The Jebusites
First posted: June 05, 2004
This is the second article in a series of 7 articles on the 7 "categories" of evil spirits that the Scriptures describe. This article will focus on the "Jebusites". It is very important to understand how each of these evil spirits operates in order to recognize if our hearts are currently "infected" with any of them, and to recognize them in the hearts of others. These spirits are real, and their effects in people's lives are devastatingly real, so it is important to recognize their modus operandi.
Since entire books could be written on each type of evil spirit, we could not possibly cover each type completely in a single article. Each article in this series, therefore, will serve as a brief overview of each type of spirit. God willing, we will post future articles that will expand on each of these types of spirits.
Throughout this series, whenever we refer to a "Jebusite", for example, we may be referring to a Jebusite spirit or to a person "infected" with that type of spirit.
Index
What's in a name?
A great deal can be inferred directly from the meaning of the word "Jebusite". As we mentioned in the first article of this series (under the section "The 7 types of evil spirits"), "Jebusite" means "thresher", which refers to the agricultural activity of beating grain out of the husk. This was usually done through animals such as oxen who were used to tread on the grain that was laid out over a "threshing-floor". From this we can infer that Jebusite spirits, being "threshers", are spirits that tread or "stomp" on other people. People whose hearts are "infected" by Jebusite spirits tend to be people who do not hesitate to put down and humiliate others. By stomping on people, Jebusites make a concerted effort to prevent them from growing taller. They like to make people feel small, and deliberately put them down any time they see these "small" people trying to establish their authority. Jebusites believe that certain people are inherently inferior, without a right to manifest any kind of authority. According to Jebusites, "small" people should just shut up and concede, because they are nobodies who will never amount to much. As some of you might already be thinking, the spirit of racism is a Jebusite spirit. Jebusites are enforcers of social castes.
Unfortunately, the Church is currently swarmed by Jebusites. In the past, these Jebusites took the form of legalistic believers who preached a "gospel" of "Pharisaic" rules and regulations, where believers were taught to abide by and obey these regulations, without being told of their potential in Christ. Passages in Isaiah chapters 7 through 10 indicate that God had prophesied thousands of years ago that this legalistic spirit (represented by Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel) would be defeated and be replaced by a gospel more focused on our grace in Christ (represented by the king of Assyria). Isaiah chapters 9 and 10 show, however, that the "king of Assyria" would outstay his welcome, and that this gospel that was more "grace-aware" would degenerate into a "gospel" without justice and judgment, a "gospel" where iniquity was tolerated, and where mercy without truth would be the normal practice (God willing, we will study these passages in Isaiah in greater detail in a future article). Since this grace-aware gospel deviated from God's nature, it acted like an antibiotic that partially kills the virus, but leaves enough of it so that it can mutate and become a strain of the virus more resistant to antibiotics than before. This is precisely what happened to the Jebusite spirit.
The Jebusite spirit is still swarming the Church, like a bad fly infestation, but not in its previous "legalistic" strain. It now takes a subtler, less conspicuous form. The Jebusite spirit now preaches a "gospel" where the Body of Christ is divided into two main castes, "ministers", and "laymen". The "ministers" are the full-time pastors and their "church staff". The "laymen" are the "regular" church-going folk who do not hold a major position in the church "hierarchy". These so-called "ministers" become the spiritual gurus of the Church, and they are there to assist the less spiritually-inclined "laymen" who don't have the time or capability to hear directly from God, and, who, therefore, are spiritually ignorant in comparison to the "ministers". A relationship of dependency is thereby established between these two spiritual castes, where the laymen surrender their spiritual authority to the ministers. Since the ministers are the only ones who can be relied on to really hear from God, everything the pastor says or does becomes the law of the land, and any layman who dares to question the teachings or the orders of the pastor (or any of his ordained staff) is automatically reprimanded and stomped on. "How dare anyone question the spiritual wisdom of the pastor?", the Jebusites say, adding,
"Haven't you read Romans chapter 13? You are supposed to submit to authority; just obey, and you will be showered with the spiritual blessings provided by the authorities established by God. Rebel, and the covering of spiritual blessings will be taken away from you, and you will suffer the dire consequences of your disobedience."
