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Questions & Answers

What are the 7 sins and virtues?

First posted: November 23, 2005



Do you have a list of Godly virtues? The types of sins?



7 things that God abominates

In the following passage, the Lord lists 7 things that He hates:



[In verse 17, the word "look" was translated from the Hebrew word ayin, which literally means "eye" or "spring, fountain". The word "lying" was translated from the word sheqer, which literally means "deception". Therefore, verse 17 should really say, "A proud eye, a tongue of deception, and hands that shed innocent blood".


In verse 18, the word "wicked" was translated from the Hebrew word aven, which is better translated as "iniquity" or "vanity". The word "imaginations" was translated from the Hebrew word machashabah, which literally means "thought, device, plan, invention". The word "mischief" was translated from the Hebrew word ra, which is better translated as "evil" or "affliction". Therefore, verse 18 should really say, "A heart that devises plans of iniquity, feet that make haste to run to affliction".


In verse 19, the word "false" was translated from the Hebrew word sheqer, which literally means "lie, deception". The word "speaketh" was translated from the Hebrew word puwach, which literally means "to breathe out, blow". The word "lies" was translated from the Hebrew word kazab, which literally means "lie, untruth". The word "soweth" was mistranslated from the Hebrew word shalach, which literally means "to send forth, send away"; out of the 847 times that this word appears, the KJV translators chose to translate this word as "soweth" on 3 isolated occasions, and this passage is one of them. The word "discord" was translated from the word medan, which literally means "contention", and is derived from the word diyn meaning "to judge". Therefore, verse 19 should really say, "A witness of deception that breathes out untruth".]


This is a list of the 7 things mentioned above:

  1. A proud eye

  2. A tongue of deception

  3. Hands that shed innocent blood

  4. A heart that devises plans of iniquity

  5. Feet that make haste to run to affliction

  6. A witness of deception that breathes out untruth

  7. He who sends away contention among brothers


A closer look reveals that each of these 7 things corresponds to each of the 7 evil spirits of Deuteronomy 7:1 that we have studied before:


  1. A proud eye

    As we have seen before, the Amorite spirit is the spirit of pride and self-exaltation. Therefore, this evil characteristic is related to the Amorite spirit. As we have seen before, the "eye" is spiritually related to the making of judgments. Therefore, the Lord is saying that Amorites have a tendency to "look down their nose" at others, belittling and ignoring anyone who looks "small" and "insignificant" to the natural eye. Amorites are so self-aggrandized that they are quick to mock little people in a "dismissive" way. They are quick to judge them as "irrelevant" and "worthless":




    Just as it happened with David and the giant Goliath, the "little" people whom the Amorites disdain are the very people who shall bring them down (Zechariah 4:6-10). God shall bring down the Amorites in the Church and the world through a weak-looking David remnant that will shake the nations of the Earth unto God.


  2. A tongue of deception

    Tongues are used to "communicate" with others. Therefore, they are a figure of "soul communion", which points to the Canaanite spirit. As we have said before, Canaanites are anti-judgment, and they like to fashion golden calves to suit their souls' desires. They like to twist the truth to make it fit around their emotions, which turns them into "sentimentalist judges" who immediately reject things that make them "feel bad". Whatever causes pain or destroys "emotional unity" is immediately proclaimed as "wrong" and "unrighteous". Canaanite tongues are willing to sacrifice the truth for the sake of emotional unity. This is why they are "tongues of deception". As we have said before, Canaanites make a covenant with Hittite spirits of deceit from Sheol in order to adulterously possess people (Isaiah 28:14-19). They are tongues of deception that promote soul communion without a covenant foundation of righteousness.


  3. Hands that shed innocent blood

    As we have said before, Jebusites are murderers who don't think twice about shedding innocent blood in order to enforce the laws of their Amorite masters. Jebusites are judges who do not value the people whom they judge. They do not realize that the purpose of judgments is to manifest the inherent value and potential in others. Therefore, hands that shed innocent blood are Jebusite hands.


  4. A heart that devises plans of iniquity

    This speaks of a "scheming" heart. Of all the evil spirits, the one that prompts people to come up with "evil schemes" to get things from others is the Hivite spirit. As we studied before, the Hivites came up with a clever scheme to prevent the Israelites from destroying them in the desert (Joshua 9:1-23). In Genesis 34, Hamor the Hivite and his son Shechem tried to lure the Israelites into a deal where Shechem would get what he wanted (i.e.- Dinah, the daughter of Jacob). In that case, however, the "scheme" blew up in their faces.


