Prophetic Insights
A Home for Demons
Last night I dreamt that I was ushered onto a marae to conduct the funeral service of an elderly Maori man, who had an English surname. As I approached the open casket, a bystander stepped out of the crowd and vigorously shook the dead body. I knew that as a consequence of this, the corpse would be re-animated...but not by God's power, nor by natural life. It would take place because of the supernatural activity of demons or evil spirits. This did happen. The man sat up and was "active", but he was not in fact alive!
"Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird." (Revelation 18.2)
"She named the boy Ichabod, saying, 'The glory has departed from Israel.' " (1 Samuel 4.21)
"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation." (Matthew 12.43-45)
This dream contains two warnings...one global and the other local; but they are nevertheless connected.
1) "Babylon the Great" represents all that is created and appointed to be faithful to God, but which in the end is proven to have been unfaithful, having had "intercourse" with others (not God) for personal profit and aggrandisement.
"This title was written on (the woman's) forehead...Babylon the Great. The Mother of Prostitutes (Harlots, Whores)." (Revelation 17.5) "The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth." (Revelation 17.18) "Their bodies (of the Two Witnesses) will lie in the street of the great city...where also their Lord was crucified (Jerusalem)." (Revelation 11.8)
"Go and proclaim in the hearing (cry in the ears) of Jerusalem...Long ago you broke off your yoke and tore off your bonds; you said, 'I will not serve You!' Indeed, on every high hill and under every spreading tree you lay down as a prostitute." (Jeremiah 2.1 & 20, also Isaiah 1.21 & Ezekiel 16.15)
The scholar-leaders of the Protestant Reformation in Europe in the 1500s, were virtually unanimous in their view that the Harlot in The Revelation was the unfaithful and apostate church of their own day! Their interpretation was correct, but much too narrow in its actual application.
Thus in the context of our own times (which are the End Times) this picture represents all those communities and organisations which claim their existence within both the Old and the New Covenants, but whose faithfulness to God is either non-existent or has been a comparative irrelevance alongside their "intercourse" with independent human nature, the world system and the devil.
According to The Revelation written by the Apostle John, these communities and organisations will be judged by God (chapters 17 and 18) immediately prior to the return and the enthronement of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the sharp-end of this judgement is that they become occupied and inhabited, not by what they claim to worship, but by the very power of that which they have bowed down to in their hearts and are in fact spiritually connected to. These communities and organisations, in spite of all religious appearances and creeds, become "a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit".
"I know your afflictions and poverty - yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of satan." (Revelation 2.9)
"They (Israel) wilfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved...He rained meat down on them like dust...They ate till they had more than enough, for He had given them what they craved. But before they turned from the food they craved, even while it was still in their mouths, God's anger rose against them; He put to death the sturdiest among them, cutting down the young men of Israel." (Psalm 78.17-31 and Romans 1.21-24)
"For false christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order, if possible, to lead the elect astray. But take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance." (Mark 13.22-23)
2) During the 1990s, New Zealand experienced a nationwide revival...which was sovereign and localised; it was not the consequence of supernatural events imported from other countries and by other ministries. It was a genuinely indigenous, spiritual awakening which was poured out, so to speak, of the clouds over the "Land of the Long White Cloud"...Aotearoa-New Zealand.
Tragically, that visitation died while yet in its infancy. The Church in New Zealand yet needs to acknowledge its existence, genuinely mourn its premature death, and then give it a decent burial. Only then will we be permitted to advance and embrace the next and new revival...unlike any to date and eclipsing all to date!
The great Jeremiah, looking ahead to our day and the end of ordinary human history, foresaw a time, unlike any other. "How awful that day will be! None will be like it." (30.7)
On a day like none other, we may legitimately anticipate a revival like none other. But if we keep camping around the corpse of a dead revival, from which the glory, power and presence of God have actually departed, then we do face a terrifying possibility and prospect! That the "old" is re-animated, (not by the Holy Spirit of Jesus) but by the power of the human soul and/or demons and evil spirits.
An outrageous assertion? I don't think so. Observe, the mighty Saul...Israel's first human king. In the space of his comparatively short lifespan, he declined from a wondrous and overwhelming experience of the grace and power of God's Spirit, to breaking the Law by resorting to deceiving a witch in order to communicate with the dead. (1 Samuel 10 and 28)
"The Spirit clearly (explicitly) says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons." (1 Timothy 4.1)
"Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." (1John 4.1)
A Miraculous Sign
"We are given no miraculous signs; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be." (Psalm 74.9)
"When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red', and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times." (Matthew 16.2-3)
A miraculous sign of the times, of the utmost importance, has appeared! It is the 169-minute documentary called "Into Great Silence" by Philip Groning. It reveals with extraordinary beauty and simplicity (no upbeat, jargon-y commentary...no mood music!) the usually cloistered (hidden) life of a community of Christian hermits called Carthusians in Chartreuse, France.
