A vision of God’s glory and the Unity of the Church
Posted by appolus on April 4, 2014
” It is amazing how unbelieving a believer can become. One might as well call Christ a liar, and His apostles false witnesses of God, as to deny that God is going to have a Body functioning in absolute unity of the Spirit, with each member in his proper place, and all members working together as one harmonious whole. Here again, there is only one reason why ” believers” refuse to believe it, and it is because we have never seen it wither in our own experience or in the history of the church…….The churches long and bitter history of disunity and strife does not prove that God’s word means disunity when it speaks of unity. If God said it, it is going to come to pass; and if Jesus prayed for it, all the devices of Satan cannot prevent the glorious fulfillment of that prayer of faith.” ( George Warnock)
I read this passage from George Warnock the other day as I was reading a small book by him a friend and brother from Canada sent me. He sent it a couple of years ago and I am just getting around to reading it. It is always exciting when God confirms a word that He gave to you and that is what the above passage was for me. The Lord burned the above truth into my spirit last year. I was out walking in the springtime last year and I came to the entry point of a path that I walk. I was amazed when I looked down the small hill. The path was gone, and had been replaced by a raging river that could not be crossed. The Spirit of God fell on me and He began to show me things.
Now first let me talk about the passage that George is referring to when he said ” If Jesus prayed for it,” ( meaning the unity of the saints) for this is the Scripture the Lord burned into my soul as He gave me the vision. The Scripture is from John 17…………..
” Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which believe in me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou , Father art in me and I in thee, that they may also be one in us; that the world may believe that thou has sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them that they may be one even as we are one; I in them and them in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may now that thou has sent me, and has loved them as thou loved me.”
And the Lord asked me if I believed that. Did I believe that? Do you believe that? And so the vision. The vision was of the Church. In the natural I was looking at my path which was now gone, swallowed up by spring time flood waters. All the landmarks were gone. The small creek that meandered beside the path, its path defined by the landscape, was gone. In the spirit the small creek represented the Church as we know it. In the natural the confining banks no longer existed, and the mighty river was flattening everything and re-creating the landscape, such was its power. Everything that was not anchored or deeply lodged was simply swept away. In the spirit this represented the Church of God visible in one-ness. One Body, one Church , one Christ, One glory. The banks and the landscape could not contain it and it began to flow straight and it had immense power. It could not be stopped. This brothers and sisters, is a vision of the Church coming out. Coming out of what? Coming out of everything that is not of God. And as it does, as it rises up and overwhelms the banks that has contained it for 2000 years, the banks being the confining work of men and their own kingdoms and denominations , it begins to gather enormous power. Finally, it begins to flow as one, as it has always been designed to do, and as God said it would and as Jesus prayed in faith to the Father for.
Do you believe it? Can you see it? Is the Spirit even now speaking to you? Believe it brothers and sisters, not because I tell you or anyone else tells you but believe it because it is written and therefore will come to pass before the Lord returns. And why will it come to pass? ” That they may be made perfect in one and that the world will know that you sent me and loved them as you have loved me.” So you see brothers and sisters it is for the perfecting of the saints and for a witness to the world. “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph 4:11-13)
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Mat 24:13-14) You see brothers and sisters, it is for a witness to the world, it is so that the world will know that God sent His son. Can we say that Christendom has been a witness to the world? Has it not in fact been quite the opposite? Marked by factions and strife and division. A mosaic and labyrinth of denominational walls and vanity and disunity. This is not the Church of the high priestly prayer of John 17 or the promise of Matt 24. It comes down to this, will Jesus’ words come to pass? When the river begins to rise up, and it is rising brothers and sisters, will you join it? Will you leave the well-worn meandering creek that has been contained by its bank that has been shaped by its landscape?
Will you join with a mighty rushing river that recognizes no containment but is simply swept along with the force of the Spirit? This one-ness is coming, even now it begins. The Church will be one before the Lord comes back. Of course their will be counterfeit unity, and it will be at the expense of the Truth. The counterfeit unity will seek to be identified in a one-ness with the world. The genuine unified Body will be a mighty remnant of believers who refuse to be identified with anything other than Jesus, no matter the cost. The Truth standing upon the foundation of love is the bedrock of the mighty flowing river of God which flows straight and true, back to the heart of the Father from where it originated.