    As we have studied before, workers of iniquity try to obtain blessings while bypassing God's righteousness and judgments. Hivites, therefore, are "get-rich-quick" schemers who try to get all the blessings they can from others without the necessary sacrifice. Hivites believe in the right to indulge in "inherited grace". Therefore, they see everyone around them in terms of what they can get out of them, and they will be constantly scheming to get what they want from others as "easily" as possible.


  5. Feet that make haste to run to affliction

    As we have studied before, Girgashites afflict themselves and others under oppressive methods that are based on human effort. As they run through life without considering God's invisible purposes and will, they turn into pigs that run hastily down an incline to drown themselves in the sea (Matthew 8:28-34), and they do what they can to drag others along with them into the sea. Therefore, the feet that "haste to run to affliction" are Girgashite feet.


  6. A witness of deception that breathes out untruth

    The ministry most related with being a "witness" is the prophetic ministry, and the prophetic anointing makes us sensitive to the blow of the "wind of the Spirit" (John 3:8). As we have also said before, prophets turn into Hittites when they go astray, and Hittite spirits are spirits of deception. Therefore, the "witness of deception that breathes out untruth" is a Hittite witness. Hittite witnesses create deceiving "jet streams" that sway people towards purposelessness.


  7. He who sends away contention among brothers

    As we said above, the King James translators mistakenly translated the Hebrew word shalach as "sowing" in Proverbs 6:19. However, the word shalach really means "to send away". Therefore, Proverbs 6:19 is speaking about people who "throw out" contention among brothers, i.e.- people who are quick to dismiss anything that may create a debate among brethren.


    Debates are caused by differences that are often subtle in nature. This means that debates are fostered in an atmosphere where people see the importance of subtle differences and where people believe in their authority to make judgments. Therefore, those who "throw out" contention among brothers are people with a simplistic spirit who are not too interested in finding the deep wisdom of God. As we studied before, the Perizzite spirit is a simplistic spirit that dismisses the importance of subtle details. The Perizzite spirit also cripples people into thinking that they are too "insignificant" to make judgments. In a Perizzite atmosphere, any "small" person who dares to make a subtle distinction or judgment is immediately seen as "audacious" and "arrogant". As a result, Perizzites disable contention that leads to a deeper understanding of the truth, which in turn leads to a stagnant and limited environment of spiritual (and literal) poverty.


This, then, is a summarized list of the 7 things which God abominates and the evil spirit they are each related to:


Things the Lord abominates Evil spirit Sin
A proud eye Amorite Proud disdain of others
A tongue of deception Canaanite Soul communion that distorts the truth
Hands that shed innocent blood Jebusite Legalistic imposition without valuing others
A heart that devises plans of iniquity Hivite Scheming to extract "blessings" from others
Feet that haste to run to affliction Girgashite Living without considering God's invisible purposes
A witness of deception that breathes out untruth Hittite Allowing yourself to be a channel of deceptive currents
He who sends away contention among brothers Perizzite Oversimplified judgments


The crisscross fence

There is a spiritual reason for the order in which the 7 evil spirits appear in Proverbs 6:16-19 (Amorite, Canaanite, Jebusite, Hivite, Girgashite, Hittite, and Perizzite). If you revisit the "triangle of evil", you will notice an interesting crisscross pattern:



Notice that the first evil spirit that appears in Proverbs 6:16-19 is the Amorite spirit, which is the spirit at the "pinnacle" of the triangle. After that, two "groups of 3" are formed:


Triplet #1: The Canaanites, the Jebusites, and the Hivites


Triplet #2: The Girgashites, the Hittites, and the Perizzites


Triplet #

Evil spirit at the


of the triangle

Evil spirit in the MIDDLE TIER

of the triangle

Evil spirit


the triangle


Canaanite Jebusite Hivite


Girgashite Hittite Perizzite


Notice that these 2 triplets start with a spirit at the base of the triangle (the Canaanites in triplet #1 and the Girgashites in triplet #2); they then cut across the triangle to the opposite side (the Jebusites in triplet #1 and the Hittites in triplet #2), and they end with a "village" spirit (the Hivites in triplet #1 and the Perizzites in triplet #2). In each case, the "village" spirit is right in the middle of the other two spirits in the triplet. What does all of this mean?