This house of prayer was founded at 4,268 feet in the Alps (near Grenoble) in 1084. The community's life of devotion to God and prayer for the human race, has gone on uninterrupted since that time. An early member of the community once wrote, "We unworthy and poor men of Christ...dwell in the desert of Chartreuse for the love of the name of Jesus."
But why make a song-and-dance about this film?
Ordinarily Carthusian communities eschew all publicity and self-promotion. Their deceased lie in un-named graves. Their books are written by "A Carthusian". They have no guesthouses. Such PR advances their cause and aids their unique way of life, not at all. They do not seek or require fame or fortune. Their motto is "God Alone", and they look to and trust God alone for all that they need...most especially vocations (new recruits). It took this community at Chartreuse 16 years to reach their decision to permit Philip Groning to live in their midst for 6 months and document their peculiar calling and lifestyle. (But then what's a mere 16-year-wait, in the context of nigh on a thousand years of history and experience?)
In some respects the publicity which this genuinely amazing film is undoubtedly generating, might create more adverse that positive consequences for the worldwide Carthusian Order. So why has such a digital document been permitted to be brought into existence?
In an interview in 2004 (See "Interview - Anatomy of the Prophetic") I expressed this expectation,
"Let me also say, that I know in every nation right now, there are true Ascension Gift (Ephesians 4.7-13) prophets living as hermits. No one knows who they are or where they are. But they're out there, utterly devoted to and crying out to God and listening to His voice and then prophesying His word through intercessory prayer.
"One day soon a handful of these men and women are going to be allowed to come down out of the hills and into the Church, and their silent, loving gaze over us will bring more reformation and revival in a few seconds than all our conferences could achieve in a decade."
("Into Great Silence" was released in 2005!)
Thus, this sign was anticipated. But what is its significance? What is God saying?
The Carthusians are Christian hermits ("eremites"...desert dwellers) for whom prayer is the sum of their existence. They live to pray, and they pray to live. For far too many of us (most especially those who belong to a Protestant tradition) prayer is a means to a "greater" end. It is something important that we do, to prepare to do more important things.
The prophets of the Old Testament had different ways of describing history as it approached its climax...the return of the Lord Jesus, to be this world's King of kings and Lord of lords. Isaiah spoke of "the last days", Jeremiah of "that day...none will be like it", and Malachi of "that great and dreadful day of the Lord". They are to be extraordinary times, composed of extraordinary events interwoven. Not the least of these will be "the time of Jacob's trouble" (Jeremiah 30.7), so graphically portrayed by the English, Jewish Believer and scholar, David Baron (1855-1926),
"It is clear that there is a time of purging by fiery judgement awaiting Israel after the return to their land, which will immediately precede their national conversion and the revelation to them of the Messiah, whom, as a nation, they have so long rejected."
In the context of End Time' events, this alone will put huge pressure and strain upon the Body of Christ...in ways both glorious and terrible. How shall we serve the Lord and His beloved Jewish People during such times? And what will be the consequences for the Christian Community of the foretold "apostasy"...rebellion and falling away from the faith? What social, political and economic forces will be unleashed upon us and history with the revelation of "the man of lawlessness...the son of destruction"? (2 Thessalonians 2.3-4)
I am convinced that right now, through our Carthusian brethren of Chartreuse, God is warning and exhorting us to prepare, by completely recalibrating ourselves concerning our notions and practice of prayer. We shall only be able to stand for God in the Last Days, upon our knees. We will only be able as disciples to follow Jesus through history's final firestorms of revival and judgement, walking upon our knees. Our praying has to cease being the means to some end; it must become the beginning and the end and the content of our Christian lives and ministries.
You will reasonably ask, How are we to do this? Perhaps we might begin by considering approaching God with childlike simplicity and humility with a view to asking, "Lord, teach us to pray..." (Luke 11.1)
In an essay entitled "Impiety of Attributing a Visible Form to God", the Genevan Reformer, John Calvin (1509-1564) wrote, "God is opposed to idols, that all may know He is the only fit witness to Himself." Might it not follow that the only "fit" framer of prayer to Almighty God, is God Himself? And is it thus that we are to understand the intercession of the Son and the Holy Spirit?
"Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them." (Hebrews 7.23-25)
"Christ Jesus...is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." (Romans 8.34)
"The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." (Romans 8.26-27)
"And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance (ability to speak)." (Acts 2.4)
Apostolic-Prophetic Branding
"There are two great words that I guard with a fierce jealousy, namely prophetic and apostolic...And if these two words are ruined, cheapened, made merchandise of, lose their meaning, or are made to stand for something that God did not intend, then we have lost our foundations." (Art Katz 1929-2007)
Today the word "branding" is a marketing, rather than a Wild West term. It represents "the sum total of a company's value, including products, services, people, advertising, positioning and culture". It seems to be the thing in the West for businesses and institutions (including churches) to "re-brand" from time to time. They appear to be motivated by the desire and need to guarantee the capture of their share of the market and therefore the money. Contemporary churches seem unabashed in their pursuit of fame and fortune along these lines, happily paying for the services of high-powered market researchers and ad men.
So what? Big deal! Well in the very hour when the identity of the Church's foundations (i.e. His apostles and prophets...Ephesians 2.19-22)is of ultimate, crucial importance, it is evident that these "identities" are actually being formed more by the values of this world, than by God and according to His Word.
The world decrees that the Church's "foundation stones" (leaders) ought to be celebrities, with an abundance of power and success, fame and fortune. The Bible has ordained that God's apostles and prophets be recognised by the manifestation and working of His resurrection life out of their own death. Thus the Apostle Paul describes his vocation, "We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that His life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you." (2 Corinthians 4.10-12)
"Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of His Body, which is the Church." (Colossians 1.24)
Paul in fact staked his whole reputation as an apostle upon this, when he cried out against the Galatian church (which had itself been lured away from the Gospel by false apostles and prophets), "Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear in my body the marks ("stigma"...puncture wounds) of Jesus." (Galatians 6.17)
The authentic mark ("branding") of God upon the Church's true and Heaven-ordained leaders is visible and ongoing participation in the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. These ministries of resurrection life and power issue out of their sharing in His unjust and undeserved (and ongoing!) agonies on behalf of the world in Gethsemani and at the Cross.
"But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53.5)
This authentic "branding" of the Church's true foundations has ever been so...foreshadowed in the Old Testament, to become reality in the New, "Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them. So that you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. Because of this, God in His wisdom said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.' " (Luke 11.47-49)
The prophet with no name from Judah...no celebrity culture here!...(1 Kings 13)was ultimately vindicated by his own death, "Then he went out and found the body thrown down on the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it. The lion had neither eaten the body nor mauled the donkey...After burying him, he said to his sons, 'When I die, bury me in the grave where the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. For the message he declared by the Word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the towns of Samaria will certainly come true.' " (vss 28 and 31-32)
Before his explosive demonstration of the power of God on Mt. Carmel, the great Elijah lay buried in the grave-like crevasse of Cherith Brook. There he quenched his thirst from a failing creek and was provisioned by birds more noted for picking the flesh off dead men's bones, than acts of charity.
Elisha "performed" a miracle of restoring life to a dead man, from the grave, "Elisha died and was buried...Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man's body into Elisha's tomb. When the body touched Elisha's bones, the man came to life and stood on his feet." (2 Kings 13.20-21)
Towering Isaiah's detailed and accurate foreseeing of Israel's Messiah ("He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth") was brought forth out of the furnace of personal affliction..."Just as My servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush, so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared..." (Isaiah 20)
Brooding Jeremiah "learned" his prophetical craft with death-threats hanging over his head and his "credentials" included a literal death and resurrection experience, "Then the official said to the king, 'This man (Jeremiah) should be put to death'...So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern (pit, dungeon, grave) of Malkijah, the king's son...They lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the cistern; it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud...Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went to a room under the treasury in the palace...He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from there and let them down with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. 'Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.' Jeremiah did so, and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern." (Jeremiah 38.4-13)
This noble prophet (of a priestly family), whose visions and warnings span thousands of years, nevertheless experienced with God's People their foretold exile and correction, "(Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard) found Jeremiah bound in chains among all the captives from Jerusalem and Judah who were being carried into exile to Babylon." (Jeremiah 40.1)
(To truly visualise this, picture Jeremiah's face pressed up against the brutal grille of a wagon on one of Hitler's death trains!)
