An Introduction to the Prophetic Writings of  J. Leland Earls

edited by Chris Anderson

Proceed to the Prophetic Writings of J. Leland Earls

May, 2009 

It gives me great pleasure to provide a fresh outlet for the major prophetic teachings of J. Leland Earls through firstloveministry.org. Brother Earls served the body of Christ as a Latter Rain/Charismatic Era prophet in the Northwest US from the 1960s until his "graduation" to paradise about 1991. In that period, the Lord graced him with stunning prophetic vision that weds unparalleled perception of final world events with equally penetrating insight into the Lord's hidden process of salvation culminating in our glorification. I have known no prophet before or since to approach his level of sound end time revelational teaching.

I first encountered brother Earls' writing in Dec. 1982 quite "by accident" after a time of earnest seeking about the end times. I had come to total disgust over the sensationalized books and movies on Bible prophecy based in human interpretations of modern events--while watching believers swept up in end time fever "bomb out" on the core issues of soul salvation mattering most to the Father.

I was so tired of the hype that I turned down an invite to teach on the Book of Daniel at my local assembly at that time. I said to myself I'd "never teach again" on the end times until the Lord gave me a credible basis of present revelation for understanding and applying them to the issues of the inner man. The Lord answered that prayer through Leland's writing.

In a nutshell, brother Leland's prophecies scripturally "close the gap" between our grasp of present era sanctification and our ultimate glorification. He prophesies on the phases of the Lord's return, the connections between sanctification and glorification, what is required of believers to move into translation (did I say "required?"), the stages of the translation and classes of glorification, and how to prepare for all this ahead of what is coming! He also majors on the reconstruction of the body of Christ and the re-establishment of divine order necessary to the fulfillment of the end times. These prophecies and prophetic teachings are solidly based in blended exposition of the kingdom parables, the apostolic writings and Old Testament prophetic shadows.

At the heart of Earl's work is his exposition of the harvest typology, consummating in the "manifestation of the sons of God." Now that phrase immediately sends up "red flags" to anyone previously exposed to aberrations of this concept by foolish "revelationists" who came out of the Latter Rain movement. Leland did not arise from that movement but came from a sound teaching background. I promise you--you will not find here any of the vain hyper-teachings that dogged the Latter Rain movement ("we are little gods...we ARE manifested...WE are the physical body of Jesus...WE are the Living Word so don't need the Bible...all mankind and satan will be redeemed out of the lake of fire," etc, etc.). What you will find is practical prophetic instruction on how the Lord will bring His people through to physical immortality in context of the crucible of the end times--much as you already have read in my teachings.

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A few points are in order.

First, brother Leland wrote during the height of the Cold War. Much of his perspective was shaped by the immediacy of the Soviet-American conflict of that era. The present lull in that conflict (1990's-2000's) does not negate his view. From Leland's perspective, the fall of the Iron Curtain would be interpreted as nothing more than the "deadly wounding of the beast's head" yet to be "healed." We can be certain that the Russian "bear" will eventually rise again to confront the West--already confirmed by other prophetic ministries and even now appearing again in current events. (Note the recent [Oct. 2007] challenge by Russian bombers again into British airspace.)

Similarly, as one who saw only "in part," Leland's work is virtually silent on the Islamic developments that were to develop after his departure. (To my knowledge, the only major pre-1990 American prophetic teacher to foresee the global Islamic threat was the late James McKeever [Omega Ministries ].) 

Second, I don't consider Leland infallible or agree with all his teaching. Nor did he consider himself infallible, but was open to mature prophetic scrutiny. (See Please Read First). If I found a significant weakness in his prophetic views, it was that he tended toward a sense of divine national favoritism (ie , God's favoring of Western nations) while inadequately distinguishing spiritual from national lineages in defining God's people. Superimposed on his occasional application of prophetic types and shadows from Israel to other nations, this scent can leave the misimpression that Brother Earls was a British-Israelist, which he was not and specifically disavowed.

Nevertheless, Brother Earls did not clearly articulate our transnational identity as the Church. However, this is a peripheral weakness and does not undermine the soundness of his core prophetic insights on the harvest of the inner man in the end times.

Similarly, Brother Earls and I differ in our applications of certain theological concepts outside the core of his prophetic instruction. Where such concepts significantly emerge, I editorially note our differences to avoid confusion between his and my teaching in these regards. But again these issues are peripheral to the core of his prophetic teachings as presented here and do not impact their value.   

Third, in editing Leland's writings, I remain faithful to his original words and formatting as much as possible. My edits apply primarily to four areas:

1)      King James English. Except for article titles, I have converted almost all King James English pronouns, endings and other words into modern English, both scripture quotes and prophecies. (It was common for Pentecostal-Latter Rain era prophets to prophesy in King James English.) These edits are marked by italics.

2)      Minor typographic, grammatical and spelling errors. These edits are unmarked.

3)      Elimination of original page references, outdated addresses and extraneous dated personal commentary (such as in prefaces) that was not germane to the articles. These eliminations are unmarked.

4)      Minor word changes or eliminations for clarity; and insertion of sectional headings for ease of comprehension. I also add an occasional commentary note, which is clearly marked as my own. Any such changes, eliminations or insertions are marked with brackets [  ]. If a sectional heading is not bracketed, it is in the original. All use of parentheses, underlining and most capitalization is in the original.

Note that brother Earls' did not copyright his original writings. Nor did he claim any human ownership over them while he was with us, but rather made his truth free for reproduction. In his own words:

"I would like to explain to new readers that I belong to no organization or denomination but am free to minister to the members of the Body of Christ wherever the Lord leads. The truths that God is revealing do not belong to anyone exclusively, nor are they to be used to build up any man, work or organization. This is the hour when the Lord alone is to be exalted and glorified and when the non-sectarian church of the living God is to function as He has purposed. This church is not confined to any particular movement or segment of God's people."

 

(Prologue to The Manifested Sons, Vol. 1, No. 1 -- Feb. 1966)

Note also that I have not posted the entirety of Leland's writings--only the core writings I possess which I also deem useful in our time and to be essentially harmonious with my own teaching. The legacy of Bro. Earls' complete ministry remains with his sons, who may also still have some early paper copies of his writings, as well as through  Shepherdsfield Publishers of Missouri which continues to make edited versions of these and other Earls writings available in paperback.  A biography of Leland's spiritual journey ("A New and Living Way") and contact information to learn more about his past ministry is posted here.

If you are blessed by these prophecies and teachings, you may send any donation to those who retain his complete legacy. (Note: This is not a personal recommendation of these ministries as I have no history with either, nor is this a recommendation of anything else published by Shepherdsfield.)  

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The writings of Leland Earls are not for everyone. They are only for the spiritually mature and those who aspire to be. They require great thought and meditation. One can study these works for a decade (as I did) and still not absorb the totality of their richness, their depth of thought and their breadth of scope! If you have come to this website with exposure only to what today passes as the "prophetic movement," be prepared to have your mind challenged and changed. Only an earnest student of Christ with a deep spiritual hunger for something more than prophetic "theater" should even attempt to engage these works.  

I never had the privilege of meeting Leland Earls in person, but did meet him in spirit through personal correspondence. Now, through this free web reproduction of his most central works, you have the opportunity to "meet" him in spirit as well. I would be happy to receive any thoughtful comments that you as a fellow disciple may have on his writings.

Faithfully,

Chris Anderson

First Love Ministry

Anglemar Fellowship

Proceed to the Prophetic Writings of J. Leland Earls

  Page revised May 13, 2015