Fire On Your Head

“Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.  Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” (John 2:6-10, ESV)

After initially posting my first article on the verses 1-5 of the second chapter of John’s Gospel, where this account is found, I’ve since been reflecting on it and had some things pointed out to me by the same friend who inspired me to write that first post, showing me just how deeply prophetic this action of Christ’s at the wedding truly was.  We simply must reflect some more on it.

When the wine ran out people didn’t go on with the emotional hype as usual.  There was a lack.  There was a need, and Mary was honest about the spiritually poor condition (so to speak) of the fact that the gathering lacked wine.  She doesn’t continue on with the celebration as if nothing is wrong, nor does she make excuses concerning why the wine ran out or why enough may not have been prepared.  She realized the need and goes straight to the source–Jesus Christ, her earthly son.  This took a tremendous amount of confidence and humility of her to ask–because as we learned in the last post on this–providing the wine and any other thing was the groom’s responsibility and not that of any of the guests–of which Jesus was one.

When you come to Jesus with your need not hiding or covering anything up, be ready for Him to speak and do exactly what he says.  Follow His instructions.  He said to get the vessels and fill them with water.  HERE is where the lesson is…

What kind of vessels were they?  They were the ceremonial vessels used in the Jewish synagogue for ritual or ceremonial cleansing, and they were dry, and empty.  The vessels that were designed and used to wash iniquity and impurity lacked water, and thus were not fulfilling their purpose.  The Church and our pulpits today lack a true fresh right now Word from God, and because the pulpit is anorexic the Church is sick because there is no washing with the water of the Word.  The vessels designed to WASH or bring purification themselves lacked the pure water.

Fill your life with the word of God.  Devour the Bible in your personal life, not just for study, blogging or preaching, but just fill up on it.  Then out of that, you will fill your ministry with the Word and fresh revelation.

The wedding lacked wine, but the vessels designed to cleanse from sin lacked water.

When you get filled with the Word, there will be cleansing from sin, and revival can then break out.  But we often times want to go straight to the wine, but first you must ALWAYS be filled with the word, and cleansed.  How can there be joy if there is no cleansing or forgiveness?  How can there be washing or cleansing if there is no water in the very ministries designed to bring cleansing from impurity?  In this account, the vessels, the instruments–representing the ministry or the ministers designed for cleansing–were dry and empty.

Jesus instructed to fill them with water (or fill em with the Word) and draw out of that which it is filled with, and it had now turned into the fresh new thing.  This is what happens when we fill up on the Word of God–joy and anointing of the Holy Spirit will flow from our lives and be manifested.  This is Jesus’ “little secret” for bringing new wine or revival.  I use the term ‘little secret’ kinda loosely when I really mean to say ‘forgotten or neglected truth’ because it’s plain, but many still don’t seem to know it.

Jesus’ solution is that the vessels He desires to use–they can be people, or ministries, etc…be filled with the fresh revelation of the Word.  And only when you draw from that fresh filling–not with a pseudo-superficial emotional filling–but a real genuine soaking in the WORD, then what you draw out will be an aged matured product that produces fruit–fruit matured and pressed, that produces joy, the wine of the Holy Spirit.

Isn’t it interesting that there was no wine, but there was also no water where there should have been water–in the Church, in the pulpit.  Jesus’ first instructions were not immediately wine, it was filling [the Church] with water, or filling those vessels first.

Saving the Best Wine For Last

The master of the feast in this account remarked that the best wine had been saved for last.  I believe personally that this is a picture of the Church, that in the early form as documented in Acts chapter 2, there was an outpouring of the Spirit that birthed and sustained the Church, but that right before The Wedding of the Lamb, the best wine will have been poured out and the Church will have made herself ready.  Revelation 19:6-8 states how the great multitude is gathered and clothed in white linen representing the righteous acts of the saints.  There will be no possible way to be so clothed except for the power of the wine of the Holy Spirit poured out on a people cleansed and washed by the power of the Word of God.  Joel 2:28-32 gives us a glimpse of that:

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.”And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.  The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.” For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.”

This account details what those ‘last days’ will look like, however, Peter referenced that in Acts 2:17-21, but refers to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost as being evidence of the last days already being up on us.  It’s been the last days already for almost 2000 years (see Are We Living in The Last Days?).  It’s probably little to no secret to any historian or student of Church history the Church started with an explosion, and then went into a significant spiritual dark age, and for the last few hundred years has been gradually having forgotten truths restored to it ever since the great Reformation.  We are getting nearer and nearer to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, subsequent to the return of Christ the Bridegroom.  He is and has been saving the best wine for last.

If Jesus is going to purify us to present us to Himself ready for that day, then that means in these last days the Lord is going to also confront us more and more because He loves us and longs to be with us.  The purpose of tribulation on the earth will not be specifically to yank His Bride from it to avoid that hour, but to prepare and further purify Her for the Wedding.  This is also how I read the book of Revelation–through the Apostle John’s perspective–the friend of the Bridegroom whom Jesus’ loved.  I read it through a Bridal Paradigm, and see the Bridegroom coming back in full force ready to finally obtain His Bride He longs for.

If we don’t get a good grasp of the dealings of the Lord now we will become offended at Him and His work when He comes with the water of His Word and begins to put us under the microscope and also allow us to go through intense persecution we’ve not previously known because He just wants to be with us, and have us prepared for it.

Are you ready for the fresh outpouring that’s breaking out and coming?

“On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her,  “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:1-5)

I’d like to take you on a bit of a journey to see something totally fascinating in Scripture that I had never seen before until recently when a missionary-friend laboring in Mexico posted some comments on a status update of mine on Facebook.  I think this ties in perfectly with my series lately on “Love, The More Excellent Way” but is more like a footnote, as opposed to an actual entry in that series, and I will post the second part in the next week or two.

This revelation pertains to both the love of God, and the ‘wine’ we’ve been talking about, and we have already been meditating on and studying how “love is better than wine.” (SoS 1:2, 4:10).

If we read from Genesis to Revelation, Scripture begins with a wedding, ends with a wedding, and all through out The Bible the Kingdom of heaven is likened to a wedding; God’s desired relationship and covenant with His people Israel in the Old Testament, and The Church included in the New Testament–it’s always likened to a marriage covenant.  We see books like Hosea, Ruth, and Song of Solomon really exemplifying this in the OT.   In the New Testament, we read Jesus and Paul talking about the mystery of marriage being about Christ and us His Bride–the Church. Parables of Jesus’ point to this as well (check out Matthew 22:1-14 – the wedding feast, and Matthew 25:1-13 the ten virgins, for further mediation on this). Revelation, the final book shows a multitudinous crowd rejoicing because it’s time for the marriage supper, and the Bride has made herself ready–grown in maturity through this process of love, devotion, and obedience (see Rev 19:6-8).

I’m convinced that the Song of Solomon is one of the most fascinating, profound, and beautiful books of the entire Scripture canon, and this short book of eight chapters is relevant to all Christians, everywhere and in every generation.  Whether you read it allegorically or not, it’s a key that helps unlock much of the rest of the Word of God and the ‘mysteries’ contained therein only make sense through the lens of the Love of God.

When Jesus was at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-12) and they ran out of wine, His mother came to Him and addresses the issue. And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” (v. 4) For years, we have been taught and thought that it refers to it not having been Jesus’ time for public ministry.  Others have taught this refers to Jesus’ work on the Cross that He is referring to in some kind of abstract kind of way.  Both views and others like it are impossible.

Jesus stated that He only did what He saw his Father doing and whatever the Father does, the Son does (John 5:19).   If it was not time for Jesus to have performed a miracle and He did it anyways, He would have been doing something outside the time and will of God.  In that very moment, He would have sinned, but we know this was not so of the sinless lamb of God.  No, Jesus knew no iniquity.  Therefore, He could not have been referring to it not being the time for His public ministry.

What did He really mean?

It was the Jewish custom for the groom’s father to have worked out with the family of the bride the details concerning the wedding arrangement, including the date of the actual ceremony.  The Bridegroom would go to his father’s house and build a place for himself and his bride to live, usually attached to his father’s house.  Remember, Jesus told His disciples–probably when their understanding hadn’t yet been opened to the fact He was viewing them as His collective Bride: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:3)  The Bridegroom would not know when the day was, but sometime after building the house, the father would then tell him “go, it’s time.”  Jesus also told us regarding His return, “concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” (Matt 24:36, Mark 13:32)

At that appointed time, the groom and his friends would leave his home and proceed to the home of the bride, where the marriage ceremony was conducted, often at night. Usually a servant was sent first some time ahead of the bridegroom, to ‘pave the way’ and awaken the bride and the virgins.  Since the servant would not know which one was the bride, she would sleep in her wedding dress since the wedding ceremony would customarily be at night, and she more than likely would be awakened from sleep for it. After this the entire wedding party returned to the groom’s home for a celebratory feast.  This engagement process could last any number of months, possibly a year or more if the bridegroom was preparing their place in a far distance away to travel to, and return from.  As mentioned, many of Jesus’ parables or teachings regarding His return to the earth used wedding and marriage imagery they would be familiar with.

Why does this really matter?