There never was any escape from this reality for these our dear, older brothers. Neither shall there be for the true and the genuine among us today.
In fact the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is "seen" by the Apostle John in The Revelation entirely in these terms in the 11th hour of this present Age, "Now when they (My two witnesses) have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will attack them and overpower them and kill them...for three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial...But after three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them." (11.7-11)
Everybody wants to be an apostle...a prophet, but nobody wants to die. Everyone wants to see the dead raised, but no corpses are permitted to mess up our 59-minute meetings and 10-minute, cutsy-pie sermonettes.
"Anyone who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. He who receives you (the Twelve Apostles) receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me. Anyone who receives a prophet will receive a prophet's reward..." (Matthew 10.38-41)
And how are we to know such, so that we might receive them...and our reward? Clearly, according to The Prophet (Acts 3.22-23), such ones will have embraced their own death and lost their life for His sake.
The young prophet of the 20th C's first "pentecostal" revival, Evan Roberts, was written-off as being "insane", patronised by the ecclesiastical establishment for being "uneducated", and persecuted by the religious elite of that time for "heresy" (speaking in tongues!). Just one of these crosses would finish a good man off very quickly. Evan took up all three. But out of this young coal miner's daily dying, the Holy Spirit of God was pleased through 1904-05 to pour into the Welsh valleys abundant showers of soul-saving, Church-reforming, nation-renewing revival.
One of our time's most significant missionary-prayer movements (The Little Brothers and Sisters of Jesus) was founded through the blood-stained diaries of the Saharan hermit, Charles de Foucauld (1858-1916). His vision of radical identification with the lost appeared to die with de Foucauld when he was executed with a shotgun blast by the "bandits" whose salvation he sought. A later generation "stumbled" upon him, recognised the "branding" of an authentic Christian prophet, then embraced and enacted his original dream.
He prayed, "Father, I abandon myself into Your hands. Do with me whatever You will. Whatever You may do, I thank You. I am ready for all, I accept all. Let only Your will be done in me, and in all Your creatures."
And he wrote in his diary, "Remember you ought to die as a martyr...killed violently and painfully. Remember that your death must inevitably flow out of your life, and on that account, realise the insignificance of a great many things."
"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, My servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves Me." (John 12.23-26)
In my own life it has been a privilege to observe first-hand the life and the doctrine of two prophets of God who stood head-and-shoulders above their clamorous peers...Art Katz (USA) and Muri Thompson (New Zealand). (See also "Absolutely Authentic") Neither was ever celebrated by the Christian establishment. Both were spurned by the particular group of people God sent them to. Each suffered having to watch the word of the Lord they carried and communicated, assigned to the "Too Hard" basket by the Church.
Far from such experiences posting a question-mark over these two men of God, I contend that they are in fact the proof of their authenticity.
(This of course has nothing whatsoever to do with and does not excuse the childish antics of those wanna-be "prophets", who behave in foolish and provocative ways, deliberately designed to trigger their richly deserved rejection by the Church.)
"That I may know Him (Christ) and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own." (Philippians 3.10-12)
"But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you." (1 Peter 4.13-14)
Endorsing and Opposing
I have been asked frequently in recent days if I am an endorser or an opposer of that which so many Christians are currently "inspired" to endorse or oppose.
In this regard, I endorse Revelation 22.11, "Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy."
I also endorse a caution from one of the 20th Century's pre-eminent Christian prophets, Art Katz. (A good friend, who is now with the Lord.) Addressing the Church during his final visit to New Zealand in 2005, Art said, "When you separate power from character, you're already over and past and across the threshold and into the realm of deception. If there's any formula for deception and disaster it's that."
"I will not trust a man with power, except that he has the appropriate character ... which is humility. (He is) not to exercise it for his own self-aggrandisement, but only for God's glory. Because that's the character of a son; that's what distinguishes a son. Anything and everything that he does is never for his own advancement. It always comes at the expense of his being reduced. But it's for the Father ... the glory of the Father."
"No one," Art continued, "is more subject to the prospect of deception about himself than a prophet. (Not needing criticism) is a formula for becoming false. We need all the more (because we are prophetic ... subject to the peculiar error of that calling) to receive correction from those that are outside us, as coming even from God."
Further, I endorse this teaching of the 16th Century champion of the reformation of the Church of Scotland, John Knox, "Believe God, that plainly speaketh in His Word. And further than the Word teacheth you, you shall neither believe the one nor the other."