Since this is a more "lenient" strain of the Jebusite virus than the one in the past, today's "ministers" give their "laymen" more freedoms. Young people can listen to satanic-style Heavy Metal music, as long as the lyrics are remotely "Christian". Young ladies can wear those provocative jeans and those tight tops that are so "in vogue", as long as their private parts are not "exposed", and as long as they continue to attend youth services. Choir singers can spend their entire life obsessed with their business dealings, without spending time to hear God's voice in their hearts, as long as they show up for all the choir practices and hit the notes correctly. Deacons can spread nasty rumors about other brothers and sisters, as long as they have perfect attendance in all of their deacon activities. The co-pastor and his family can watch TV programs with explicit messages promoting fornication and adultery, as long as they do not watch full-blown pornography, and as long as he fulfills all of his co-pastoral responsibilities at church. All of this is allowed, but watch out if anyone dares to question the pastor's vision. That would be a sin!!! "Just submit yourself and receive your blessings from your minister", is the battle cry of the modern-day Jebusite.
Submission unto eternal life
Please don't misunderstand me. From the section above, some might conclude that I do not believe in submission, but I do believe in having a submissive spirit. The Word calls us to submit our entire being to God. If God tells you to do a back flip, you must do it. If God calls you to stand on your head and drink a glass of water, you must do it. We must be willing to do anything God tells us to do. We are to present a submissive and meek heart before God. We are to be like clay that God can mold into anything He wants. In our submission to Him, we will also submit to man when we discern the voice of God speaking through that man (or woman):
"27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30I and my Father are one." (John 10:27-30)
As His sheep, we all have the capability to discern His voice and to know when God is speaking through man, as opposed to when natural man is speaking "in the name of God". As His sheep, we all have access to eternal life, which, as we have briefly discussed in previous articles, is more than just escaping from hell but is, according to Scripture, the reward of being made One with God for eternity (something that is not automatically ensured when you are born again). This is why the Lord ends the passage above (v30) with the statement, "I and My Father are One". Some might argue that only Jesus had the right to say this, but notice what Jesus says after verse 30:
"31Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. 34Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 35If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;" (John 10:31-35)
Here, the Lord calls you, fellow believer, "a god". Some might insist here that the word "god" must be written with a lowercase "g", but, please remember that the original text of all the New Testament books was written entirely in lowercase Greek letters, so any discussion over the "g" being a lowercase or an uppercase "g" is completely pointless. Such senseless discussions are derived from the fact that most believers are not aware of the tremendous implications of calling yourself a "son of God" or a "daughter of God". A dog's "descendants" are all dogs. A cat's "descendants" are all cats. A horse's "descendants" are all horses. So what can you expect God's descendants to be? If the answer to this question is much too troubling to us, we should stop calling ourselves "sons of God"!! In John 17, the Lord adds the following:
"21That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one" (John 17:21-22)
Notice how Jesus is now saying that we have the opportunity to be One with the Father, just as He is One with Him. And notice how Jesus even dares to say that we may share in God's Glory!!! But notice what the Lord said through Isaiah:
"8I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images." (Isaiah 42:8)
Is this a contradiction of what the Lord said in John 17:22? Since God does not share His Glory with anyone, no one can share in God's Glory outside of Him. This implies that the only way for Isaiah 42:8 and John 17:22 to be true at the same time is if we have an opportunity to be made One with God. This is the essence of eternal life, and this is why John 17 begins with the following passage:
"1These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:1-3)
Eternal life, according to verse 3, is to know the "One true God", which means, to know Him in His Truth and His Oneness (Deut 6:4), which in turn means, to be made One with Him in justice and judgment (because, as we mentioned in a previous article, truth is intimately connected to justice and judgment).
How can a believer ever come to know God and be made One with Him if he or she is constantly being told that the only one who can hear the voice of God is the pastor? Can you say you know someone if you cannot recognize his voice? Can you really know someone who never talks to you? Can you really know someone who chooses to speak to you only through intermediaries who are "more worthy" than you are?
Jebusites do not understand that all believers have access to eternal life. Jebusites are very good at placing restrictions. They are good at limiting the lives of others, at telling them what they can't do, but they are very bad at teaching people about their potential, about all that they can be and do. Today's Jebusites have granted the "common" believer many freedoms in the secular arena, but continue to reserve spiritual freedom and potential for a selected few.