It was also the Bridegroom’s responsibility to prepare enough wine for the reception and celebration of His own wedding. When Jesus was stating that His time had not come and what did that have to do with Him, he was saying: “It is not time for me to prepare the wine of my own wedding yet.” Jesus went ahead and did the miracle because it was the Father’s timing for him at that moment to perform that miracle.  Why? Because Jesus had to give just one more little glimpse that he is a lovesick Lover looking to prepare and present to Himself a pure and spotless Bride one in whom HE makes pure by washing her with His Word!

Remember Jesus’ disciples for a moment:  these guys ran with Jesus, and at one point in Luke’s Gospel after Christ’s resurrection, it says He opened the Scriptures to them and open their eyes to understand, and they ‘recognized Him’. (Ch. 24:31-32)  Of course you are gonna have a group of single guys, or gals, adults or married folks who in hearing they actually don’t unless understanding has been opened to who they are as His beloved.  Of course they are going to be dull in hearing and totally misinterpret Scripture!  We should not be surprised in any way at the reactions of the disciples had to some of the things Jesus told them and the crowds prior to this moment in their lives. Hence the reason we need to be washed with the Word, and have our mind renewed (Rom 12:1-2).

The reason this matters, is because it was and is all a part of The Plan.  The Gospel is the ultimate love story.  God loved you before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4).  He didn’t wait to see how you’d turn out before He decided to love you.  He, in the form of a man on the cross, died to make a way for you to be included in His Bride, while you were yet dead in your sins (Col 2:13).  Not only that, He made Himself vulnerable to your rejecting of His gift of eternal life, and relationship with Him, before you even entered the earth. “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” (Eph 2:4-5)  Before you even had a chance to make a commitment to Him or to reject Him, and spend eternity separated from Him, He loved you and desired you.  Before you even committed any sin that led to His sacrifice even being necessary.  Ultimately,  He died before His Bride even knew about it and that that was the plan.

There’s coming a time, a consummation of the ages, where The Wedding Feast will finally take place–and for the joy set before Him who endured the cross, despising its shame (Heb 12:2), Christ who died that you may be able to know Him and spend eternity with him–will finally get to.  It’s up to you to decide if you want to be a part of that, since He’s done His part and is waiting…

Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he says to me, ‘Write blessed is those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ And he says to me, ‘These are true words of God.’ -Revelation 19:7-9 (Read vv7-16 for context.)

The State of the Church at Christ’s Coming

“Nothing else has to happen. All the prophecies have been fulfilled. Christ can come back at any moment.” I was taught eschatological statements such as these early on in my Christian experience. If the quote is true, then the verse is not. Read it. We know that the Word is exactly as it is entitled; the Word of God. It is true. Therefore, we must ask this question, “Does the body of Christ, the church, reflect, resemble, or even remotely compare to the Bride, mentioned here, clothed in white linen, bright and clean-being her righteous acts? Honestly? Unless you are hard, and have already written this off; then the answer should be clear. As of now, the case is that she is not ready.

[All right, with that said: This is not an exegesis on the passage, with intrinsic and extrinsic analysis, and language, time, and transliterated study of this passage. Nor is it an eschatological dogmatic discourse. This is a study with a view (Eph 1:10 NASB) of getting the church ready and moving forward for what is to come. Yes, this is a remark that differs from modern “pre-trib” rapture theology--term used for the sake of identifying my theology, but an explanation is needed because the term itself may still imply differences in my theology. This is not a debate on the subject nor is it an end.]

Prepare the Bride

What is Jesus returning for? A better question would be; whom? His bride. Therefore, as we all know, multi-culturally, (especially in Hebraic context), that the bride has to prepare herself for The Wedding. As Esther (Esther 2:12), she must prepare herself. How does she prepare? According to this apocalyptical passage, the answer is righteous acts. This is not my opinion; this is what the Scripture says.

…the bride has made herself ready… to clothe herself in fine linen… the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints

Righteousness?

No, we are not righteous in ourselves. It is grace that gets us in, and able to be righteous. Read the book of Romans, this is very clear, that we become righteous in him, and from this new state, we are now able to perform the acts of righteousness. We do not get in the kingdom by works, but once we are in, we are required to work to advance it. Read James, after Romans and you will see, not a contradiction, but an understanding of this. This is a demonstration of the “Obedience of the Faith,” (Rom 1:26; 16:15). This is our purpose, to bring the nations into the obedience of the faith. When we live righteous through Christ, then we will be able to perform these righteous acts, making the bride clean. And the cleaner she is, the more ready she will be for her wedding day. Much of the church is still wearing filthy garments, even though it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen. Yes, they are saved, but just clinging to salvation.[1] Not to mention the lack of service (Eph 4:13). We are individually saved, but we must act as a body in righteousness, to make the whole church clean. We need a revival to get the sin out! We need a revolution, to perform the acts of righteousness from that clean state! Part of preparing the way of the Lord is by preparing ourselves to meet Him.

Each man’s work will become evident; for the day it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet as through fire. -1 Corinthians 3:13-15

Do not be one of those that waste your life either by just looking for a “rapture,” to occur, or by not building anything in righteousness for the kingdom. Why barely escape the flames of hell, when you could have an eternity full of rewards for the righteous acts that you accomplished here on earth?  The next passage hits the nail on the head:

Therefore do not let sin rein in your mortal body so that you do not obey its lust, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under the law but under grace. -Romans 6:12-14

The Discussion

Now let us back up and take a closer look at our main text (Rev 19:7-16). I have a good friend whom I study Scripture with. When we first met, he mainly leaned toward pre-trib theology, and now he is solidly post-trib. We still discuss pre-trib theology for a better understanding of both positions. Also, so we know that our doctrinal stance is sufficient in Scripture.[2]

This passage is usually divided into two main sections, which most Bibles subtitle. The first is; The Marriage Supper of the Lamb. The next is; The Coming Christ. Pre-trib doctrine mainly teaches that because the marriage supper is mentioned first, and then the coming of the Lord, the church must have been raptured beforehand.[3] And this was my friend’s question; how can this be true, and post-trib still be the correct eschatological understanding?[4]

He stopped me in my tracks. How would this work? The aforementioned interpretation of the verses is the way that I had always understood it as well. I told him that I had no conclusion as I just kept rereading the passage.[5]

The Pre-Tribulation Spectacles

Often in examining apocalyptic Scripture, we may have a prefabricated mindset (such as the interpretation that was mentioned). This may be due to previous teaching we may have heard on the subject. This perspective, however, may not be in correct context, interpretation, or application of the passage. I call this reading the Scripture while “wearing pre-trib glasses”. You are looking at the Scripture wearing the spectacles of a mindset of and existing teaching, which may prevent you from seeing the actual section in context of the Word.[6] And I was wearing them as I read the passage.

Context-Context-Context

As I kept rereading the section, I started to read it for what it said, not what I thought it said. Pre-trib states that vv7-9 is the marriage supper of the Lamb. The Scripture does not say that. It says that the time has come but does not mention the actual ceremony. Next it says blessed are those who are invited. How can they be invited to something that has already happened? What you have in context here is this: An announcement that the time for the wedding has come, an exhortation of the invitation, and then in vv 11-16, you have the Bridegroom going forth with His armies to gather his bride and separate from them those who are not invited. So what this is essentially saying is that the time has come for Jesus to return for His bride and judge the earth. She is now ready, because of her righteous acts and able to marry the Bride-groom.

White Linen, Bright and Clean

She will not be raptured before she is ready, this would not make any sense, specifically in contextual light of this verse. He is coming for a pure church, a spotless bride. She does not go to heaven and get white linen. Its given to her here, the ability to make herself ready by performing righteous acts. Fine linen is the righteousness carried out. Being righteous is the clothing of the church in white. It is not a future heavenly event that we get at the wedding feast. We are already wearing white when He comes to get us.

Righteousness is a state of being that comes about by acting righteously. This spiritually materializes into the fine linen, the bright and clean garments. When the worldwide body of Christ, the church, walks in this, and it is increasing (2 Peter 1:8), the more ready we will be, and the closer we will be to the wedding day.

[Please do not be offended by my comments, we are still brothers and sisters in the Lord, even if we disagree. Do study what I write; if you hold to pre-trib, then this should strengthen that stance, if it is indeed right. Just have an open mind and consider, as I was forced to do when re-examining this passage.]

Yes! Christ’s Return Actually Depends on You!

Yes, He can do anything, whatever He wants. He wrote the passage. He chose to do to do it this way. He is not trying to deceive us. And I am not trying to deceive you; I am just reading this passage for what it says. Just looking for Him and not acting does not demonstrate a life of faith. If you just waiting for Him to show up, then your entire life will pass you by, and you will have nothing to show for it. You still may get to heaven, yet as [one] through fire. Why be one that barely escapes the flames of hell, when you can have an abundance in heaven, an eternal life with the reward of the testimony of having done righteous acts here on the earth? I am not going to enter into all the little facts of this looking argument. I am going to stay on the point, and the point is this: Acting will bring it to pass and in grace, accomplish the kingdom.

In these last days, this new Jesus age, the church is supposed to shine with all the glory of God, showing the world that Jesus is Lord with all signs, wonders, and miracles.