The fact that the first evil spirit is the Amorite spirit means that Proverbs 6:16-19 is speaking about men (and women) who are trying to establish their own earthly kingdom, in an effort to usurp God's legitimate Kingship. The fact that triplet #1 starts with the Canaanite spirit points to the pastoral ministry (since Canaanites are "pastors gone bad"). Therefore, Proverbs 6:16-19 is speaking of Amorites who try to establish earthly kingdoms ruled by the pastoral matriarchy.


Since the Canaanite spirit is "left-handed", it becomes necessary to introduce a "right-handed" spirit to enforce the rule of the Amorite. This is where the Jebusite spirit comes in. Under the influence of the Canaanites, Jebusites come in to place emotional pressure on people so that they will abide by the Amorite's decrees. Jebusites create a sense of guilt and shameful accusation around the idea of questioning the Amorite's pastoral ways. Since Jebusites lack a solid Scriptural foundation of Godly judgments that can back the Amorite's decrees, they are forced to "create" human laws of their own, disguising them as "laws from God above".


Through Jebusite pressure and shaming, the Canaanite spirit consolidates itself in the Amorite's kingdom, and the way is paved for the Hivite spirit to come in. Canaanites slowly wear away any interest in God's righteous judgments (Amos 5:7-10), which leads to Hivite schemers who are constantly trying to indulge in grace that they "inherit" from others through clever covenants. Once the Canaanite, the Jebusite, and the Hivite spirits settle in, the spirit of Jezebel becomes entrenched in the Amorite's kingdom (1 Kings 21:1-16).


As we have studied before, the Hivite spirit is a "village" spirit that limits people's vision to the self-indulgent search for "grace" and pleasure. Therefore, triplet #1 slyly traps believers in a world where the main focus is on false grace.


Once believers are trapped in the Hivite village, Amorites launch triplet #2, which begins with Girgashite teachers. These teachers indoctrinate believers with human methods and regulations that provide a "solid structure of support and stability" for the Amorite's kingdom. Since Girgashites are anti-prophetic, their teachings slowly drain away all the prophetic anointing, which leads to an atmosphere of Hittite purposelessness and emptiness where God's prophetic fullness and sense of prophetic purpose are no longer present. As this Hittite purposelessness sets in, people stop "dreaming great things", and the way is paved for Perizzite spirits to predominate. The Perizzite spirit leads to people with a very self-limiting view of life that traps them in an "I'm-too-insignificant" attitude.


Notice, therefore, that each triplet of evil spirits works to trap people inside the Amorite's little kingdom. Triplet #1 traps them in Hivite villages of self-indulgence, and triplet #2 traps them in Perizzite villages of low spiritual self-worth. Both triplets are "initiated" by each of the two "female" ministries. Triplet #1 is initiated by Canaanite pastors, and triplet #2 is initiated by Girgashite teachers. Through each triplet, believers are fenced in by the Hivite spirit on the left side and by the Perizzite spirit on the right side. A crisscross fence is created around the Amorite's little kingdom. This crisscross fence is founded on the matriarchy of the 2 "female" ministries over the Church.


6 vs. 7

If you go back to Proverbs 6:16 (quoted above), you will notice that it speaks of 6 things that God hates and 7 things that are an abomination to Him. Why doesn't it simply say, "There are 7 things that are abominable to Him"? To answer that, we must go to the following verse:




The number "6" is a number of "human weakness", and it points to the temporary tabernacles of our earthly vessels; on the other hand, the number "7" is a number of "perfection" or "completion", which points to our eternal tabernacles (2 Corinthians 5:1-11). This takes us to the following passage:



[The word "servant" in verse 1 was translated from the Greek word doulos, which literally means "slave"]


Notice that we are temporarily placed under "tutors and governors" until "the time appointed of the Father", after which we are no longer to depend upon them but walk on our own (humanly speaking). This means that the number "6" speaks of our time of temporary dependence on others, while the number "7" speaks of our independence from other men in order to depend upon God and God alone. This is why Jeremiah 34:14, quoted above, speaks of a Hebrew being 6 years under the slavery of another Hebrew. Upon the 7th year, the Hebrew slave was to be set free in order to live on his own. In a sense, the number "6" can be taken to represent the structures of the Old Covenant with its intermediaries, while the number "7" represents our direct, New-Covenant relationship with God.


