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The good, the bad

& the ungodly

-2-

choosing the lord’s side in the current christian civil war

Whatever is happening within The Church at large right now, is only symptomatic of issues that have been below the surface for a long time. Some have seen it & are acting accordingly. Some are blissfully unaware & are basking in torpor & indolence. If ever we needed discernment among believers it is now! Those that are perceptive, seem to be few & far between. Who are they? Where are they? The Scriptures speak of a remnant; a core group who are not in the majority. Called such, not because they’re elite, but rather because their focus & goal is Christ & Christ alone. I call them the nothingers, because The Church at large, as it is, has nothing to offer them. Yet ironically, they have something to offer The Church. It is to the nothingers that I write these articles, because soon & very soon they will be called upon. Not necessarily by man. But certainly by God. This is quite a thing.

¹⁴ Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: ¹⁵ And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute (Genesis 49:14-15).

Let’s put something to bed before we go any further. There is no such thing as the ‘Issachar Anointing’. I’ve heard the sermons. I’ve seen the books. I’ve watched the on-line clips. This erroneous codswallop attracts absent minded & self-willed individuals who are encouraged to claim callings & giftings that do not exist. Oh, …it also makes a lot of money for those who crank out this unmitigated twaddle. I’m sure that they experience a laughing anointing. All the way to the bank!

You could try The Issachar Anointing by Phillip Rich, who writes, ‘Issachar was one of the twelve tribes of Israel. They had understanding of the times and seasons. They were very sensitive to know things in the spirit. Some people say that they studied science and knew a lot of natural things but I don’t agree with that interpretation. I believe they were a very spiritual people, sensitive to God’s direction. They had some insight into things because of their sensitivity to God. The word “Issachar” means reward, compensation, benefit, salary. They were people whose lifestyle rewarded others. Your sensitivity to God is compensation to other Christians because you are able to know things in the Spirit, able to pick up things in the Spirit. You are a blessing and a benefit to other Christians.’.

If that doesn’t give you goosebumps, you could try The Soul of the Issachar Seer by Ken Cox. Ken says, ‘This time in history is unparalleled. The need to determine the seasons and times is at an all-time high. We need the Issachar gift today. Apostle Cox has put together this book for aspiring Issachar gifted prophets. "The Soul of The Issachar Seer," is a step by step process that stresses the soul development of the soul of the seer. Our soul is the key. Apostle Cox connects us with the opportunity of the now day generation Issachar prophet. "The Soul of the Issachar seer," will open you up to the possibilities and allow you to become a valued vessel of God.’.

Well what about The Issachar Anointing: Understanding Times and Seasons to Leverage Change by Kwabena Dauty Akufo? He waxes lyrical thus. ‘Do you know how to discern the significance of the times? Do you understand the times and seasons that are governing your life? Have you experienced stunted growth in an aspect of your life no matter how hard you tried? Are you able to flow with the times and seasons that are governing your life? This book will give you insights to deal with these questions and more. The Issachar Anointing is the unique anointing of the men of Issachar that enabled them to understand the times and seasons to influence and lead Israel to establish the greatest dynasty of all time, perpetuated by the kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can use the Issachar Anointing to understand the times and seasons that govern your life and then leverage the Issachar Anointing to change the times or seasons to favour you.’.

What a load of rubbish. It is faddism. It is fashionable, but it is unbiblical. The inordinate Pentecostal & Charismatic obsession with such & such spirits or such & such anointings, is nothing more or less than spiritism & mysticism.

Jacob didn’t say to Issachar, ‘..this is going to be your anointing. You’ll receive a portion of the Issachar spirit, hallelujah..’. Before there was any understanding of the times or knowledge of what to do, there was significant time of character building & consistency! The nothingers have been the donkey couched between the burdens. They’re balanced. The nothingers have found their place. They’re productive. The nothingers are yielded to the task. They’re compliant. The nothingers are slavish in their service. They’re faithful. By the time they became allied to David they were a representative minority of two hundred leaders with some 87,000 at their command; but their wisdom & knowledge outweighed their numbers.

There are those who will teach that the ‘Issachar Anointing’ can be prayed for & received from The Lord. Can it? No. Why not? Because there is no such thing. Instead, we have a majority who do not understand the times & have little or no knowledge of what should be done. No wisdom. No character. No consistency. But they will happily settle for signs. Beware of that which is experience led, but not biblically supported.

²⁴ Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word: ²⁵ But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the LORD (Psalms 106:24-25).

