The host of Heaven is assigned to protect and help you all during your walk through life here on earth. The Bible says, "For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone" (Ps.91:11,12).

If you have any reservations about the ability of angels to hold you up, well . . . consider that underneath are the everlasting arms of the eternal God (Deut.33:27). Your Heavenly Father is well able to watch over you.

Just as the Bride of Christ has the freedom to make wrong choices, she also has the freedom to choose that which is right. She can avoid the worldly watchmen and stay close to the Lord. She can refrain from operating in the flesh and live a life of faith.

There in my dream was the Mighty Bridegroom, sitting in the Bride's resting place with His strong right arm extended toward her. ALL SHE NEEDED TO DO WAS TO MOVE OVER AND GET CLOSE TO HIM!!!