Editor’s Note
by Zerubbabel Press

In this issue of The Intercessor we continue our investigation into the Biblical foundations of our union with Christ. ”The Origin of Evil” tackles some of the more difficult issues Christians face. Let Norman pose the questions: “In this predestined union, what is our relationship? What do we contribute? What does he? How much of me? How much of Him? We touch a terrible subject here, for we probe into the existence of evil and hell.” Norman moves from the basis of all life, the law of opposites, to the very nature of self, and explains that what was to have been God’s hidden “opposite”—darkness, wrath, self-for-self—was brought into manifestation by Lucifer, when he refused his role as a vessel to contain the light. “The Sole Function of the Human,” a complementary article, brings the problem closer to home in a thorough discussion of man’s role as a vessel and how we got “out of gear”—indwelt and controlled by Satan.

A powerful reminder of the necessity of brokeness and repentance to escape the ravages of Satanic control, “What Constitutes a Revival?” is Norman’s vivid and moving account of a revival in the Heart of Africa Mission in 1935. After the death of C.T. Studd, the founder of the mission, Norman and others were carrying on his work in the Congo. Norman writes, “No revival, we believe, is just an isolated incident. Its roots lie deep in the faithful labours of the years that precede it.” This theme is echoed by Jamie Resset in his tape review of “Our Spiritual Lineage,” in which Page Prewitt details our debt to the “faithful labours” of Norman, C.T. Studd, and their predecessors in the faith. Jamie acknowledges our own debt to Page herself, as it has largely been her perseverance and dedication to the truth taught to her by Norman which has resulted in what we now call Zerubbabel Ministries.

Norman’s summary of this truth is titled simply, yet boldly, “Total Truth— My Last Message to the Whole Church in the Whole World.” It is, in Breda Sunderland’s words, Norman’s “spiritual last will and testament” to us, passing on the distillation of his lifelong search into the things of God. And don’t miss Brett Burrowes’ insightful Bible Study, “God’s Sovereignty and Freewill.”

Our younger contributors demonstrate that another generation is now passing along its own understanding of the truth of our union with Christ. In “Wisdom” and “Christ on Campus,” Joanna Langley and Crystal Hoffmann share their own testimonies to the relevance of Galatians 2:20 in their lives. Allison Laffin tells of the inner workings of Z–News, and Scott Prewitt presents an excellent report of summer camp 2001.

On a more somber note, an anonymous writer provides the story of his addiction to pornography and its childhood beginnings. Fowler Cooper, a marriage and family therapist, tackles this difficult topic from a clinical vantage point. Both articles implore those caught in this devastating sin to seek help. The former writer eventually found freedom from the bondage of sexual sin through confession, repentance, and choosing to believe the truth of who he is. He warns: “If you are someone who needs help, please seek it now! Don’t let Satan use you as an instrument of destruction…. God so wants you to be a clean vessel for Him.” A clean vessel and how to be one—that is the thread that runs throughout this issue.