During our "childhood" stage, we are temporarily dependent on human caretakers assigned by God to help and enable us. As we grow older, we are called to become independent in order to walk on our own. Therefore, the reference to "6 things that God hates" in Proverbs 6:16 speaks of our condition when we are still under the bondage of the "elements of the world" (Galatians 4:3). When we are under such a bondage, God hates our actions, but He knows that we are trapped and "blinded" by our circumstances. However, once He sets us free from that bondage, His measuring standard for us is elevated. If we go back to the same 7 sins of Proverbs 6:16-19 after we have come to know Him directly, His reaction goes from "hatred" to "abomination", because we become all the more accountable for our actions. When a 7-year-old boy throws a temper tantrum at a shopping mall, his young age "palliates" the accountability of his offense. When a 27-year-old man throws the same temper tantrum, his older age makes his offense all the more condemnable.




When we were born again, we were redeemed from the slavery of Pharaoh (i.e.- satan). If, after being free, we willingly go back to the "comfort" of slavery under Amorites, our actions become a complete abomination unto the Lord.




After listing 6 sins, Proverbs 6:16-19 lists a 7th sin ("sending away contention among brethren"), which is related to the Perizzite spirit. This spirit motivates us to accept our "crippledness", i.e.- our permanent dependence on others. When we willingly accept this 7th sin, our actions go from being hated ("6") to being abominated ("7") by the Lord. When we willingly accept this 7th sin, we are becoming voluntary slaves inside the Amorite's crisscross fence.


The 7 Spirits of God

Now that we have listed 7 sins which God abhors, we can list 7 virtues which are pleasant unto God. Just as the 7 sins are related to the 7 evil spirits, the 7 virtues are related to the 7 Spirits of God. As we have shared before, each of the 7 evil spirits is a distortion of one of the 7 Spirits of God. Therefore, each of the 7 sins is actually a perversion of a Godly virtue.


As we have said before, each of the 7 Spirits of God is related to each of the 7 churches the Lord writes to in Revelation chapters 2 and 3:


  1. The Spirit of Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7)

    This is the Spirit of Judgments. When we are endowed with this Spirit, we will move in God's wisdom and declare righteous judgments in Him. When we remain in our first love, our judgments will always be geared towards restoring the environment around us. Even though those judgments may cause temporary destruction, our goal will always be to regenerate so that the purposes of God may flourish and be fulfilled. This is what Jebusite judges lack. They judge for the simple purpose of destroying. To them, the death induced by judgments is the end, not the means to a higher end. In other words, they kill without resurrecting.


    Since the living God is a God of resurrection (Luke 20:35-38), those who deny the "resurrection" (literally or figuratively) cannot be connected to Him, which means that they do not have access to His mind. Therefore, they cannot make righteous judgments in the wisdom of the living God, the Judge of all things. This is why Jebusite judges become shedders of innocent blood. Even though God's judgments cause death, their purpose is to bring forth a higher form of life. God does not kill for the mere pleasure of killing.



    [Notice how verse 23 reveals that we are perfected in His judgments. Notice also how verse 22 speaks of the living God, while the next verse speaks of the God who makes death-causing judgments.]


    The prophetic ministry is the one most directly related to the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is the One Who resurrects from the dead (Romans 1:4, Acts 2:32-33). Therefore, the key for apostolic Ephesus-judgments not to "go Jebusite" is for them to be consistent with God's prophetic anointing. Any judgments that deny God's prophetic anointing are contrary to God.


  2. The Spirit of Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11)

  3. This is the Spirit of Self-Sacrifice. When we are endowed with this Spirit, we will be willing to shed our "blood" for God's purposes. We will allow ourselves to be swept away by the prophetic currents of the Holy Spirit, and we will become libation offerings that unleash the outpouring of God's purposes upon the Earth. The name "Smyrna" means "myrrh". When we offer ourselves as prophetic libation offerings unto the Lord, we become like the pleasant odor of myrrh perfume unto Him.


    The apostolic ministry is the one most directly related to God's justice and judgments, and it leads to us being rooted in God's truth. Therefore, the key for the prophetic Smyrna-anointing not to "go Hittite" is for it to be consistent with God's apostolic judgments. When a believer allows him or herself to be swayed and moved by spiritual currents without regard for God's truth, he or she becomes a "witness of deception that breathes out untruth".