Jebusites do not understand that God operates by "death and resurrection". He first kills all that is contrary to Him through the Word of Judgment, which acts as a sword that comes to destroy all that is opposed to His nature in us (Hebrews 4:12), and then He resurrects us to a new nature in Him. This process of "death and resurrection" operates in us throughout our entire life on Earth. Jebusites understand the "death" part very well, but haven't quite grasped the "resurrection" part, because they consider "small" believers to be unworthy of that resurrection life:
"12Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 16For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 17And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." (1 Corinthians 15:12-19)
"Resurrection life" is more than just being "alive" in Heaven after physical death. Fullness of resurrection life is to be made One with God, the Source and Author of Life Himself.
Contrary to the Jebusite's belief, the condition for "growth-potential" in the Spirit is not a full-time pastoral ministry certified by some recognizable "spiritual" organization, but rather a heart submissive to God's will, a heart that desires to live under God's constant judgments:
"16And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 19Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 20The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 22But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions." (Matthew 19:16-22)
When the young man asked Jesus how he could enter into eternal life, Jesus did not ask him to repeat the sinner's prayer. He told him to keep the commandments. Jesus then proceeded to list 6 commandments. When the young man replied that he had kept all 6, Jesus did not say, "Liar, you do not keep them". Instead, He gave him a final commandment, commandment number 7, which was to sell everything he had, give to the poor, and follow Him. The number 6 in Scripture generally represents human effort, since man is to work 6 days and rest on the 7th day (in a spiritual sense, of course). This means that, in order to enter eternal life, there is an element of human effort involved, but the task can only be completed by God. There is a part of the process where we must rest and allow God to work, and this is done by yielding to God. When Jesus asked the young man to sell his possessions, He was asking him to yield what was most precious to his heart. In other words, we can only enter eternal life through a submissive heart that yields all to God and is willing to follow Him wherever He takes us. We are called to die on the 7th day, so that we may resurrect on the 8th day, just as Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week following His death (Matthew 28:1-10).
Notice that Jesus did not tell the young man that the key element to eternal life was to submit to the priest at his local synagogue. The key to eternal life is to follow Jesus, not natural man. And, since we are supposed to know the voice of Jesus (John 10:27), we should be able to know when the pastor (or any human being on Earth) is speaking in the Spirit or not. When a pastor, or the young kid that sits next to you at church, is telling you something in the Spirit, you should obey, because it is God speaking. If the pastor, however, speaks something that is contradictory to what God has revealed to your heart, you should not obey, because we are called to fear God more than man.
Jebusite-provoked lameness
In Acts chapter 3, Peter and John healed a lame man at the temple who begged by the gate called "The Beautiful":
"1Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. 2And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; 3Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. 4And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. 5And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. 6Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. 7And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 9And all the people saw him walking and praising God: 10And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. 11And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering." (Acts 3:1-11)
The concept of beauty is very much related to "grace", so this lame man represents all believers who have been left lame by the Jebusites and who don't realize that they are so close to the "gate of grace". Many believers are spiritually incapacitated, begging for the mercy of some "minister" who will come and give them some "alms" of spiritual blessing, without understanding that they themselves can have access to God's grace and a direct relationship with God. This grace does not refer to access to God in order to simply get things from God, as some believers think. This grace is in order to know God as a Father and as a Friend, to be One with Him, and to manifest His power and Glory on Earth (wouldn't you hate it if your children only approached you when they were interested in getting something from you?). This grace is to share in God's divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4) and to manifest that nature on Earth. That is worth more than all the silver and gold in the world.
Right before Peter and John healed the lame man in the name of Jesus, verse 7 declares that Peter took him by the right hand and lifted him. Notice how this is the opposite of what a Jebusite does, since Jebusites are bent on putting people down, not on lifting them up. Notice also that this lift went beyond an "emotional" lift. Christians are not supposed to be spiritual "cheerleaders". The word "Christian" comes from the Greek word meaning "anointed", so Christians should be men and women that impart a prophetic anointing on people that projects them to the prophetic calling God has for them. That anointing is to be a real thing, a real substance in the spirit world. It is not emotional positivism. It is not soulish fluff.
