The Litmus Test

7/20/25 6:12 PM
Solitary Man
solitaryman.substack.com

20250720

My son, my church in the west is perishing. And perishing in so many ways. I would say to them that, you think you are alive but you are dead. That, you think you love me, but you love something else. That, you think you know me, but it is not me that you know. That, you think you are rich, but you are naked, and blind, and wretched.

Just because I stated that the gates of hell would not prevail against my church, does not mean that there are not places and times and seasons where my church would come tumbling down.

Why do I say these things? Because of your evil fruit. You know not how to preach the truth because the truth has left your pulpits. Your words have no conviction because they are the words of men and not of God. You teach things that have no power to change lives because the things you teach are from the souls of men and the minds of demons, and not the Spirit of God.

Evil doctrines come at a cost. They come at a great cost. Rotten doctrine can only produce rotten fruit. Instead of setting the captives free, you ensnare them and make them twice as much a son and daughter of sin as yourselves. You browbeat and intimidate and manipulate, and what have you for your efforts? Sheep that are filled with fear, with anxiety, with stress, and even with terror. And why is that? Because you fill them with lies. Putting burdens upon them that I never commanded. Omitting responsibilities that are clearly laid out.

And how can one recognize if something is of me, or of the world? What sort of litmus test can one use, in order to know if the so called gospel that is being preached is the true gospel?

It all comes down to self. Are you being taught how powerful you are, or are you being taught to lay down your life? Is your heart being filled with fantasies of dominion and supposed unlimited authority, or are you being called to die to self, take up your cross, and follow me? Is the focus on how the kingdom and wealth of this world has been laid up for the children of light, or are you being taught to decrease, so that I may increase?

My children, have you so soon forgotten the Lord’s prayer? What does it say? That the kingdom, the power, and the glory, are mine, not yours. When you listen to the devil’s preachers attempt to fill your head with delusions of grandeur, and lead you away from the cross and the crucified life, you are robbing me of my glory.

I do not care about your tithes and your offerings. The evil ones, filled with avarice and greed, only preach of robbing God when they have not yet shaken the last dollar out of your wallet. But it is they who are robbing me. Robbing me of mature sons and daughters, who have put aside worldly desires and dreams, and chosen to let my grace and my glory manifest in their humble, broken lives. These preachers of unrighteousness steal souls from my kingdom. They attempt to make you believe you have the power to take over Babylon, when my word clearly tells you to flee Babylon. They want to build a large following with their doctrines of devils, sensing when they encounter those with itching ears, and quickly telling them what they want to hear. Thinking that I died a gruesome death on the cross in order to make you successful in Egypt and Babylon.

Tell me, you greedy ones. Explain this to me, you who preach nothing but tithing and giving. If all the problems of the church could be solved with money, how then do you explain the state of the western church today? Never before in history has wealth flowed into the church as it has in the American (and western) church over the last 50 years. Billions and billions of dollars have come in. And heresy upon heresy has come out.

Do you think there is a connection?

And so you witness the true state of the church today. Corrupt to the core, these powerless pantheons of (im)pious pseudo praisers masquerade as houses of worship. And yet the only worship to be found is the worship of self.

Any gospel that exalts self and minimizes the cross is not of me. Any teaching that emphasizes blessing and the fulfilment of one’s needs over sacrifice and putting others first is not of me.

My people, it is not that complicated. I did not die on that cross so that your time on earth would be filled with the alluring things of this world. Do you not know that this present world is destined to perish? Can you not clearly see just how utterly corrupt this present evil age actually is? And if it is so corrupt, why then do you so ardently seek the temporal blessings of this life? Why are you allowing the demands and dictates of the flesh to rule your lives?

Do you not recall how I tempted my people Israel in the wilderness with hunger, to see if they would truly follow me? Did they not murmur and complain, even ten times, tempting me to destroy them and begin again? And why have I recorded such things in my holy word? So that future generations may learn and fear. So that you would not make the same mistakes.

Many of you think that you have a valid excuse for your stumblings. You claim that your culture is too overpowering. Technology is bombarding you with messages of seduction and indulgence. Who can stand against such an onslaught?