Like a mighty flooding river
That overflows its banks
Flood the deepest parts of me
And fill me up with thanks
With love and grace and mercy Lord
Flood my heart this day
And with your mighty torrents Lord
Wash my sins away
Wash away the boundaries Lord
That speaks to who I am
Redefine me with your love
When you release your mighty dam
Where once there was a quiet creek
Rise up and overflow
May I become a river deep
And may this river ever grow
And everywhere this river goes
That flows from Calvary
Would wash men in your love and grace
Rise up and set men free
A Call To The Remnant 
Allan Halton said
Greetings, Frank, George’s writings have been a great inspiration to me as well over the years. What you wrote reminds me of a vision I once heard. In the vision the man saw a great dam. The water behind the dam had been building, building, building, for a long time; the pressure was immense, so much so that the dam could no longer contain the waters; it was ready to burst. Below the dam were many unsuspecting structures– some of them were teetering and ready to collapse; others one would fear to enter, for they had not been built according to the building code; they were dangerous to be in; others were play houses children had made… and so on. And, unaware, unmindful, of the building waters, and the pressure on the dam, the people in these structures below the dam were happily carrying on their busy activities day after day. Then suddenly without warning the dam broke with a mighty force and swept them all away.
Just like the stream you saw that had broken over all its banks. This is before us– a mighty move of the Spirit that has been building, building, building… and that is going to sweep away all the present denominational structures of the church, as well as their efforts at ecumenical unity, and bring forth such a fearsome unity that it will cause the world to believe, and tremble. And this is the very reason why God will bring this unity into being– because of His love for the world– “that the world may believe.” “Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water…” (Psalm 65:9).
It is a wonderful hope, Frank– the hope of seeing the River of God no longer a puny little creek, but FULL of water, and flowing forth to enrich and bless the earth. Visit us with this, dear Lord, for Your own Name’s sake!
appolus said
Hi bro Allan, I too have been blessed by bro George’s writings. The main difference I suppose between what George believes and what i believe the Lord showed me is that the Lord is raising a remnant people who will be led like lambs to the slaughter. The glory of God will manifested in a persecuted people whom the anti-christ will do his best to wipe out, and will almost succeed but the Lord intervenes. This of course is a very different view that those who have a dispensational view or a domninionist opinion………….bro Frank
Allan Halton said
Hi Frank, just to clarify, having known George personally for many years, I know he definitely does not maintain a dispensational or dominionist stance. In fact he would be in total agreement with you– that “the Lord is raising a remnant people who will be led like lambs to the slaughter.” Yet in these same ones the glory of God will be manifested in resurrection life. Revelation Ch. 11, I think, gives us some insight on this. Here is a company of people (set forth as “the two witnesses”) walking in great power and victory, yet once their testimony is accomplished, they are “apparently” overcome and slain. But that is not the end of the story.
gospelfellowships said
I believe not every brother saw the entire picture clearly, we are all different parts and callings in the body and will not see all things the same but together it fits together as the vision of the Lord for the end times. May brother George be like a Simeon who was waiting for God’s New thing in the earth and may he see it in his days starting.
Allan Halton said
Amen, brother Greg. “We know in part…”
appolus said
Amen Allan, so glad to hear that. I think with what is going on with the latter rain folks and the Ihop people who are looking to emerge as leaders of every aspect of society, it is good to distinguish. Thank you for the clarity bro Allan. I also agree with what bro Greg says about not all seeing things the same way. What I have seen is the suffering remnant bringing glory to God in the midst of their suffering, truly the martyrs to come…………………bro Frank
Tim said
Would that not be the River Ezekiel saw?
appolus said
It could be Tim, the overall context could be the same because obviously the Lord wants us to be swept in this river, not just ankle deep nor waist deep but to be fully immersed into a river of life that brings life into everything that it touches and eventually leads down to a dead sea and brings life to that which is dead. The remnant of God, the Church becoming visible is directly before the Lord returns…………..bro Frank
gospelfellowships said
I believe as brother Frank it will be world-wide, God is already starting to manifest His true body in unity were there is extreme persecution from the enemy.