Not the men of Issachar. These particular men ‘..saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant.’. They were not short sighted. They carried this distinguishing trait. Do not underestimate what is written for our learning here. Nevertheless, the knowledge & understanding these men possessed caused them to become an allied resource to David. They had seen Saul’s life. They had seen his death. They had seen those around him. They had nothing in him. Nothing.

Look at Saul’s character. Look at the men who followed him.

¹ Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. ² And the Philistines followed hard after Saul, and after his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. ³ And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was wounded of the archers. ⁴ Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. ⁵And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise on the sword, and died. ⁶ So Saul died, and his three sons, and all his house died together. ⁷ And when all the men of Israel that were in the valley saw that they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, then they forsook their cities, and fled: and the Philistines came and dwelt in them (1^st Chronicles 10:1-7).

Cowardice & fear. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing new. Nothing else. Saul, Saul, Saul! He should have remained small in hie own eyes.

¹⁶ Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. ¹⁷ And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?’ (1^st Samuel 15:16-17).

The bloke didn’t even have the chutzpah to go & fight Goliath himself. He willingly let a boy go instead, while he hid in his tent, probably having his nails done. (1^st Samuel 17:37b). Saul should have been the one to step up to the fight. However, in providence David did the job, just as The Son of David would.

Beware of leaders who do not lead. Beware of teachers who do not teach. Beware shepherds who do not feed. They will take your money. They will make empty promises. They will lie to you. They will deceive you. They will make merchandise of you. No wisdom. No character. No consistency.

Look at David’s character. Look at the men who followed him.

¹ Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish: and they were among the mighty men, helpers of the war… ⁴ And Ismaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty, and over the thirty… ⁸ And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains… ¹⁵ These are they that went over Jordan in the first month, when it had overflown all his banks; and they put to flight all them of the valleys, both toward the east, and toward the west. (1^st Chronicles 12:1, 4, 8 & 15).

Do you notice the oh so subtle difference between the two sets of men? Into David’s group, YHWH places the nothingers; the men of Issachar. Hebrews 11:34 reminds us of such men. Despite their ability & prowess however, notice that they also needed knowledge & understanding. I say again, they had seen Saul’s life. They had seen his death. They had seen those around him. They had nothing in him. Nothing. If you’re a nothinger, you’ve seen this for yourself. These men are runners, not fighters. They set no example except a bad one, but they are happy for others to take the weight & take up the slack. Men such as these have the stomach for a fight, when it is necessary. They prefer to oppose rather than appease (Ephesians 5:11).

¹ Now the sons of Issachar were, Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four. ² And the sons of Tola; Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father's house, to wit, of Tola: they were valiant men of might in their generations; whose number was in the days of David two and twenty thousand and six hundred. ³ And the sons of Uzzi; Izrahiah: and the sons of Izrahiah; Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Ishiah, five: all of them chief men. ⁴ And with them, by their generations, after the house of their fathers, were bands of soldiers for war, six and thirty thousand men: for they had many wives and sons. ⁵ And their brethren among all the families of Issachar were valiant men of might, reckoned in all by their genealogies fourscore and seven thousand (1^st Chronicles 7:1-5).

¹⁷ And David went out to meet them, and answered and said unto them, If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me, mine heart shall be knit unto you: but if ye be come to betray me to mine enemies, seeing there is no wrong in mine hands, the God of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it. ¹⁸ Then the spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said , Thine are we , David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy God helpeth thee. Then David received them, and made them captains of the band (1^st Chronicles 12:17-18).

³² And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment (1^st Chronicles 12:32).

Having seen & heard these things, what do we do? Do we buy more misleading books that have been written by misleading people? Look at the landscape of The Church at large & name those who understand the times & know what should be done. I’ll wait for your emails.

Some will send me the identities of the usual suspects. Those whose prophecies fail. Those whose healings are fake. Those who twist Scripture. Those who constantly need money. Those people are liars. They are in the character of Saul, not the character of David.

Because of these things, we also need those who are in the character of the sons of Issachar. Mighty men. Men of valour. Brave men. Bold men. May The Lord deliver us from softies & lily livered scaredy cats. We need character more than we need charisma. That time isn’t coming. That time is here. The clock is ticking.

The Lord Jesus said, ‘..When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? (Matthew 16:2-3). Does this remind you of anything? He also said, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.’ (Matthew 11:28-29). The Lord wants to build believers with His character, for the task ahead. But not everyone is up for the job. Are you?

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Wednesday, 22 April 2026