Is my arm too short to save? Is my Spirit too weak to deliver? You walk in bondage because you have no faith. You have no faith because you have no living word within you. You have no living word in you because the true preachers of righteousness have disappeared out of the land. And there are no preachers of righteousness because the churches of the west have chased them away. My churches were meant to be the strongholds and sanctuaries of convicting truth. Truth that cuts to the quick. Truth that provides the power to repent, to forsake all sin, and to truly follow me, without any reservation or hesitation.

Instead, my houses are filled with liars and charlatans. Houses that are more interested in covering up scandal and corruption, rather than feeding the sheep. Houses filled with selfish shepherds, who care nothing for the flock. Shepherds that treat the ministry as a career, rather than as a calling. Looking to get ahead of the competition, striving for larger churches, larger budgets, and larger salaries.

How does the so called ‘mega church’ make any sense? How can a true shepherd be a servant to the sheep when the flock is beyond the ability to manage and care for? For so many, it is only about the numbers. Striving to be the largest, the richest, the most powerful, yet all these things do the pagans seek.

You see how these false ones cling to their kingdoms. Refusing to repent, refusing to let go of their little empires. But they are empires of sand. I am blowing away these little kingdoms and when I am done, men shall seek for them but find no trace.

Bad trees cannot produce good fruit. Selfish men will preach selfish things and create selfish disciples. The gospel of self has ruined you all. Your nations are lost because your churches are lost. Is it not almost impossible for my true remnant to find the genuine word of the Lord in this time? Yet, with God all things are possible.

As I expose and strip away all these edifices of men, I am taking my sheep into the wilderness. In the wild, away from the sights and sounds of this world, they will learn to hear my voice. In the mountains and the deserts and the lonely places, they shall meet their God. Who is ready to depart from what cannot be fixed, and go to the place that you have not been before? Who has the courage to step out of the boat of dead congregations, and risk the danger and doubt of encountering me one on one, even face to face, so to speak?

History teaches you that when sin has run its course, old wineskins cannot be repaired but must be discarded for the new. So I say unto you, discard the false doctrines of your ancestors. Those who initially came out of the great revivals have corrupted themselves with teachers who allowed the power and the glory to corrupt their hearts. They wanted to cling to that power at all costs, so they began to manufacture the move of my Spirit with carnal devices.

As the sheep were so easily deceived, so it encouraged these men of base impulses to deceive more and more. The imaginary was indistinguishable from the real. Soon whole new movements were born that were nothing more than elaborate sideshows of spiritism, fleshly indulgence, and utter self centeredness. And even as Aaron led the people to become naked and worship the golden calf, so those who once were my ministers yielded to temptation and chose the easy, broad road. And you all know where that road goes.

So what shall my people do? As they become aware of the lies and the error that is all around them, how shall they act? Shall they pretend that all is well in order to cling to the familiar? Shall they continue to allow their minds to be brainwashed into the gospel of lies just so they can cling to the few friends that they have? Do you not face the choice of trying to hold onto what little good you have, even in the face of known evil? Yet you know that my word says that for the disobedient, even what little they have will be taken from them.

My people, try to grasp what it means to live in an age of apostasy. Try to understand all the ramifications and the difficulties that you must face when there seems to be no place to turn to. If every church that you see is preaching some form of the gospel of self, then what shall you do? Or if every congregation refuses to speak the most vital truths of the bible, and your spirit chafes from within, and you leave the service more miserable than when you entered, what shall you do?

All these things, and more, are part of the cup that you must drink. Even as I called most of my apostles to great physical suffering and eventual martyrdom, so I am calling you to navigate your life through the perilous shoals of severe apostasy. Your generation is the generation that needs to find a way to overcome this difficult challenge. And difficult it is.

My sheep were created to be fed by a good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A good shepherd does not continually fleece his sheep. He does not constantly shear them, leaving them naked and helpless and crying in the field.

Sadly, there are few good shepherds to be found in your midst. They were overcome and eaten by wolves, or were tempted by better offers, or fell asleep and allowed the flock to be devoured.

So what can the sheep do? What should the sheep do? For them, there is always one shepherd who is at his post. Even if all the under-shepherds have fled, the chief shepherd remains the same.

I am the good shepherd. My sheep hear me, and they know my voice. I call every one of them by name. I have given each of them an ability to hear my voice. I have left them my personal instruction handbook – the bible, to lead them and guide them and keep them safe.