But all things become visible, when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says; ‘Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.’ –Ephesians 5:13-14

The church must be awake in the last hour, if she is going to wake up the world. Awake is acting in righteousness. Not only must she be awake, but she must be here. Her leaving, in context with this Scripture, is a lie from hell, sent to hypnotize the church into thinking that she is ready, and all that she has to do is wait. She needs to wake up from this spell of sleep, which has been cast upon her. The church thinks that it is OK, but when that light shines, the darkness of the lie is exposed, and she must embrace truth if she is to move on.[7]

The State of the Church

So let us examine the state of the church now; and that which is described, which He is coming back for. Let us be honest and understand that we are not there yet. Let us pray that the Lord will reveal what it takes to be that perfect bride that He is looking for. If America was as full of as many Christians as she says she is, then the state of the union would reflect the state of the church. But now, it is obvious that the state of church reflects the state of the union. We can perform acts of righteousness and reverse this, and save a nation for God!

[2] You can be solid in your doctrinal theological beliefs and still consider other points of view on Scripture to help you grow, without shifting back and forth, in an unstable faith. Read Eph 4:11-16.

[3] Many refer to this as a hidden meaning in Rev 4:1. No, I do not think John was raptured here. I am not going to discuss it; I am just making the point. For those of you who study eschatology, you know this study could escalate, so I am going to stay on tract of the theme of this inquirer.

[4] It was more of a question of how it applied, not: if there is no post explanation he would become pre again. We all as believers must challenge each other and seek the knowledge of God for the things that we have yet to understand about Him. Now we have to look at every verse in context to find the plumb line of truth that stretches through out the Word.

[5] This will happen for any serious Bible student. When it does, consider it. Do not hide from it and pretend that is not there. Say “I don’t know.” If you are seeking truth, then, no matter what the outcome, (remaining solid in your faith of course), then the Lord will show you His way and truth. Wait on Him, the answer may be swift or slow, but it will come.

[6] One thing that I learned in Ministry School was to look at the verse in context. There are many teachings out there that pull verses out of context that create theologies that are not Biblical. Read the verse for what is says, not for what someone else has told you it says. We do need teachers, be we have a responsibility to study Scripture accurately on our own.

[7] Not all who subscribe to this doctrine are asleep. They are acting in righteousness, preaching the Gospel to the ends of the earth. I am making the point because the majority of the American church believes this, and will all the hundreds of millions that profess this; they don’t seem to be accomplishing much. I am not attacking you if you subscribe to this; I am challenging you with a new perspective.

“…. Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles…” 1 Cor. 1.23

The Greek mind is one of loftiness, strength, impressive appearance, political power, and everything that men long for in their most heightened covetousness. The Greek gods of the first century were formidable, musclebound figures who threw bolts of lightning and carried out orgies with multitudes of women and goddesses. They were towering images, gods that evoked the praise of the ancient world by their intimidating tales and legendary feats. They were revered in the minds of their adherers because of their largesse and authoritarian grandeur. That’s what makes up the Greek mind, and modern western culture, though it does not revere Zeus or any of the other Greek gods, is driven by the same spirit exactly.

It’s remarkable to me how the heavenly mind is of a totally different order. The One true God sent His Son, who took on the dust of the earth and was born in Bethlehem, a little Jewish baby. He did not come throwing lightning bolts, flexing huge muscles and frightening men into submission by His domineering right hand. He came as a vulnerable, soft-skinned, breast-feeding infant, and the wisdom of God was here displayed in a manner that the earth had not seen to that point.

The immeasurable might of the Living God was displayed through His Son in every way, but the Greek/Roman mind cannot fathom it. We are much more of that mind than we would care to admit.

We would not have expected the Son of God to take on Jewish flesh and to be born in a stable. We would not have expected that He would experience a mostly normal childhood, growing up in Nazareth, which was a first century ghetto of Israel. We would not have expected that for roughly 18 years He would work in a carpentry shop, promoting no ministry, preaching from no platform, writing no newsletter, holding no healing campaigns. We would not have expected that He would sink Himself into the mirky waters of the Jordan, where all of His kinsmen were repenting of their sins, and that He also would take part in the baptism of John. We would not have expected that He would spend the first half of His publicized ministry telling people that He had healed not to announce that He was the messiah. We would not have expected that He would forgive the woman caught in adultery. We would not have expected that He would bless little children. We would not have expected that He would stoop low to wash the feet of the disciples, men who were often asking the most ridiculous questions about who gets what reward and whose name will be most known. And we, like Peter and the others, would not have expected that this Royal One would be found, whipped bloody and beaten to a pulp, hanging from a cross at the young age of 33. None of this befits authority or power in our Greek-influenced minds.

Yet in the weakness of all these events in the life of the Son, the fullness of God Himself is permanently etched into the annals of eternity and history. The Greek gods, with all of their boasting, flexing and roaring, are only hollow fables and lifeless characters inspired by fallen angels. Their names and words will rot without memory in the age to come. But the One who displayed the fullness of the only powerful God, is the One who showed forth His strength in expressions of holy weakness. 

Are our lives and ministries expressions of His life, or are they dominated by the Greek mindset? Do we look always for what’s bigger, stronger, externally impressive, bringing glory to our names or movements? Are we content with expressions of weakness in hidden places, where no gratification comes to us other than the glory of communion with God? 

The One who expressed Himself through weakness will soon return with fire in His eyes, a sword on His side, and vengeance against all that runs contrary to the love and purity of His kingdom. The “Greek” mindset will be permanently overturned, and the way of righteousness and justice will be established once and for all. How will our lives and ministries stand in the day of His fire?

“The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.“ (Leviticus 6:12-13, ESV)

This is a continuation of my previous post, All Consuming Fire, and is not necessary to read before continuing further, but doing so is highly encouraged.

If you took a match and lit a curtain with it, the flames would spread, but the initial spot you lit on fire would die out almost immediately once the fire has consumed all there is to consume, and leave behind ashes.  This is why you need to continually add the fuel to the fire to keep it burning.  That way the fire doesn’t just affect what it touches and move on, but continues to burn in the same spot as well.

This is also why the priests were continually adding wood to the fire night and day. The requirement for the them mentioned in our opening text concerning the burnt offering would serve as a special exhortation for the priests to be faithful in their duties so that the worship of the Lord could continue uninterrupted. The bush Moses saw in Exodus chapter 3 was burning but didn’t disappear or get destroyed.  This is a profound symbol of the torch the Christian believer is supposed to be.  If the Christian would burn for the Lord and keep maintaining his fire, allowing passion and zeal to consume him like a fire, then there’s no reason we can’t continually burn for Him, and destroy the works of darkness, changing the atmosphere wherever we may find ourselves.

In Exodus 25 we read of the instructions for how the different items for the tabernacle were to be built, and we notice that the lampstand was such that it had 3 branches on one side and 3 branches on the other. And in each branch there were 3 knobs. You will notice that there are 9 sections on each side, which this writer believes represent the 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit on one side and the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit on the other side.  The oil used for this was from the olive, of which there could be no oil unless it was pressed, symbolizing that the oil of the Spirit doesn’t flow from the inner man until the outer man–our flesh–is completely crushed. We could do a whole study that would edify the reader concerning the symbolism of the olive oil and olive branches, but suffice it to say for today, oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit in Scripture.

That being said, we read in Matthew 25:1-13 the parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins waiting for the Bridegroom to come back for His Bride. Jesus is likened here to the Bridegroom, and the Church (Christians) are His Bride.  Since the warning at the end of this parable is intended for the listener/reader, we can assume then we are also likened to the virgins in this parable.  Therefore, we are in charge of whether we will be foolish or wise–whether we will remain filled with the Spirit of God or whether we’ll be foolish like the ones who did not have enough oil for their lamps and the fire went out by the time of His return.

It was the Jewish custom for the groom’s father to have worked with the family of the bride details concerning the wedding arrangement, including the date of the wedding ceremony.  Oftentimes women were betrothed in their teenage years, and the groom would go to his father’s house and build a place for himself and his bride to live, attached to his father’s house.  Jesus said “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:3)  The Bridegroom would not know when the day was, but sometime after building the house, the father would then tell “go, it’s time.”

At that time, the groom and his friends would leave his home and proceed to the home of the bride, where the marriage ceremony was conducted, often at night. Usually a servant was sent first some time ahead of the bridegroom, to ‘pave the way’ and awaken the bride and the virgins.  Since the servant would not know which one was the bride, she would sleep in her wedding dress since the wedding ceremony would customarily be at night. After this the entire wedding party returned to the groom’s home for a celebratory feast.  This engagement process could last any number of months, possibly a year or more if the bridegroom was preparing their place in a far distance away to travel to, and return from.

The lamps they used here were large dome-shaped torches, fueled by rags soaked in oil and used for walking outside.  With extra containers of oil, the torches could last for hours, and as a result they needed regular refilling.  Therefore, since the bride and the virgins did not know how long it may take before the bridegroom returned, they had to always be prepared. Who knows how much oil they needed to buy in the first place, but in keeping with other Scripture, they probably had to do it sacrificially in order to continually afford to buy oil to keep their lamps constantly refilled.  The foolish ones, didn’t count the cost, and were only prepared up to a certain point–’just enough’ in their own estimation.  But the wise ones kept their fire burning.