  4. The Spirit of Pergamos (Revelation 2:12-17)

  5. The name "Pergamos" literally means "height, elevation", and is derived from the Greek word purgos, meaning "tower" or a "tall fortified structure designed to repel a hostile attack". Therefore, the name "Pergamos" refers to the establishing of spiritual strongholds and kingdoms in the atmosphere. This is the reason why the Lord says to the church at Pergamos that they are dwelling where "satan's throne" is (Revelation 2:13).


    From all of the above, we can say that the Spirit of Pergamos is the Spirit of Conquest and Head Authority. When we are endowed with this Spirit, we turn into conquering warriors who are out to expand the Kingdom of God across the spiritual atmosphere of the Earth. We will not be intimidated by any territorial spiritual giant. Instead, we will be constantly launching spiritual assaults against Amorite strongholds, tearing them down in the strength of God. We will be led by the Lord as to the timing and strategy of these evangelistic assaults.


    As we have said before, the apostolic and prophetic anointings operate like a two-person "tag team" that works together to set the foundation for the manifestation of a mighty evangelistic anointing (Ephesians 2:20, Luke 10:1). When people operate in the evangelistic anointing of the Spirit of Pergamos without a foundation of apostolic judgments and/or prophetic sacrifice, they turn into arrogant manipulators who become obsessed with establishing their own kingdom instead of God's.


    God's apostolic anointing endows us with wisdom to see the value of "small" things, and His prophetic anointing allows us to visualize the potential in others. Both of these anointings work to prevent the evangelistic endowment from turning into an arrogant disdain for others.


  6. The Spirit of Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29)

  7. The name "Thyatira" means "odor of affliction". Therefore, it refers to people who have an ability to "smell affliction" in others and who are quick to soothe it. This points to the pastoral ministry, since the pastoral endowment prompts us to serve and please those who are tired and in pain. The Spirit of Thyatira is the pastoral Spirit of Service.


    The pastoral ministry is a "female" ministry. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Lord refers to the influence of the Jezebel spirit in Thyatira. When the pastoral ministry works to suppress the 3 "male" ministries (apostle, prophet, and evangelist), Jezebel's "tongue of deception" is set loose.



    [The word "seduce" was translated from the Greek word planao, which literally means "to lead astray, deceive"]


    Notice that the verse above emphasizes the fact that Jezebel is a "woman". As we have said before, "man" in Scripture is a figure of the "spirit", while "woman" is a figure of the "soul". Therefore, the Jezebel spirit comes to promote the subtle but real domination of the soul over the spirit.


    In order to prevent the pastoral endowment from turning into the deceiving tongue of Jezebel, the preeminence of the Spirit over the soul must be recognized, which means that the "female" ministries (pastor and teacher) must allow the apostolic, prophetic, and evangelistic anointings to be manifested and flourish. The "male" spirit nature of all believers must be allowed to shine forth.


  8. The Spirit of Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6)

  9. As we have seen before, this is the Spirit of Perfection. When we are endowed with this Spirit, we become detail-oriented and methodical individuals focused on achieving goals in the most efficient way possible. We become teachers who store up and organize information learned from others in the past.


    This Spirit endowment leads to a strong use of the mind. Therefore, when man distorts this endowment, he becomes a disdainer of emotional sensibility, and he becomes susceptible to his mind being divided as it worries over countless, insignificant details. Instead of being susceptible to the pneuma winds of the Spirit (John 3:8), his emotions become susceptible to anemos soul winds spawned by mental worries and concerns (Matthew 8:26). Instead of having emotions that are hearing God's heart, he becomes a man whose emotions are only hearing mental details. He never stops to sense the invisible purposes of the Spirit before making decisions; he just barrels through life in the strength of his natural understanding, and he becomes impatient at the "crazy" fools who take the time to perceive the spiritual currents in the air.


    When the endowment of the Spirit of Sardis gets distorted, the person turns into a full-fledged Girgashite, and he (or she) makes decisions based solely on natural issues, without regard for issues in the spirit realm. That is when his (or her) feet "haste to run to affliction". Therefore, the key to avoiding this type of feet is to be a prophetic teacher, i.e.- a methodical person who does not lose his or her sensitivity to the invisible currents of the Spirit. Such a person's feet will "rest" because he or she will discern things that are not visible to the natural eye. He or she will discern God's hand at work when everyone around him or her does not, and he or she will not try to afflict others with inflexible human methodologies and traditions when those methods and traditions do not apply.