My sheep, you do not need to run to and fro and find a prophet to tell you what to do. I am taking away all the babbling voices. You need not fear those who predict and predict, but actually speak of nothing important. They are simply sent as distractions. And what better infiltrators than having those speak who sincerely think they are hearing from me! They do not have to pretend. They do not have to lie. They honestly think that they are hearing my voice. But because they have not died to self, they cannot distinguish one voice from another.

I tell you a secret. I am exposing these phony propagators of charisma in order to drive my true sheep out into the wilderness. Away from the voices of Babel, and into my loving arms. My people were always meant to come away with me into the wilderness, and to learn to hear my voice. Instead, they were seduced by the gaudy, and the noisy, and the flamboyant dazzling displays of what seemed to be my gifts, but were nothing more than the emotional and psychological tricks of lust filled, unbroken, avaricious and unprincipled men. So my church has fallen into darkness and ruin.

But even as I spoke to those in Sardis and in Laodicea, even in those houses that had fully departed from the faith, there were yet a few who belonged to me. So even today, in my western church of great apostasy, I know those who are my own. I have not forgotten you. I will never abandon you.

While your challenge is great, your reward awaiting you is even greater. While you may find it hard to locate a sanctuary where the food is plenty and the water is pure, all those who continue to seek shall eventually be rewarded. I am calling my precious few to the mature life. One whose sustenance is derived straight from the source. Instead of relying on intermediaries, you will take the time and pay the price and learn to hear my instruction for you directly from me. But only if that is what you truly desire.

I have influenced your circumstances in order that your eyes would be opened to the true spiritual condition of your churches. Yet you must choose what you will do. Shall you continue therein, being content with half truths, wilful suppression, and timid preaching? Or will you risk all, refusing to accept the compromised life, and go where I tell you, even if everyone else refuses to follow?

My bride, these are not easy things. Hard choices for hard times. Prepare to embrace loneliness. Prepare to embrace condemnation and ridicule. Prepare for severe attacks in your minds by the enemy. Doubt and second guessing will be your constant companions for a little season. Purpose in your heart to persevere, and you will never regret it. Endure hardship, and the peace filled conviction that awaits you will be yours, to keep you strong and steady in the days ahead.

Will you follow me?

Scripture References:

Rev 3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

Rev 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

Mat_16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Jer_23:29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

Jer_17:5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.

Mat_15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Mar_7:7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Col_2:22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?

1Ti_4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

Heb_13:9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.

Mat_23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

1Ti 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

Luk_11:46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.

Mat_10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

Mat_16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Luk_9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Luk_14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Joh_3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Gal_6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

Mat_23:13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
Mat_23:14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
1Ti 6:11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

2Co_1:12 For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.

2Co_11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Col 2:22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?

2Pe 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

Gal_1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:

Rom 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Rom 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Gal_5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

Deu_8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

Num_14:22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;

Deu_9:14 Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they.

Deu_9:19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.

Deu_9:25 Thus I fell down before the LORD forty days and forty nights, as I fell down at the first; because the LORD had said he would destroy you.

Rom_15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Num_11:23 And the LORD said unto Moses, Is the LORD’S hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.

Isa_59:16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.

Isa_63:5 And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me.

Zec_4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

Luk_18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Luk_9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Mat_21:13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

Eze 34:1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 34:2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
Eze 34:3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
Eze 34:4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
Eze 34:5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
Eze 34:6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
Eze 34:7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
Eze 34:8 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;
Eze 34:9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
Eze 34:10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

Eze 34:17 And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.
Eze 34:18 Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?
Eze 34:19 And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.
Eze 34:20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.
Eze 34:21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;
Eze 34:22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
Eze 34:23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
Eze 34:24 And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.

Mat 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Mar_2:22 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.

Exo_32:25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)

Deu_9:20 And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time.

Luk_5:39 No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.

Mar_10:29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,
Mar_10:30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

Mat_13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

Joh 10:7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
Joh 10:8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
Joh 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
Joh 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Joh 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
Joh 10:12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
Joh 10:13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
Joh 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
Joh 10:15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Solitary Man
https://solitaryman.substack.com/

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