Unfortunately, I’m afraid much of the Body of Christ is like the five foolish virgins.  The five foolish ones had lamps, but not enough oil, which speaks of having form and style, but no substance.  Many a church and its programs are going on continually without the fire, without the power of the Holy Spirit, the oil of gladness (Psa 45:7). This isn’t a stretch since we still have a large portion of the Body of Christ that doesn’t even believe in being filled with the Holy Spirit.  But on that day when He returns for His Bride, some will not be ready, and at that time it will be too late to refill the oil in their lamps.

Ephesians 5:17-18 says “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.” The words used in the original Greek refer to a continual on-going filling, so as to more accurately say keep being filled [with the Spirit].  The Holy Spirit is a like a fuel, or oil to the fire of God’s presence in our live.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2.  The same way the fat and flesh of the animal was placed on the altar to be burned up, we too are to have none of our flesh in the way that the flowing of the Holy Spirit through us would continually burn that which needs to die.  Doing so helps us to be filled with Him, and to know what His perfect will is.  The more we’re burned up with His fire and His presence, the less like the world–and like our old man–we’ll be.

Colossians 3:16 says ^“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Jeremiah referred to the Word of the Lord as a fire that burned in his bones (Jer 20:9).  Let the Word of the Lord dwell in you richly, and stay continually filled with the Holy Spirit, and you will keep the fire of God burning in your life, and you will be ready for His revival presence when He comes in power.  The oil of the Spirit will ignite the Words of Christ in you if you are storing them in your heart.

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More fuel for your fire:

A message from Jerome Ocampo on Keeping The Pure Fire Burning that is similar in content, and preached at a past Fire For Life Summer School in the Netherlands.

Download mp3 (right click and save)

“Alas! That day is so great
there is none like it;
it is a time of distress for Jacob;
yet he shall be saved out of it.
…. For I am with you to save you, declares the Lord;
I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you,
but of you I will not make a full end.
I will discipline you in just measure,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.” -Jer. 30.7, 11

The prophets of Israel have spoken about a time of distress which will befall the Jewish race at the time just preceding the return of their Messiah (Ps. 2, 83; Is. 10; Jer. 30; Ez. 35-38; Zech. 12-14; Am. 9). As dark as Israel’s history has often been, the prophets indicate that a time is coming that will transcend every past event in the measure of trial, suffering, tragedy, and breaking experienced. The salvation that Jews will experience both now and at the end of the age has everything to do with the cross of Christ, as it is revealed through the Church.

The history of the people Israel is simultaneously the most glorious and the most tragic history of any nation. The Lord’s activity in Israel’s history is like a precious coin that we are able to hold high and behold in wonder. One side is that of His merciful acts of deliverance and salvation, and the other side shows us His disciplinary acts, His holy judgments, and His chastening of the same nation. Our unwillingness or ignorance in seeing this “coin” has played a significant role in maiming the Church, and keeping her from the character and nature that she is called to bear.

Israel is a unique witness. No other nation has seen the magnitude and majesty of God’s Divine and miraculous works in its midst. A brief survey of the scriptures leaves us dumbfounded at the display of Yahweh’s hand in the midst of, and on behalf of, His people Israel.

From the appearances of God to Abraham and the patriarchs, to the angelic activity so frequent in the Old Testament. From the strong hand of deliverance openly manifested against Pharoah and Egypt, to His mighty appearance and speaking in a thunderstorm on Sinai. From the pillar of coud by day to the pillar fire by night. From the manna which fell from heaven to the water which sprung out from the rock. From Elijah’s raising of the widow’s son, to the falling of fire from Heaven. From an endless list of signs and wonders, to the fiery oracles of the prophets. The list goes on and on and on, and the historical accounts of these events are shocking, breathtaking, and beyond our ability to fathom.

As remarkable as the revelation of God is in the OT, the Lord took it to a permanent climax in the revelation of Himself through His Son in the NT. John the apostle wrote, “we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (Jn. 1.14b)

The miracles He performed were too vast to number, and they extended into the book of Acts and beyond. This is all a part of Israel’s long history, and the glorious activity of God in Her midst. Consider now the cross, the greatest display of God’s nature and power in history! It took place in the land of Israel, and in the midst of a predominately Jewish crowd.

Consider His resurrection and subsequent appearances, all to a group of faint-hearted, disoriented Jewish disciples! Consider the fact that He preached, in a resurrected body, for forty days on matters concerning the Kingdom of God! Glorious time! And the apostles recorded none of it for us to hear? But there He was with a remnant from within Israel.

Consider His ascension before approximately 500 Jewish souls. Consider the 120 and the thousands that would encounter Him through them, when the Spirit of Holiness was copiously poured out on the day of Pentecost. This all took place to Israel, and to a group made up mostly of Jews. Remarkable!

It goes without saying that Israel, more than any other nation, has had the greatest opportunity to see and behold the glory of the One true God, for bursting from Her chronicles come the words of the prophets and the acts of the Lord, which reach their fulfillment in the great Prophet and Priest, the Son of God Himself.

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son…” -Heb. 1.1-2a

As we flip the coin of His presence in Israel’s history, we see the tragedy of a people who respond, more often than not, in unfaithfulness to the One who has revealed Himself to them. Their disobedience and unbelief have left them in the most precarious and horrendous of places.

Roughly 400 years in Egypt as slave laborers; Decades in wilderness wanderings because of their unbelief; Over 50 years of exile and homelessness under the heavy hand of Babylon in the 6th century B.C. Devastation, mass slaughter, and displacement under the hand of Rome in 70 A.D. Centuries of diaspora and unsettledness. Temples and synagogues have been destroyed. Homes have been plundered and families broken up. Holocausts have rocked world Jewry, not the least of which was that of WWII, where over 6 million Jewish souls (including more than a million children) were wiped off of the face of the earth through a demonically inspired season of systematic annihilation. How can we put words to the depth of anguish that has been Israel’s experience? We agonize when we see the photos and hear the stories, and we haven’t a clue as outsiders how profound the distress really is.

Yet God, in His overarching wisdom, was ever-present in the midst of these unfathomable days of horror, confusion, and genocide.

As unspeakably tragic and dark as these historical details are- and we haven’t got the words to define the depth of their darkness- they only make up a small glimpse of Israel’s historical sufferings.

Though not many would make note of it, the internal devastation of Israel is much profounder, for She is destined to be a “nation of priests” and a “light unto the world,” setting forth the knowledge of God to the nations. This She has been mostly ignorant of, or outright opposed to, and this has not only caused the perishing of many in Her midst, but the apostasy of the nations has been further enflamed by Her lack of Priestly function in the earth.

I have yet to mention the stark reality of Hell itself, which is not only populated with evil dictators and mass murderers, but with millions of Jewish souls as well. Has this stricken our souls as believers in the Scripture?

The fact that we have been unwilling to consider the absoluteness of Hell is a statement that we have not known God as He is. We prefer our own comfort and ease over against the burden which caused prophets to weep, apostles to preach, and Jesus to bear the cross. The proof that we are unwilling to consider the reality of Hell is in the fact that we are not weeping, praying, and laboring to see men redeemed in the present, while they still have opportunity to be saved. The Church is especially guilty of this with regard to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.

O, the horror of thinking that so many have been cut off from the very communion that He had desired them to be the heralds of! The horror of their eternal separation from the experience of grace, the Spirit which set David to dancing and the prophets to prophesying! It was meant for Her national experience, and yet how small of a remnant has actually tasted His goodness!

Do our hearts remain comfortable and well-primped in the face of their eternal death? Have we no tears for them? Have we no tears for Jerusalem? Though the external sufferings have been overwhelmingly dark, the greater cataclysm is that by and large, for the majority of Her existence, that nation whose history has seen more Divine mercy and grace than any other has spent the bulk of Her years totally removed from a vital union with the God Who has so persistently sought Her out.

“Your holy people held possession for a little while;
our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.
We have become like those over whom You have never ruled,
like those who are not called by Your name.” -Is. 64.18-19

All of Israel’s “little while” possessions have been so fleeting, like vapors which rise and dissipate with a brevity that only magnifies the seasons in which Yahweh’s “adversaries have trampled down” His sanctuary. The nations are perishing, and the people of God are languishing for want of a true revelation of God, and it can only come in the fullest sense when Israel steps into the priestly/national role for which reason She has been set apart.

When I speak of Israel on these terms, I am not speaking of the modern State of Israel, but the remnant from within the people Israel, who are presently scattered abroad throughout the nations of the earth.

As the prophets have declared, Israel’s entry into Priestly destiny will not occur without the most immense and trying events she has ever known. A time of distress is coming, “such as never has been since there was a nation till that time.” (Dan. 12.1) She is going to come into a national experience of death, the likes of which we cannot describe or categorize. It is simply said by Jeremiah, “That Day is so great, there is none like it.”

Israel, residing in various nations, will experience the greatest opposition and distress that she has ever known. The prophet Amos calls is a “sifting” through which those who reject God’s glory, “the sinners of my people,” “shall die by the sword.” (Am. 9.10) But in the midst of that great shaking, “no kernel shall fall to the earth.” (v. 9)

In other words, those who are ‘kernels’ of the pure wheat of God- which is to say, those who open themselves to the mercy He is extending to them- will pass through this time and make up a nation of priests that will convey the nature of God to the nations of the earth in a manner theretofore unseen. They will be a nation of priests, filled with the knowledge of God, and witnessing to other nations as to how they ought to function within the Messiah’s cosmic Kingdom rule.