After the lame man was healed, he walked, and entered with them into the temple (v8). This means that a true apostolic and prophetic anointing (represented by Peter and John respectively) enables fellow believers to walk on their own, ending their dependency on others. The lame man was now free to enter the temple and praise God on his own (v8). He entered into a direct relationship with God, and the Jebusites strongly oppose this type of direct relationship. This is why, the Spirit records the following passage in the chapter following the healing of the lame man:
"1And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, 2Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. 4Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand." (Acts 4:1-4)
Notice how it grieved the "spiritual" authorities to see the disciples teaching the people and preaching the resurrection from the dead. Jebusites believe that "the people" are second-class spiritual citizens who don't deserve spiritual impartation, because such freedom and potential is too "dangerous" in the hands of "plebeians". Jebusites believe that certain people should lay down on the ground and stay there. As we said above, they believe in the "killing" part, but not in the "resurrecting" part. They forget that the wheat is threshed in order to manifest the grain inside the husk, not to destroy the wheat:
"23Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech. 24Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground? 25When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in their place? 26For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him. 27For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod. 28Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen. 29This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working." (Isaiah 28:23-29)
The wheat is not to stay on the ground to be threshed forever (v28). After God produces death through His Word of Judgment, He unleashes resurrection power so that what was sown in death (the grain) may come to life:
"And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:" (1 Corinthians 15:37)
As we see in the verse above, your life must be sown in order to be resurrected. If judgment comes on a person who refuses to hand over his or her life as a seed and who literally "holds on for dear life", God will have nothing to resurrect, because there can be no harvest where there is no seed:
"Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it." (Luke 17:33)
An example of Godly rebellion
After the healing of the lame man, 5000 were converted to the Lord (Acts 4:4). The number 5 in Scripture is generally associated with "grace to minister"; this is why 5 ministries are listed in Ephesians 4:11 and why we have 5 fingers in each hand, since our hands are designed to serve or "minister" to others. The number 1000 in Scripture is generally associated with "abundance beyond measure". Therefore, since 5000 equals 5 times 1000, the 5000 converts are a prophetic figure of the abundance beyond measure of people to whom God wants to impart a grace to minister in these latter days. While the Jebusites are out to restrict this grace to a select few, God is out to impart it to all of His people, and all those who are willing to receive it will receive this impartation, and there will be many who will receive it in these latter days.
Notice how the spiritual authorities of Peter and John's days reacted to the 5000 converts:
"5And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, 6And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 7And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? 8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel," (Acts 4:5-8)
As you can see in verse 7, Jebusites are always asking the "authorization" question. In other words, they want to know, "What recognized human leader authorized you to do this?". Jebusites demand that believers seek "pastoral covering" to do things. I once heard a prophetess on TBN (a Christian TV network) asking an audience at a spiritual conference if they had asked their pastors' permission to attend the conference. She then proceeded to tell everyone that, if they had not obtained that permission, they were in disobedience and would not receive God's blessing at the conference. What a stupid comment!!! It grieved my heart to hear such an anointed woman of God say such a foolish thing!!! As time has passed, I have seen how the Jebusite spirit has slowly drained the prophetic anointing from this woman's life. Jebusites prey on people's fear of "being in rebellion", and they have unfortunately been successful with this mighty woman of God. Prophets are designed by God to confront human authority; this is why prophets in the Old Testament constantly went before kings (anointed by God as kings) and challenged them with prophetic word from the Lord. Prophets are men and women who are not afraid to defy human structures. Prophets are the "kamikaze" corps in God's army. They are not afraid to die; they are not afraid to be stoned by the court of public opinion or to be executed by the ruling powers, so they cannot be intimidated with death threats. When a prophet loses that fearless defiance of human structures, he or she becomes useless as a prophet to God. I have seen how the mighty woman of God I mentioned above continually beats up on (i.e.- "threshes") "regular" believers from the pulpit, but I have seen her literally kneeling in submission before a renowned pastor. A prophet of God must not be a respecter of persons. He or she must confront everyone's iniquity, and must give his or her unconditional submission to no one but God, even at the risk of appearing to be "rebellious" in the sight of natural man.