And finally, I endorse these words from the writings of David Baron (England, 1855-1926), a foundational Messianic scholar, "The least errors in theology always bear fruit. Never does man take up an incorrect principle of interpreting Scripture without the principle entailing awkward consequences, and colouring the whole tone of his religion."
This Revival
I dreamt recently (May 13) that a leader of the Church in New Zealand (a man of "apostolic" stature) said to me, "This revival is sixteen feet deep!"
Sixteen is a number with little or no Biblical significance. However eight (8x2=16) is a number charged with meaning. It represents entry into a covenant relationship with God through the destruction of the "flesh".(Genesis 17.9-14) It also symbolises resurrection in the midst of God's judgement. (1 Peter 3.20)
It is a sad Church which is overtaken by revival, unready and unprepared. To this end let me unequivocally state that "this revival", which at present is only just beginning to make its presence felt on earth with a few scattered, very light, early showers (and which I believe will run its course until The Day ... 1 Corinthians 1.8) will,
* Eclipse entirely all we have ever known of revival throughout the Church's history; an overwhelming, double portion visitation.
"When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, 'Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.' And Elisha said, 'Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.' And he said, 'You have asked a hard thing...' " (2 Kings 2.9-10)
"And he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through." (Ezekiel 47.5)
* Its power and purity will bring destruction to the "flesh". "Flesh" is a term of the utmost importance to the great Apostle Paul. By it he meant, "human nature unbowed and unyielded to the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ and the plain, unalloyed Word of God ... the Bible".
"For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep doing." (Romans 7.18-19)
The deadliest and most lethal activity of the "flesh" is religious and spiritual. It is that human nature which is quite happy to relate to God, but strictly on its own terms ... a kind of unholy alliance, so to speak, which is in fact phony and ends with the creature worshipping itself rather than the Creator.
I welcome its destruction. It has vitiated and warped the Church more than hordes of demons and squadrons of devils.
* "This revival" will occur in a world "on fire" with the consequences of centuries of sin and rebellion ... personal, institutional and national.
But in the midst of the fury of this final flood, God will draw forth and save by grace all who are willing to turn to Him and trust in Him.
"But concerning that hour and day no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." (Matthew 24.36-39)
"When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will put him to flight." (Isaiah 59.19)
"He drew me up from the pit of destruction, and out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord." (Psalm 40.2-3)
Who Can Stand?
Early this month, I dreamed that I was standing in the foyer of a packed church, looking outside at a tremendous storm which was lashing our large building. Every time a powerful gust of wind and rain hit us, groups of the people inside the church fell down, like long grass flattened in a gale.
An hour or so after this dream, in the course of attending to my ordinary daily Bible readings, I read the sixth chapter of The Revelation and was particularly struck by verses 12-17,
"When He opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slaves and free hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?'"
Who can stand? This same poignant and potent question is elsewhere reiterated by the ancient prophets of Israel,
"But You, You are to be feared! Who can stand before You once Your anger is roused? From the heavens You uttered judgement; the earth feared and was still, when God arose to establish judgement, to save all the humble of the earth." (Psalm 76.7-9)
"Who can stand before His indignation? Who can endure the heat of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by Him. The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows those who take refuge in Him. But with an overflowing flood He will make a complete end of the adversaries, and will pursue His enemies into darkness." (Nahum 1.6-8)
"But who can endure the day of His coming, and who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years." (Malachi 3.2-4)
Who can stand? And who will stand in these few, final, fleeting glorious and furious moments of the Church Age?
"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm." (Psalm 20.7-8)
"If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared." (Psalm 130.3-4)
"Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man." (Luke 21.36)
"Who are you to pass judgement on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand." (Romans 14.4)
"Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, and set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." (2 Corinthians 1.21-22)
"Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." (Ephesians 6.13)
Shrinking Comfort Zone
In Auckland one Sunday morning recently, I stepped out of church and set off to walk through a graveyard to the street. I was confronted by debris from a considerable explosion which had blown open a two-storey building across the road a few hours earlier. What was especially disturbing were the dinner plate sized shards of broken glass which earlier had been a restaurant's front window. They were lying uncomfortably in this usually peaceful and beautiful place; aging stones, venerable trees, flowers and neatly clipped lawn ... wreckage!
" 'From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of My people as though it were not serious. 'Peace, peace', they say, when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not know even how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them,' says the Lord." (Jeremiah 6.13-15)
The traditional Christian graveyard is like a buffer-zone (comfort-zone?) which lies protectively between the Church and the world. This space is now under siege and shrinking...with God's immediate permission. The Church in these Last Days will not be allowed to "rest in peace", conveniently and traditionally cloistered from our sin-sick and perishing world.