“I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them.” (Am. 9.15)

This is a description of things yet to come. We are attempting to hold up the “coin” of God’s involvement in Israel’s history, to behold His merciful acts of deliverance, and on the other side, the chastening and disciplining which His hand has effected or permitted for their purification. It’s all one “coin,” and we have yet to see every aspect of either side. The Day of the Lord will shed indescribable light on it all, and they will know that He is their God, and that they are His people.

You may say, “I’m a gentile believer in the 21st century. What has this got to do with me or my career? What has this got to do with our Church and our ministries?”

Everything, dear saint, and the fact that you have disregarded it as peripheral is a statement of how far we have fallen from the apostolic Gospel.

The remarkable thing is here shown: Similar to the adding of new information or art in the engraving of a coin when it is updated, the Church which is mostly made up of gentile believers has been grafted into the awesome “coin” of Israel’s history. The “coin” which we have sought to behold has your own soul engraved alongside Israel, and though the majority of the saints in the earth are oblivious to the mystery of Israel, we have all been intimately included in the unfolding plan of the ages. If you hold the coin up rightly, and allow the Light of Christ to shine upon it, you can see that there is a carving of your own life and faith upon it.

You see, unless the Church comes into the fullness of Christ and the reality of priestly obedience ourselves, when this time of ultimate distress rises, Israel will have no hope of salvation. So it’s the presence of an apostolic, Jesus-centered people in the midst of the shakings which gives a demonstration of mercy to Israel, though the nations have “raged” against Her. Paul has stated that “by your mercy they will obtain mercy.” (Rom. 11.31)

But how shall they obtain mercy through a people who are not merciful themselves? If we are self-righteous, promoters of our names and our ministries, jealous and envious men, we will be more concerned with saving our lives than we will with extending mercy at great cost to ourselves. We have got to be delivered from the power of self and brought onto the grounds of meekness and mercy, or else the offense that comes in times of trial and threats that emerge in the midst of persecution will be too much for our threadbare faith, and we will be unwilling to extend mercy to the lost sheep of Israel. A sentimental love for the state of Israel is insufficient. A class on Jewish roots, as wonderful and insightful as it can be, is not enough to fit us for the day of distress. We are being required to die to our self-preferences, even ones we think are spiritual, to turn to the Lord entirely, and be immersed in His Spirit.

Are you living by the “power of an indestructible life” (Heb. 7.16b), or are you living an uninspired religious life, mingled with hollow entertainment and a preoccupation with the things of this world? Our only calling is to be so enwrapped with the nature of God, so infused with the power of His grace, so aligned with the ways of His Kingdom, that we ourselves have become a demonstration of the kind of priesthood that will be Israel’s national experience after the smoke of judgment and purging has cleared, and She finds Herself passing through the womb of eschatological restoration.

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on Me, on Him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over Him, as one weeps over a firstborn.
…. The land shall mourn….
…. and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves.” -Zech. 12.10, 12a, 14

The people of Israel, as a majority, are not aware of their need for mercy. They are like other nations of the earth, thinking themselves to be “good people,” optimistic and hoping for prosperity and looking for their personal destinies. The prophets declare that in the time of greatest shaking, Israel will be brought to a place of brokenness as never before.

Out of Israel’s most acute awareness of Her need for mercy and cleansing, the Lord will pour out the Spirit of grace, breath and life and substance will come to Her “dry bones,” and She will be raised up, a mighty and vast army.

We settle for casual considerations of Israel, and have sentimental attachments to Jewish things and the State itself, because we are not willing to reckon with God as He is. The way you view Israel is the way you view the Gospel itself. If you think Her salvation will come by some kind of happenstance, or by some good of Her own, inherent in Her lineage, and that the land is sacred and the State is invincible, you have not rightly considered the depravity of the human heart.

“Look upon the nation Israel….
…. these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come.” -1 Cor. 10.18a, 11

Israel is not an anomaly or a strange phenomenon. Their moral failures and disloyalties to God are simply a statement of the spiritual condition of the nations, and of men altogether. If we have not seen ourselves in that same darkness, an utter hopelessness, a depravity beyond description, we have not been saved.

I want to say in all humility, yet without mincing words, that these ministries who are touting a new and false gospel to the Jew- namely, that Israel will be saved without repentance and faith in Her Messiah- are more despicably deceieved than the Judaizers of Paul’s day. If Israel receives anything less than the apostolic Gospel of Christ from the Church in these last days, She will have no hope at all.

She doesn’t need a rally of American Evangelicals for Israel, who relish in bringing back a jar of water from the Jordan, and a stone from the holy land. She doesn’t need a group of believers who are merely passionate about seeing democracy flourish in the Middle East. She needs an apostolic witness, a people who have been filled with God, and who are setting forth His Son in the earth in bold and loving proclamation, demonstrations of His power, and a singular burden for the breaking in salvation in the Land and abroad.

Have we any burden for Israel’s salvation?! Is Israel to us a cute trinket that gratifies our religion, or do we ache inside that by and large, a veil still covers Her eyes? Have we tears for Israel, saints? Have we an apostolic faith as the men of old, who prayed and fasted and allowed their bodies to be broken in hopes of bringing the Light of the Son to the lost sheep of the House of Israel?

How slap-dash and flippant has our Christianity become? Have we taken it to ourselves and fashioned a religious sub-culture which is devoid of true mercy and meekness, and unable to demonstrate the power of His indestructible life in the midst of an unbelieving generation? We will not be able to set forth the Son of God in a time of extreme turbulence and shaking, unless we have ourselves received a “spirit of grace and please for mercy,” having looked upon Him, the One that we ourselves have pierced.

Many who bear the name of Christ in the West are still in need of a great conversion, by which we would mourn over the depravity which necessitated the cross, look upon Him, and cry out for salvation from the spirit of this age. We cannot look to men or to our closest kin. We must face Him with our own human depravity, repent of sin and believe the Son, follow Him wheresoever He calls us to, or else we have not been saved, and the life of God will not be extended to Israel in the time of Her greatest trial.

When we have been brought onto those grounds of an inward, tender, and radical experience of mercy, we shall be fit to extend it to Israel in that awesome Day.

You are a vital part of the “coin” we have been holding up, dear saint. Do not settle for a lackluster, earthbound view of life. If you don’t come into an adequate death to your own self-life, your resurrection experience will also be found wanting in the day of God’s power. Do not be as the foolish virgins, who lacked adequate oil at the Day when the Bridegroom returned.

What then? How do we respond? Turn from childish things, O man of God. Turn from the table that this world and its systems have spread before you. Look upon the One Israel has pierced. Look upon the One you have pierced.

O, how He has loved Israel! O, how He has loved us! O, how jealous He is for His Kingdom to break into the earth once and for all!

Let us cry out to Him, and give Him no rest “until He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.” (Is. 62)

Amen!

We have heard it said that in the last days the good will be called bad and the bad will be called good. During creation, each day God saw everything that He had created was good. Satan wants to flip over everything upside down. He wants people to call good things “bad” and bad things “good.” Therefore, those without a relationship with God will in general or naturally, do the opposite of God.

“There is a way which seems right to a man but its end is the way of death.” “Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weights the hearts.” Proverbs 16:25; 21:2

Restoration and Rebellion

God is good. The ways of men-which are inspired by the rebellion of Satan- are evil. This is why we need a Savior.  Jesus undid that which Adam allowed to control the whole human race; the influence, control, and manipulation of Satan.

In God, who is good, there is always restoration. In Satan, who is bad, there is always rebellion. So, who says what is evil, bad and rebellious? God! Not man. Remember, each man will go his own way, thus dissolving any moral standards. With God, the plumb-line of truth is drawn. This is not to keep us from being free, but to liberate us from the desire to do as we please. This desire, when unmasked, is demonic inspiration. Living for God keeps us free from falling into the self-liberating traps of the enemy.

The Order of Creation

The enemy wants to flip the order of creation upside-down so it will worship him instead of God. We think we are free when we pursue self, but in reality we are obeying Satan. If we get out eyes off God and on ourselves we have been deceived. This is the reason why Peter was rebuked so harshly by Jesus. Jesus revealed that He must suffer and die, and then be raised up. This did not sit well with Peter so he actually rebuked Jesus for it. Peter took his eyes off Jesus and did what seemed right to him. What Peter did not realize is that he was actually being led by Satan.

“But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interest, but man’s.’ ” Matthew 16:23

Can you believe that Peter rebuked Jesus? How many times have we done the something for the sake of reasoning or “wisdom?”

In Romans 1 Paul mentions the order of creation. The creation is supposed to worship the Creator. The thing which will turn our hearts is creation looking at itself rather than God. This is the very thing Satan did when he fell.

“But you said in your heart ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God…’ ”

“I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” Isaiah 14:13a: 14 (emphasis mine).