  10. The Spirit of Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13)

  11. When the Lord speaks to the believers at Philadelphia, He says the following to them:



    [The word "strength" was mistranslated from the Greek word dynamis, meaning "power". The word "little" was translated from the Greek word mikros, which literally means "small". Therefore, the phrase "little strength" is better translated as "small power".]


    Therefore, the Spirit of Philadelphia refers to people who are "small" and "insignificant" in the eyes of man. They are believers who do not have much "power", i.e.- believers without the enabling power of human resources that others may possess. Yet, in the midst of their "power scarcity", those with the Philadelphia Spirit have two qualities:


    They zealously guard His word

    The word "word" in Revelation 3:8 above was translated from the Greek word logos, which, as we have seen before, is spiritually related to God's judgments; the word "kept" was translated from the Greek word tereo, which literally means "to attend to carefully, to guard". Therefore, those with the Spirit of Philadelphia are those who cling to the awareness that God is a God of judgments, even when the religious system that holds the resources around them continues to reject that truth. This means that the Philadelphia believers are "red-horse troublemakers" who do not have the backing of human resources, relying only on the inherent authority of God's logos word.



    They do not deny His Name

    In Scripture, the "name" speaks of the person's authority and nature. Therefore, to "not deny His Name" means to not deny the authority and nature of God within us. The Philadelphia believers know that the "new man" within them is made "after God in righteousness and holiness of truth" (Ephesians 4:24). They know that, despite their weak exterior, the Authority and Nature of God is within them. To them, the term "son of God" or "daughter of God" is more than a nice-sounding religious phrase. It is an affirmation of our value, potential, and authority in Him. Like Father, like son.


    Because they know the God of judgments, and because they are aware of the God-Nature within them, Philadelphia believers are not afraid to contend with the religious structures around them:




    The word "synagogue" is a Greek word that literally means "gathering together" or "bringing together". The word "satan" is a Hebrew word that literally means "enemy, adversary". Therefore, the phrase "synagogue of satan" is not referring to a "satanic cult" per se. Instead, it refers to any group of people who come together to oppose God's perfect will and purposes. Notice that this "synagogue of satan" is comprised of people who say that they are "Jews", but are not. Here, the term "Jew" is not referring to literal race, but rather to the notion of "being right with God". In other words, those who say that they are Jews, but are not, are those who think that they are pleasing God and following His laws, when, in fact, they are opposing God through the very religious actions they so rely upon. Therefore, those with the Spirit of Philadelphia will find themselves at odds with the religious structures around them. While everybody else will have the "power" of the religious structures to support their views, the Philadelphia believers will have nothing but the witness of the Spirit within them to support them. Even though everyone around them will deny their Authority, they will stand on the Authority and Nature of the Lord and God within them, for they know that they are His sons and daughters. In the middle of their human smallness, they will dare to speak of great things, even when their words will be rejected by the people around them. Just as He did with Joseph, God will vindicate the Philadelphia believers before those who rejected them, and they will know that God was with them all along (Genesis 37:9-11, Genesis 42:6).


    When Joseph began to speak the things that God had birthed in his heart, he "stirred up conflict" within the family, and his older brethren chose to "send him away" from among them (Genesis 37:1-36). This is what Proverbs 6:19 refers to when it speaks of those who "send away contention among the brethren". Therefore, the key to avoid this sin is to recognize the value and potential of "small" things and to not "send away" contention, even if that "contention" is coming from a seemingly insignificant vessel. Joseph's brothers were quick to dismiss him simply because he was the smallest of the 11. To them, Joseph was a "small pest" that had to be eliminated from their midst; he was a "red horse" that had to be silenced.


    Those who "send away contention among the brethren" are red-horse expellers. Their desire to expel them is not motivated by a zeal for righteousness (which motivates us to attack unrighteousness even when it is small). Instead, it is motivated by a selfish interest to preserve the status quo. Their expulsion of red-horse riders is not motivated by a sincere desire to know the truth, because those who want to know the exact truth will be quick to consider and evaluate any "minute point" that may put into question their accepted understanding of things. God's red-horse riders are perfectionist teachers who pay attention to small details and who are out to find the truth through God's apostolic judgments, which turns them into annoying troublemakers to those who are not seeking after God's deep truth.