Martin said
Yes indeed. The Lord is at work joining those of the same heart and those who seek to be of one accord. The one you sit next to in church who is nominally your brother, may not actually be your brother. On one level maybe. These are the days of gradation. Of inner circles and outer circles within the Kingdom. Those who seek Christ Himself and are yielding to the deep processes of being fully conquered by Him as opposed to those who have drawn their line and will go no deeper, no further. But be assured, Christ is the centre. The Almighty has placed Him as the immovable and uncompromising centre of all things created. As Steve Gallagher said at the Sermon Index conference in 2012, the Father is now intent on finding those who will allow absolutely everything to be laid down and for Him to take full possession of lives and hearts. Full sons. Those who will not shrink back or allow themselves to be conformed into a counterfeit and inferior version of the Bride. Yet, this is what He is getting offered today. An entirely separate, spiritually deformed and harlot Bride. Is He going to fully consummate Himself to this? Never. He will never defile Himself. Such a thing is unthinkable.The Spirit of the Lord is not hindered by denominational, man-made walls or any if the institutionalised church systems. He is joining and it is this joining by the Holy Spirit which is the embryonic seed of the true unity which now emerges. He is seeking and calling out His true Bride. For those people pleasers seeking to be part of an inner circle within the false church systems, they are building their house on sand. It is and will continue to be shown up for what it is. There is a big difference between the inner circle of the Kingdom, who is Christ, and the inner circles of the false earthly systems, including those of the apostate church.
martin joseph said
Typo..seventh line up from the bottom line.. ..”or any of (not if) the institutionalised…”
Rich Kelley said
A different take on your vision
The path was made by you, or other believers that walk it. It was a very familiar path, you expected it to just be there when you went to walk it. The flood waters are made by God. The flood waters are to destroy and wash away the paths that believers have made on their own. The waters are not something to get caught up in or you may be swept away with the Judgment of God. There are many paths that lead to destruction, God will allow you to make a path of your choosing for only so long. The brick and mortar building with hirelings is not the church, and never has been. There is no clergy and laity in the Kingdom of God. Believers have been told to come out from among them for thousands of years. The yoked walk with Christ is a gentle one, not a flooding river of destruction. The called out ones, the Ecclesia, the body of Christ that pick up their cross daily will be on a narrow path that Christ has made. He will lead us to living waters. The “Church” is going to have a massive falling away, and in the end there will only be a remnant that remain. Only the forward looking God can see who these remnant will be, let us pray that we will be part of the faithful called out ones that remain till the last day.
appolus said
Hi Rich, the river is more like the river of Ezekiel, and the vision s for God’s remnant children. The truth is that the religious systems of the world will not be swept away, in fact they will get stronger and morph into the great whore church of the end days. The great falling away is already well underway. I agree that the path that leads to life is a narrow one and that the remnant . As for your take on my vision,” It was a very familiar path, you expected it to just be there when you went to walk it.” I have never expected that Rich. The river that I saw was the river of God. It was the Body of Christ rising up and out of the banks of denominationalism that has stifled the true Body of Christ. God will have His remnant be a witness to the world………….bro Frank
Rich Kelley said
If you never expected that, then the vision wasn’t meant for you personally, but you did say, “the path was gone” means you had to know it was there, maybe you didn’t walk it, but you knew it was there you were looking for it, and saw that the power of God had destroyed it. Just thoughts, not a right and wrong here, just something else to think about.
What I mean by swept away, is that what once might have been a gathering of the Ecclesia, isn’t anymore it is being allowed by God to be over come by their fleshly desires. God is judging the institutional church, like Babylon the believers need to come out of it, God is sweeping his judgment over it. Maybe I won’t use the term sweeping any more, sounds confusing, shouldn’t need this much explaining.
Rich
appolus said
Hi Rich, your comment made me smile, whatever that vision means to you then that is what it means to you. We do agree that God is judging the institutional church and He may judge it by allowing it to grow and grow , not just in numbers but in pride and worldliness. We further agree that God is drawing His saints away from it, God bless you Rich………….. bro Frank
Berean said
This dialogue is very encouraging for it already shows a growing maturity and oneness in the body. I too see in George Warnock a prophet for our time. I just want to add though another vision to compliment all that is being said. My wife was given this vision some 38 years ago after we had just escaped the Church of Rome in which we’d both been raised and had been led to attend a true spirit-filled Episcopal Church (I know it sounds like an contradiction). One day, as my wife was making the bed she suddenly saw Jesus sitting on a hillside looking down into a valley filed with steepled churches of all denominations. Slowly Jesus turned to her with tears in his eyes and said, “I’m not in there.” I took us several years to understand that Jesus was not in the entire Institutional Church system, Even though we had been led to this Bible-teaching church in Darien, Conn. (St Paul’s) it was but a stepping stone. Six months later he led me to quit my job and go to Bible college with my family of six where I discovered how Greek philosophy separated the church from its Hebraic roots in the early centuries. So yes, step one is to come out of her my people. And step to is to unleaven our minds from all the many doctrinal errors Christians have latched on to over the centuries. And step three is “to make straight the way of the Lord.” For he is coming for a bride without spot or wrinkle.