Now he is trying to reproduce this death in us. He is death and his aim is to reproduce death wherever he goes (Job 1:7). Just as Satan wants to reproduce himself in us; it is only because God was doing it first. Jesus did the opposite. He did not look at Himself, He looked at God (Phil 2:4-11). Jesus is life and He produces life wherever He goes. Death cannot stand in His presence. Now He is reproducing His life in us who believe.

The Reversal

The devil looked to himself instead of God. This is not the order of creation. In worship we are to look to the Highest One, the Father. The first fall is to look to ourselves, next we fall further by worshiping animals, and finally we even start to worship the things that crawl on the ground. This is out of order to say the least. When this happens a reversal takes place in our hearts, the good becomes bad, and the bad becomes good. We were looking up to God-the highest place: And now we are looking at bugs-the lowest place. This is unnatural, for we are created to be supernatural. This happens by seeking God and not our own ways.

“For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” Romans 1:21-23

The gaze of men went from looking above themselves to looking at themselves, and then to birds, then animals, then reptiles (ironic that the devil is a serpent). The order is reversed. The fruit of this is chaos and death. It’s unnatural in every way.

Producing Good Fruit

“For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, no, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.” Luke 16:23

Bad trees cannot produce good fruit. There is no reproduction of creation, that which God created and called good (Genesis 1). This reproductive reversal causes men to have relations with other men, and women with other women. Nothing can be reproduced because the order of creation has been flipped in their hearts by believing the devil’s lie.

“Therefore God gave them over in the lust of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

“For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also men abandoned that natural function of women and burned in their desire for one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.” Romans 1:26-27

In creation there is natural reproduction. In Homeosexuality there is no reproduction, also it  does not produce good fruit. It is a result of looking to ourselves and not to God. It just doesn’t happen naturally, nor does it practically work. To be homosexual, man has to try and change in some way the natural flow and parts God created for us to enjoy sex and reproduce. This is like removing the ancient boundries (Prov 22:28); altering the way of creation so man can fulfill his own pleasures (read all of Romans 1 for context).

Drawn to God

The book of Romans is about the obedience of the faith (verses 1:5; 16:26). There is a draw in every man’s heart to do good because we were created in the image of God, Who is good. The trick of the enemy is to try to draw that good from ourselves rather than drawing it from God. This results in an unfulfilled life because life comes from God. We did not create ourselves, so we must not look to ourselves by going our own ways, but we must look to God, our Creator.

God is not a puppet master. He came to cut the strings the enemy has placed in our lives that pull us this way and that. The enemy has tried to conceal this by reversing the idea of good and bad in our hearts. God is good and He has a good life for you. To know Him is so much better than anything we can accomplish in ourselves. He will use us to do things that are so awesome that we are not even able to imagine them. He loves us and longs to set us free, and that is what this message is all about.

Lord may this word slice through the enemy’s lines of lies that he has set in your children’s hearts. Take away from it me and add to it You, so they may know how much You love them. Amen.

I placed all the relevant passages that deal with the “rapture,” with specific regard to their chronological order (the order that they were originally written in) and cross examined them. This is what I came up with. If you find your beliefs challenged, I encourage you to re-examine them in the light of the scriptures interpreted in simple, chronological order.

The Tribulation

The scriptures foretold that there would come a season of unparalleled trouble for the people of Israel and also
the rest of the world. Moses wrote a prophetic song about this final time of affliction in the Song of Moses, Deut 32:1-
43. This affliction is the final time of God judging Israel’s sin. This is a necessary for the reason being that God must be faithful to his covenant. This covenant demands that God bless Israel with Abraham’s blessing, Gen 12:1-3. However, Israel’s sin is a hindrance form these blessings being fully realized in Israel. For this reason, God sent Jesus to atone for Israel’s sin upon the cross. Now that this is legally secured, Israel must repent and willfully submit to the New Covenant in Jesus’ blood. God will demonstrate his wrath and mercy to Israel and the nations when he finally draws the remnant of Israel fully back to himself in repentance. It was this concept that the prophets inevitably would always come back to in their writings, when they had prophesied about the final time that God would judge Israel’s sin and bring them to repentance.
Daniel 12:1
12:1 “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time…

Mat 24:21-22
21 For then there will be great trouble, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
Daniel 12:1b-3
But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

These scriptures show that the “tribulation” spoken of in Daniel 12:1-3 is the same one that Jesus referred to in Mat 24:21-22.

The Resurrection
As written of by Daniel, Jesus and Paul, side by side

Daniel revealed that there will be a resurrection at that time of the deliverance of the elect from that time of great trouble. Jesus was quoting directly from Daniel 12. Daniel 12 was directly quoting from Jeremiah 30:7.

“7 Alas! That day is so great
there is none like it;
it is a time of distress for Jacob;
yet he shall be saved out of it.”

Now we can understand why Paul placed a resurrection “at his coming,” speaking of Jesus’ second coming to the earth, when he wrote this, here in 1 Cor 15:21-25:

“21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then (after the millennium) comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.”
Here, Paul said that there will be a resurrection of those in Christ, “at his coming.” This is another connector showing that the gathering Jesus spoke of in Mat 24:31 also will include the resurrection of the righteous, though the resurrection is not specifically mentioned by Jesus.

29 “Immediately after the tribulation (the time of trouble that Jeremiah 30:7 and Daniel 12:1 foretold) of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Mat 24:29-31.
1. Daniel put the resurrection after the tribulation, in Dan 12:1.

2. Jesus quoted from Daniel 12:1 and put the gathering and redemption of the elect at the end of the “trouble of those days” in Mat 24:31.

3. Paul ( 1 Cor 15) put the resurrection of the righteous at the “coming” of the Lord in 1 Cor 15:23. Jesus said that this would happen “immediately after the tribulation.”

4. Therefore, Paul, borrowing information from Daniel, wrote that the resurrection would take place after the tribulation. Jesus added that the living righteous would be “gathered… immediately after the tribulation.”

The Rapture

Paul then combines the two elements into one event in 1 Thes 4:13-18, the famous rapture passage. The gathering (rapture) of the living elect and the resurrection of the dead elect all happen at once, “immediately after the tribulation of those days” and at the “coming of the Lord” according to 1 Thes 4:13-18 and Mat 24:31.

“13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep (dead in Christ), that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord (directly referring to Mat 24:31), that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, (Mentioned in Dan 12:1) and with the sound of the trumpet of God (Mat 24:31). And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up (by the angels in Mat 24:31) together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.” 1 Thes 4:13-18.

Who Are The Elect in Matthew 24:31?

When Daniel was writing his book, the “mystery of the church” was not revealed yet. That is why there is no specific mentioning of the church in the Old Covenant prophets’ writings.

“4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs (with the believing Jews) , members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” Eph 3:4-6.

After Pentecost, the gentiles were welcomed into the New Covenant made with Israel and thus, they also became “the elect.”

Since the blood of Messiah was shed on the cross, there is no division in God between believing Jews and believing Gentiles. We are all in one body. Think about this:

“11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” Eph 2:11-22.

Therefore, in light of this, we can see that Paul’s idea of “the elect” was the church consisting of believing Jews and believing Gentiles. So Paul would have naturally understood that “the elect,” whom Jesus said would be gathered “immediately after the tribulation,” are the church of believing Jews and Gentiles, not just Jews alone. There is simply only one “elect.” The “elect” are now the new phenomenon of spiritually united Jews and gentiles that the New Testament calls the church. See Paul’s use of the word “elect” here: Romans 8:33, 9:11, 11:7, 11:28, 1 Timothy 5:21, 2 Timothy 2:10, and Titus 1:1.

Conclusions

So, in closing, we see a definite (commonly termed) rapture of the living saints taking place at the “coming of the Lord,” “immediately after the tribulation” and immediately after “the dead in Christ… rise first,” when we all “together” will “meet the Lord in the air” at “the coming of the Lord.”

Why Does It Matter?

No one knows if the end will come in our lifetime or not. It is fruitless to speculate that the Lord will likely return in our generation because we can not have any idea when he will return until the Antichrist is here wrecking havoc on the earth.

“3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” 2 Thes 2:3-4.

The reason that I wrote this article was not to get into a fruitless debate with anybody. Although, debate is not always necessarily fruitless at all. I raise the issue because I believe that there are very vital, connected issues that will not be considered at all by anyone who is decidedly pre-trib (the rapture happening before the tribulation) in the views of the end times.

“11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?” Romans 11:11-15.

These verses are some that together tell us the whole purpose of the church age. The pre-trib view asserts that the purpose of the church age is two fold:

1. The purpose of the church age is judgment against the unbelief of the majority of Israel.

2. The purpose of the church age is to give all the gentile nations a fair chance to hear the gospel and be saved before God turns back to Israel and Israel turns back to him, before the millennial reign of Christ begins. Essentially, this current age is one of God simply tallying up the numbers of saved Gentiles until it reaches a certain, unknown number, and then the rapture will happen and then… well, you know the rest. The “blessed hope” is painted to be a rapture before this time of trial and trouble for unbelieving Israel and the nations.

These two ideas rest upon the unscriptural notion that Israel and the church are entirely separate peoples with two separate plans of God, one for each of them. Consider the following in regard to that idea:

“11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:11-22

The church is the new phenomenon of Gentiles being grafted in alongside with the particular Jews who have faith in the Jesus, the Messiah, through the New Covenant God made with Israel (Jer 31:31). This was accomplished through Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension. Believing Jews and Gentiles are now one people- the church. Jews are still Jews and Gentiles are still Gentiles, but we are spiritually united similar to a marriage’s physical union.