    In order not to stifle the Philadelphia Spirit, we must allow others (and ourselves) to dream and speak of big things in the middle of their (and our) smallness. We are all spiritual giants waiting to happen. There is not one "son or daughter of God" who is exempt from this. As potential spiritual giants, we are called to do great spiritual feats in the Lord, and we are called to manifest His Awesome and Fearsome Nature on Earth.


  12. The Spirit of Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22)

  13. The name "Laodicea" is derived from the Greek words laos meaning "people" and dike meaning "justice, vindication, vengeance". The word dike is related to the word deiknuo, which means "to show, expose to the eyes". Therefore, dike has the connotation of "truth being exposed for all to see", which correlates with the fact that God's judgments expose the hidden things.


    There are two words for "people" in Greek, laos and demos. The main difference between both is that demos denotes people organized into a "body politic", while laos denotes a collection of individuals; laos is the word used by the Lord when referring to His prophetic-remnant people who heed His red-horse shout and leave the false religious structures of man:



    [The word "people" at the end of verse 16 was translated from laos]


    Just as Joseph was separated from his brothers, the remnant is to be separated from the Church and her religious ways. While the Church remains with the external name as "God's people", the remnant shall have that name branded in their hearts. In the meantime, however, it will seem as if the matriarchal Church is the one in the "right", while the remnant will seem to be the "rebellious outcast", punished by God for its "rebellion" against man. But, just as with Joseph, God will vindicate His people in the eyes of those who thought that God was punishing them.


    Therefore, the Spirit of Laodicea is endowed upon God's Philadelphia people when they are publicly manifested and vindicated before carnal man. The Spirit of Laodicea is a Spirit of prosperous victory after a difficult period of desert trials. This Spirit brings public grace and success after you have suffered anonymous turmoil and rejection.


    As we saw when we studied the last days of Hezekiah, it is possible for believers to seek after Laodicea's "prosperous victory" ahead of time. Some are quick to quit "2 outs" away from total victory, and they settle for a temporal prosperity at the expense of a reward of eternal proportions. When this happens, the grace over them degenerates into an ephemeral grace that produces no eternal fruit for God's Kingdom. That is when the Laodicea grace goes into "Hivite retirement", leading to a false sense of complacency and ease. This is why the Lord says the following to the church at Laodicea:




    People who fall into the Hivite spirit believe that they are "perennially entitled" to receive grace from others, and their hearts become schemers of iniquitous plans that work to extract that "grace entitlement" from others. The key to prevent a Hivite scheming heart is to keep our spiritual eyes on the "ark of the covenant" (Exodus 25:10-11), which was made of wood overlaid with pure gold (i.e.- gold tried in the fire). God wants to cover the nakedness of our earthliness (our "wood") in the eternal Glory (the "gold") of His Spirit nature by making us One with Him. In Scripture, the "ark of the covenant" represents direct, One-on-one communion with God Himself. As New-Covenant, Melchisedec priests, we now have access to the ark of the covenant in the "Holy of Holies" by the blood of Jesus, and our inheritance is God Himself. While Hivites are after a temporal inheritance, those with the true Spirit of Laodicea are after the eternal inheritance: Oneness with God forever, which Scripture calls "eternal life". As we have said before, "eternal life" is not the same as escaping literal hell; eternal life is reached through our sincere disposition to operate in Level-2 righteousness and to live a narrow-gate life where we constantly expose ourselves to God's judgment sword along the path of truth. Eternal life is reached by those who have their hearts set on a covenant that looks towards eternity.


    Those with the Hivite spirit are bent on enjoying the things that God provides. Those with the true Spirit of Laodicea are bent on enjoying God Himself. This is the reason why the Lord is standing outside the door as the church of Laodicea enjoys its "blessings" inside:




    Those who are receptive to the true Spirit of Laodicea will have their ears open to the Lord's Presence, not to the Lord's presents. They will be quick to open the door when He knocks in order to "sup" (i.e.- have communion) with Him.