In verse 8 of Acts 4 we find something most pastors prefer not to preach about. Peter, under the anointing of the Spirit, refers to the opponents of Christ as the "rulers of the people and the elders of Israel". In other words, he recognizes these men as valid authorities. He then proceeds to confront them:
"10Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. 13Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. 14And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it." (Acts 4:10-14)
Notice how Peter takes the opportunity in verse 10 to condemn the authorities as murderers of Christ when he says, "Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified". In verse 11, he declares them as "lacking in spiritual discernment" when he says that the stone that they have rejected has become God's cornerstone. In verse 12, he rejects their names, i.e.- their titles of "high priest", "elders", "rulers", and "scribes", declaring that those names do not bring salvation, since there is only one name which can redeem man's lost spiritual heritage: the name of Jesus. In other words, Peter answered their original question, "What recognized human leader authorized you to do this?" by saying,
"No recognized human leader authorized us to do this. We are doing this in obedience to a Lord whom you cannot see with your natural eyes. We have no letter of recommendation from any authority you would recognize, and even if you recognized Jesus as a human authority, He is not here in the flesh to prove to you that we have His covering. We follow a name that is above any of your names, despite the fact that I recognize you as legitimate rulers and elders of the people of Israel."
Verse 13 declares that these human leaders were stunned by the boldness of Peter and John. They were not used to "plebeians" speaking with the authority of the Spirit. Peter and John had no "covering" but the presence of God in their lives, and yet, these human leaders refused to believe in the message of these "unlearned" Galileans. They threatened them, ordering them (based on their human authority) not to speak at all or teach in the name of Jesus, but look at how Peter and John responded:
"18And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. 20For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:18-20)
In other words, they said to the authorities,
"We are not going to obey your orders, because we perceive in our spirits a message that is contrary to your human orders, and what God says to our hearts takes precedence over any human order, no matter whom that order comes from"
To make matters worse for any Jebusite reading this article, notice what the rest of the passage in Acts 4 declares:
"23And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. 24And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: 25Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? 26The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. 27For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, 28For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. 29And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, 30By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. 31And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness." (Acts 4:23-31)
In verse 25, they refer to David as "God's servant", which is a term generally used in Scripture to refer to prophets, denoting their submission to God rather than to man:
"25Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: 26Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers." (Jeremiah 7:25-26)
This means that David is being quoted in Acts 4:25-26 as a prophet submissive to God. Notice that these anointed believers quote Psalms 2:1-2 where David declares that the kings of the Earth and the rulers are gathered together against the Lord, and against His Anointed One. Doesn't this sound like a defiant condemnation of the authorities' actions? Aren't they saying that human authority is prone to act in opposition to the anointing of the Spirit? Weren't human authorities the ones that crucified Christ when He was in the flesh? Just as they did with Christ 2000 years ago, religious authorities continue to "crucify" those who speak in the anointing of the Lord, commanding them to submit to their human authority and structures. Pastors all over the world are quelling the prophetic voice of the Spirit in their congregations, because they are more afraid of a declining membership than of being outside of God's will. God is tired of these men and women who are getting in the way of His mighty revival, and you will see, over the next 10 years, how mighty judgments will begin to be unleashed upon entire congregations, and even over entire cities and nations. These judgments will tear down the cursed pastoral matriarchy that has held back the Church from fulfilling its true prophetic calling. All you Jebusites who currently rule over Jerusalem, watch out, because David is on his way:
"6And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither. 7Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David. 8And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David’s soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house. 9So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward. 10And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him." (2 Samuel 5:6-10)
Today's Jebusites are scornfully mocking God's prophetic remnant (today's David), saying that even the blind and the lame in Jerusalem can defeat David (that is what it says in the original Hebrew text of verse 6 above). Instead of being reprimanded by the Holy Spirit for defying human authority, the prophetic remnant (today's David) will receive God's confirmation in the same way that the believers of Acts 4 did. God will shake the earth (Acts 4:31), which represents the shaking of human structures to bring them down, and David will be filled with the Holy Spirit, which represents a mighty impartation of anointing upon God's prophetic remnant, causing them to speak the Word with even more boldness (Acts 4:31) against all human authority that dares to defy God's plans on the basis of its human titles and pedigree.
So much more to say
There is a great deal more to say about the Jebusites. God willing, we will be posting a future article studying the passage in 2 Samuel 24 that speaks of the threshing-floor of "Arauna the Jebusite", which is a figure of today's Church. Many of the concepts we have studied here concerning the Jebusites are reaffirmed and expanded in this passage of Scripture.
The Jebusite spirit is under God's curse, and its days are numbered. May the God of Israel not find any reader of this article with a Jebusite spirit safely residing in his (her) heart when God's visitation comes upon him (her).
[We discuss the Amorite spirit in the next article of this series...]