This phenomenon of Jews and Gentiles being spiritually united as one people in Messiah is both a judgment on Israel’s unbelievers and also a blessing to them.

“28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.” Rom 11:28-32.

You see, it is true that God has hardened the unbelievers of Israel right now. But this has been done, “for your sake.” This is the purpose of the church: to be an effectual witness to unbelieving Israel until they turn back to the Lord. When they turn to the Lord, there will be “life from the dead” or simply put, a resurrection. We know that the Antichrist is set to attempt to destroy the people of Israel and those who follow Jesus. Pre-tribbers delegate these saints to those who will repent after the pre-tribulational rapture. This effectively removes any thoughts about the church’s purpose and calling to be the witness to Israel until they turn to God, which is prophesied to happen to the surviving remnant of Israel. The bottom line is this:

1. Israel cannot repent without the church being Jesus’ witness to her.

2. The church cannot witness to Israel if we are all gone into heaven because of a rapture.

3. The dead in Christ are to be raised at the rapture or “gathering of the elect.” This cannot happen until a very significant number of the remnant of Israel is repenting to Jesus. As Paul asked in Romans 11:15, “What will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?”

So, I am very concerned about all this widespread passion for the pre-trib rapture here in the west. It is definitely a distraction for the church from considering all the vast purposes God has for their being a church age at all in the fist place. Besides, as Dr Michael L Brown says, “The reason that I don’t believe in the pre-tribulational rapture is because it is not found in the Bible.”

It is not a matter of simply being ready to meet the Lord at any moment in the rapture. That idea is honestly a new one that was first taught by certain Bible teachers from Scotland, in the 1830s. It is a great idea to live ready to meet the Lord at any moment. But this has always been true, before Jesus came and still today after he has come and gone. What the rapture should call us to now is to understand God’s purpose of this church age. It is a matter of understanding the ways of God himself. It is a matter of understanding what is means for God to be a faithful God of his covenant to Abraham. It is a matter of knowing and understanding God, as he, in fact, is.

The church has no covenant with God. Israel does have a covenant with God.

““Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,” Jer 31:31

The fact that most of us are gentiles and we are in a saving relationship with God is meant to humble us before the mercy of God. God intends that the church begin to see his majestic purpose in the church age. The church is a new phenomenon designed out of the faithfulness of God to Abraham, Gen 12:1-3. God has raised up the church to turn Israel back to God, on the positive side of things. No one knew that, through the Messiah, gentiles would be united together with the faithful in Israel as one new people- the church. God’s original intention was for Israel to be a light to the nations. It was not known that this call would begin to be fulfilled through a predominantly Gentile church, consisting of countless people of the nations, that was birthed by the remnant of Israel in the first century.

I ask you to seriously consider, just for a moment, that this is what the scriptures do, in fact, teach. When we place the scriptures together, in the order that they were written in, a picture emerges. This picture is what theologians call “historic pre-millennialism.” This means that there will be a time of trouble, with the Antichrist, coming ahead. At the end of this season, Jesus will return. The saints will be caught up by angels to meet the Lord in the air. At that time the dead in Messiah will also be resurrected. Then Jesus will establish a theocracy in Israel. It will be a long period of peace, prosperity and salvation for Israel and many people in the nations. This has direct bearing on our lives today. It shows us why we have been chosen to live in the generation that we live in. This shows us what the goal of the church’s existence is. We are living in a time period of transition. Indeed, all of history is a time of transition. In the end, God will renew the entire creation into the glory that he has always intended for it. The universe will be totally filled with God’s image in the person and character of Jesus.

This was the second post by my friend Avi on eschatology; specifically, the rapture concept. I feel there is a need for the Body of Christ to re-examine this doctrine and consider the implications of simple waiting for Christ’s return versus the impact we can have with a correct scriptural understanding, that His return actually depends on us revealing and bringing the kingdom of heaven to the kingdoms of this world. David E

For more posts on this subject of eschatology click here.

This is the first of some posts by my friend Avi. They are eschatological in nature and examine eschatology from different perspectives than mainstream thought. It will be good for our considerations and expansions of the understanding of end times. I am posting them for us to be challenged and strengthened in our knowledge and interpretation of Scripture.

FYI. I am Premillennial for sure. Premillennial means that I believe that Jesus will return and reign on the earth for a good long while before the end comes and the new world begins.

two thirds shall be cut off and perish,
and one third shall be left alive.”

Now today the population of the state of Israel is estimated at 5,393,600. It is almost the same as the Jewish population of the USA.
1/3 of this is 1,797,666.
In order for Revelation to literally be fulfilled, 99.3% of the Jews on earth must be eliminated first.
Then, In Israel the Jewish population must fall from 5,393,600 to 432,000.
This means that 4,961,000 Jews in Israel must die or be killed before the Antichrist begins to massacre the Jews in Israel in order for Revelation to be fulfilled literally.
The total of Jews worldwide is currently 13,333,333.
Before Revelation’s 144,000 can happen literally, the Jewish population must drop by 133,189,333.
That is, about 99.3% of all Jewish people world wide that would have to die first before the Antichrist comes and kills 2/3 of the Israeli Jews and leaves 1/3 as the 144,000 remnant if Revelation is literal.
In Israel today, 4,881,800 Jews would have to die before the Antichrist kills anyone at all.
See how crazy this sounds?

The prophets of Israel were remarkable men who had been seized by the hand of the Lord and brought into a cosmic view of time and eternity, righteousness and rebellion, mercy and judgment, Kings and nations, and the stunning responsibility of speaking on behalf of the One on the Throne.

In 1962, Abraham Heschel’s classic two-volume set “The Prophets” hit the printing presses. It was a work which started out as his Ph.D. thesis in German, and eventually grew into book form, becoming a widely heralded masterpiece on the subject of prophetism. One of the questions he asked in the first volume is looming large in my spirit at this writing, and in an age where there are many boasts and testimonies of prophetic activity in the Church of the West, I think it behooves us to consider it.

Heschel’s question, inspired by long and laborious perusals of the oracles of the Hebrew Bible, was this:

“What manner of man is the prophet?”

Many have asked this question in recent decades, and some have sought to give answers. Indeed, movements and ministries have been raised up with men bearing the title of “prophet”. You can find movements which place the bulk of their emphasis on supernatural activity, in terms of visions, dreams, interpretations and personal words of prophecy. You can find others who say that a prophet is basically one who preaches a message of repentance. Both views have valuable aspects, and should not be thrown out as a whole. There are many variations of these two emphases, and the opinions are often shared with great feeling and concern.

While Eph. 2.20 refers primarily to the apostles and prophets of the Scriptures, it’s clear that without these kinds of foundational servants the Church is going to be severely hindered from coming into the fullness of God. It is most likely to go through unfortunate cycles of backsliding, leaning on the arm of the flesh, and functioning in a mode of life that is far removed from the reality that the Lord has intended and desired. Unless we see the formation and emergence of the kinds of servants that Paul saw as crucial for the Church’s maturity, we run the risk of celebrating all kinds of external ministry successes that will crumble in the day of trial, having been built on faulty foundations.

It is vital, therefore, that we revive the question, “What manner of man is the prophet?”

I am suspicious of the great chasm that has been fixed between the role of the OT prophet and the role of the NT prophet. The idea that a NT prophet has an entirely different ministry, one of edification and encouragement only, is a distortion of the overarching testimony of the Scriptures. This distortion has much to do with the lack of a distinction between the Spiritual gift of prophecy, which may be given to any believer in the Body, and the foundational ministry of the prophet, which is reserved for the Lord’s choosing and can only be placed upon a mature servant of the Lord. The first is accessible to any believer, whether he is a new convert or a seasoned elder. The latter is a holy appointment, a sacred office, and it is reserved for the one whom the Lord has anointed, consecrated, and commissioned for this particular ministry. The blurring of these lines has caused great damage, men have often been prematurely or falsely appointed, and the standard of the prophetic call has been cheapened. We need to recognize this distinction, encourage an atmosphere where the gift of prophecy can bring edification to the Body, while maintaining a jealousy for the raising up of foundational prophetic servants.

It is my contention that we have done with the prophet what we have done with the Lord Himself. We have interpreted the prophet’s role and nature based on our experience, or based on what best meets our present satisfaction. The fact that we have fashioned our own ideas of prophetic ministry is evidenced by the fact that so many believers who are boasting prophetic activity are virtually non-literate, uninterested and unfamiliar with the words of the Prophets of Scripture.

Many have seen Israel’s prophets as the old order of prophetic ministry, but some elements of the “new order” that have been presented seem to me to run contrary with the Spirit and stature of everything prophetic in both testaments. We have so little written in the NT of prophetic ministry that it is difficult to be as specific as many have sought to be in recent times. Even so, the overall view of the Spirit and nature of prophetic work has not changed in the NT, as I see it. The prophet’s ministry is one of recovery and restoration, calling his hearers away from self-absorption, deception and apostasy, and back to God Himself, back to righteous living, back to love and humility, back to reality.