This is a summarized table of the 7 Spirits of God:

The 7 Spirits of God

Spirit of God Virtue Ministry
Spirit of Judgments Wisdom to judge Apostle
Spirit of Self-sacrifice Giving oneself for others & sensibility to the spirit realm Prophet
Spirit of Conquest Strength to conquer Evangelist
Spirit of Service Disposition to serve and please others Pastor
Spirit of Perfection Ability to organize & attention to details Teacher
Spirit of Dreams & visions Ability to visualize great things in the middle of one's smallness


Spirit of Prosperity Ability to enjoy and rest in the victorious prosperity of God Himself (in secluded intimacy with Him)




Notice that Revelation chapters 2 and 3 "list" the 7 Spirits of God in a sequence that is consistent with the 5 ministries as listed in Ephesians 4:11. First come the 3 "male-ministry" Spirits (apostle, prophet, and evangelist), followed by the 2 "female-ministry" Spirits (pastor, teacher), followed by the 2 Spirits that are related to "seclusion" or "smallness". Within the 3 "male-ministry" Spirits, the right-handed Spirit of Judgments (the "apostle" Spirit) is mentioned first, because He lays a foundation of righteousness and judgments. Then comes the left-handed Spirit of Self-Sacrifice (the "prophet" Spirit), who builds on the foundation laid by the "apostle" Spirit, thereby completing the foundation for the Spirit of Conquest (the "evangelist" Spirit) to be manifested. Notice how this sequence places a priority on the "male" over the "female", and on the "right" over the "left".


By contrast, the 7-sins list (shown above) begins with the Amorite spirit, because it is a reflection of man trying to deny God's Kingship and be a king on his own. Since such a kingdom cannot be founded on righteousness, the Amorite spirit is immediately followed the left-handed Canaanite spirit, which is quick to establish the domination of the "female" soul over the "male" spirit. Notice, therefore, how this sequence emphasizes the "female" over the "male" and "left-handedness" over "right-handedness". The Amorite kingdom of man is built "upside down", with the cart before the horse. That is why Amorite kingdoms will never last. They are like castles in the air that last for a while, but which eventually crumble under the duress of God's judgments that are launched by God's people.


The list of 7 sins starts with man trying to establish his own Amorite throne. The list of the 7 Spirits of God starts with man seeking after God's righteousness (the Spirit of Ephesus), because the throne of God is founded on righteousness.



As we have seen before, each of the 7 Spirit-of-God endowments can be distorted into each of the 7 "evil spirits":


Spirit of God Evil spirit Church in Revelation 2-3 Ministry
Spirit of Judgments Jebusite Ephesus Apostle
Spirit of Self-Sacrifice Hittite Smyrna Prophet
Spirit of Conquest Amorite Pergamos Evangelist
Spirit of Service Canaanite Thyatira Pastor
Spirit of Perfection Girgashite Sardis Teacher
Spirit of Dreams & Visions Perizzite Philadelphia


Spirit of Prosperity Hivite Laodicea



Based on this and all that we have shared above, we can now summarize the "7 sins" and the "7 virtues" in the following way:


Sin Virtue perverted Key to avoiding the perversion is...
Proud disdain of others Strength to conquer The wisdom to see the value in small things, and the vision to the see the invisible potential of others
Soul communion that distorts the truth Disposition to serve and please others To recognize the preeminence of the Spirit over the soul
Legalistic imposition without valuing others Wisdom to judge To not deny the prophetic grace in others
Scheming to extract "blessings" from others Ability to enjoy and rest in the victorious prosperity of God Himself (in secluded intimacy with Him) Focusing on the "ark of the covenant", i.e.- on God as our inheritance, desiring to be clothed in Him forever
Living without considering God's invisible purposes Ability to organize & attention to details Sensitivity to the invisible currents in the spirit realm
Allowing yourself to be a channel of deceptive currents Giving oneself for others & sensibility to the spirit realm To not deny God's truth and judgments
Oversimplified judgments Ability to visualize great things in the middle of one's smallness To not dismiss the "contention" of "small" vessels and to see the inherent value and potential of "small" things, i.e.- to heed God's small red-horse riders


A more "simplified" version of the table above would read as follows (our desire to show a simpler list should not take away from the importance of all the details studied above):


Sin Virtue Key to avoid the perversion
Proud disdain Conqueror Wisdom & vision
Contaminated communion Server Spirit over soul
Legalism Wise Value of the prophetic
Hedonistic scheming Prosperity-seeker God as our inheritance
Excessive pragmatism Methodical Spiritual sensibility
Emotional compulsiveness Spiritually-sensitive Focus on truth and judgments
Simplistic thinking Dreamer Not to ignore "small contentions"