Little is said of Agabus, Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas in terms of prophetic function, but we see the greatest Prophet, Jesus Himself, in remarkable breadth in the Gospels. We see John the prophet’s experience, and the message he is called to convey over the course of 22 chapters in the book of the Revelation. These are New Covenant prophets in the highest sense, and the thrust of their ministry and message is the same as that of the OT prophets. The revelation of God and the message of His Kingdom have only deepened and become more pronounced. Their message is not contrary to that of the OT prophets, it is the fulfillment and fuller proclamation of the same vision and view. Why should it be something less? Jesus is the Eternal One who has never changed, and John was encountering the same God that the OT prophets encountered! NT prophetic ministry flows in a continuum with the OT prophets, but it presents more clearly and more fully the heart and Kingdom of God.

I am therefore dubious about an idea or expression of prophetic ministry that runs against the grain of the revelation of God already given in the Scriptures. If we have thousands of believers acquainted with prophetic ministry who consider the words of Israel’s prophets to be somehow “old-hat” or irrelevant to us, then what are we tending towards? If Jesus didn’t come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it, then could it be that the idea of NT prophets replacing OT prophetical stature and function is erroneous and even a gateway to eventual deception? If our idea of any ministry removes or lessens the sense of God that the early prophets and apostles conveyed, should we not raise a cry?

The prophets of Israel had a cosmic view, which means that they had been lifted above the wisdom and counsel of their contemporaries and brought into a revelation of the government and Kingdom of God. They saw beyond the tangible, past the immediate, and through the veneer that most of their friends and neighbors were content to hide behind. They could no longer “go with the flow” of material pursuits, religious pomp, or any other idea of life which robbed them of the presence and heart of the Holy One of Israel. This marked them out as different.

They were distinguished from the religious functionaries of their day because they communicated a word and vision of God as He is, and not as men had fancied Him to be.

The great issue of history is that men have not been willing to receive God as He has revealed Himself. They have been offended at Him, unwilling to surrender their lives to His leadership. They have loved pride when He delights in humility. They have loved hate when He delights in compassion. They have loved sin when He delights in righteousness. They have loved unequal weights and measures when He desires truth in the inmost parts.

The world and its systems is perpetuated and carried along by a pursuit of freedom, pleasure, and self-gratification that is the antithesis of the Lord’s intention for creation. The world is content to live in a pipe-dream. It is happy with the fantasy. “Ignorance is bliss,” they say. The prophet comes to yank the wool from our eyes. He is a holy remembrancer, calling us back to reality and truth, dashing our self-centric dreams to holy desert grounds, where we are compelled by fear and awe to remove our sandals. We see with wide eyes and dropped jaws that our opinions and rights are the expression of the most despicable kind of presumption. Our feet are bared, and we fall prostrate. We can not proceed to walk in the same way any longer.

Here are some of Heschel’s thoughts on the manner of the prophet:

“While others are intoxicated with the here and now, the prophet has a vision of an end. The prophet is human, yet he employs notes one octave too high for our ears. He experiences moments that defy our understanding. He is …an assaulter of the mind. Often his words begin to burn where conscience ends. The prophet is an iconoclast, challenging the apparently holy, revered, and awesome. Beliefs cherished as certainties, institutions endowed with supreme sanctity, he exposes as scandalous pretensions.

The prophets must have been shattered by some cataclysmic experience in order to be able to shatter others. The words of the prophet are stern, sour, stinging. But behind his austerity is love and compassion for mankind.

Others may suffer from the terror of cosmic aloneness, the prophet is overwhelmed by the grandeur of the divine presence. He is incapable of isolating the world. There is an interaction between man and God which to disregard is an act of insolence. Isolation is a fairy tale.

…The prophet’s word is a scream in the night. While the world is at ease and asleep, the prophet feels the blast from heaven.

…the purpose of prophecy is to conquer callousness, to change the inner man as well as to revolutionize history.

It is embarrassing to be a prophet. There are so many pretenders, predicting peace and prosperity, offering cheerful words, adding strength to self-reliance, while the prophet predicts disaster, pestilence, agony, and destruction.” (The Prophets Vol. I, A. Heschel; Harper Colophon Books, 1962)

The prophet of God is a broken man; one who has been devastated at the plight of the nations. He has a “fierce loyalty” to the Lord, and his heart is shattered from the realization that the God of holiness and beauty is being neglected while men and their often petty systems are being exalted and celebrated. When the Name of God is denigrated, disrespected, or misappropriated, the prophet’s heart burns with a jealousy for the restoration of true worship.

The prophet has a cosmic view, a heavenly vision, for He has encountered the God who transcends our prepackaged categories and preferences. He has come to know the Lord as He is, and His heart cannot be satisfied until the ones to whom he has been called have come into that intimate knowledge themselves. This is why the prophet is foundational.

The prophet is the bearer of the thoughts and words of God Himself. He is an earthen vessel, radically connected to the society that surrounds him, yet conveying and communicating a wisdom and reality that the common man and the frivolous religionist have not been willing to see and hear. He is among the people, identifying with them in mercy. He is not an aloof, self-righteous pietist. He is an awakener, using words and tears to remind us how God really feels and thinks. He lives in the world of God. He has been converted from carnality, broken from his arrogance, severed from self-sufficiency. He introduces us to God’s world, the heavenly Kingdom, and everything depends upon whether we casually receive his word, reject it, or take it into the deepest parts of our hearts and lives.

The prophet is not a self-consciously dramatic character, doing what he thinks prophets do in attempts at filling a role or office. A prophet is a God-fashioned, God-intoxicated, God-inspired man with a cosmic view of time and eternity. He sees beyond the mundaneness of everyday affairs, the buzz of modern politicking, the pull of fashion and entertainment, and any man-centered attempts at ministry. He is not inflated by flattery, and he has learned to rejoice when opposed. He realizes that he is bearing a Kingdom view which is of utmost value to his hearers. Indeed, life and death hang on the words that he proclaims.

He is not a showman, boasting of a title or inwardly aching for religious fame. Nor is he a grouchy man, putting on some kind of an archaic garb and spiritual aura with hopes that he might remind us of Moses. He does not have to try at being “prophetic.” There is nothing self-conscious about a foundational servant of the Lord. They are not speaking on behalf of their opinions or the lifting up of their reputations. They have been stricken with a vision of the majestic One, and they speak out of that reality.

I wonder why we have heard so much about prophets, why people will flock by the thousands to conferences and events in hopes of receiving a “personal prophetic word”, when so few have been willing to crack open the Scriptures to hear from the men whom the Lord Jesus valued as prophets. I’m not discounting the genuine works of the Spirit that we see in many circles. I’m asking some serious questions here. Could it be that we have in many ways made our own God, and have not been willing to receive Him as He is? If we are willing to chase men who call themselves prophets, and who have the latest insights and revelations which bring us a positive lift without dealing with the issue of sin, then who are we really hearing from? What manner of man is the prophet, and what manner of a God is he presenting and proclaiming?

I will likely be accused of discouraging the prophetic gifts by asking questions like this, but that is not my intention. We need to “eagerly desire” the gifts, and I have pursued the Lord for their increase in the church for over a decade. But I believe these questions are crucial for our future witness and maturity. If what we have known as prophetic has not brought us into the same consciousness, the same trembling, the same holiness, the same cosmic view that the prophets of Israel and the apostles of the New Testament came into, what can we say of its veracity? Is it the same prophetic reality?

Perhaps a measure of blessing comes as a result of many of these meetings and expressions. I am certain that the Lord is working in many ways through various expressions in the Body, and that healing and blessing have come to many in every setting where Jesus is being lifted up. Perhaps a facet of the Lord’s heart is received, and I don’t want to discount or disregard that. But where is the sense of the fear of the Lord? How can the Church go on with hundreds of pastors stepping down from ministry a month due to sexual sin? How can we blend in so successfully with a world that is moving at breakneck speed toward eternal judgment?

I am convinced that the stature and call of a prophet has not changed with the New Covenant, it has only deepened. Christ has become the center and fulfillment. The Gift of Prophecy has become available to all saints, not just to a select few.

Moses’ cry that all God’s people were prophets has become a brighter possibility, but we will not come into that prophetic reality if we are unwilling to receive Him as King, Father, and Judge. We will not come into that prophetic reality as long as we are chasing after faddish teachings or personality-exalting, successful ministries. If the Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever, then the Church has a responsibility to be sure that the God we are worshiping and proclaiming is the same as the God that the prophets and apostles of the Scriptures heralded. The cosmic view of the prophets revolved around God Himself, and if He is not being proclaimed as He has revealed Himself, we are in grave danger of falling into a pit with the other blind guides of our generation.

Could it be that with all of our teachings on the prophetic, all of our conferences on the prophetic, all of our insights of prophetic ministry, that most of us have yet to come into the kind of union with the Lord that produced the men who became foundational for our faith? I am thankful for every genuine furtherance of the work of the Spirit in recent years, but my heart is crying out for the fullness of Christ. I know there is a greater love, a greater sense of the fear of the Lord, a higher place of abandonment to His heart. O, for a greater vision of God Himself! The world is perishing for want of true servants who have come out from the holy place, proclaiming the truth of God with incandescent hearts!