"The Lord...is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3.9)
"God our Saviour, who wants all men to be saved." (1 Timothy 2.4)
If we will not go out, then it will come in,
"From the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven is forcibly entered, and violent men seize it for themselves." (Matthew 11.12)
"The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the Gospel of the Kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it." (Luke 16.16)
"Say to the House of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to desecrate My sanctuary - the stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes, the object of your affection." (Ezekiel 24.21)
Towards the end of the 1st Christian Millennium, the Church in Europe came under violent and persistent siege. The armies of Islam attacked the Church's "heart", sacking Rome and pillaging St. Peter's Church. But, as the Lord Himself had prophesied, that was not the end, "On this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it." (Matthew 16.18)
In fact, this long-ago desecration of His sanctuary, signaled a new beginning. The early centuries of the 2nd Millennium witnessed a profound reformation of the Church's ministry of intercession by Bernard of Clairvaux, as well as an explosive rekindling of mission through Francis of Assisi. What new prayer and evangelistic initiatives ought we to be anticipating in these first moments of the 3rd Millennium, as the Lord guides His people (both Old and New Covenant) through this last Last Days' siege.
"Praise be to the Lord, for He showed His wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city." (Psalm 31.21)
"I will encamp against you all around; I will encircle you with towers and set up My siege works against you. Brought low ... out of the dust your speech will whisper. But your many enemies will become like fine dust ... Suddenly, in an instant, the Lord Almighty will come." (Isaiah 29.1-8)
"I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations." (Zechariah 12.1-3)
"I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it ... Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives." (Zechariah 14.1-5)
General Elections 2008
In Britain in 1774, during parliamentary elections, the towering Church of England evangelist John Wesley recorded, "I met those of our (Methodist) society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them (1) to vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy: (2) to speak no evil of the person they voted against; and (3) to take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side."
In 1981, another genuine evangelistic colossus Billy Graham (USA) declared, "Evangelicals can't be closely identified with any particular party or person. We have to stand in the middle, to preach to all the people, right or left. I haven't been faithful to my own advice in the past. I will in the future."
During New Zealand's General Elections this year, will Christians take to heart the counsel of these two Godly men, employed by the Lord to profoundly and lastingly influence the destinies of many nations according to the power of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jews, then for the Gentiles." (Romans 1.16)
Or are we yet again going to be assailed and blasted by Dominion Theology ("When we rule the world for Jesus!") barked from pulpit, platform and full-page newspaper advertisement? And will the personal, inward-witness of the Holy Spirit again be brutally suppressed and trampled underfoot by Christian leaders (local church and other) claiming divine revelation concerning which political party God has commanded "the faithful" to vote for this time around?
This kind of worn-out and predictable posturing dishonours God Himself, brings shame upon the Gospel, and draws ridicule down on the heads of all the members of Christ's Body.
It would be very encouraging to think that Wesley and Graham's divine wisdom will be heeded. Sad to say, I for one will not be holding my breath.
"Whoever will listen let him listen, and whoever will refuse let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house." (Ezekiel 3.27)
"Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; and let him who is right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy." (Revelation 22.11)
Drowning in Froth
Some days ago (13th January), I dreamt I was on the coast, about one block back from the beach. I could see very big waves breaking in the distance. As I watched, I observed that huge amounts of froth and foam were being blown in from the water's edge and flooding through the basements of the row of houses which stood between me and the sea. I was concerned that this mess might even reach my car which I had been careful to park up on high ground.
"I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you ... Woe to them! ... They have rushed for profit into Balaam's error ... These men are ... shepherds who feed only themselves ... They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame ... They boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage." (Jude 1.3-16)
"But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud." (Isaiah 57.20)
"Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is Christ." (Ephesians 4.14-15)
In much of Western Christendom today, gloss has triumphed over substance, celebrity has eclipsed authenticity, and God's saints are everywhere in hot pursuit of excitement and convenience ... rather than crucified obedience and servanthood.
But the truly guilty are those who are leading the charge; those "shepherds who feed only themselves". They require cultish devotion and slavish obedience from their own followers; they ("wild waves of the sea")submit to none and render account to no one ... failing to heed even the final, faint warning cries of their own dying consciences. The froth and bubble of their ministries and meetings, to which the crowds flock and in which they "boast about themselves", is really "their shame"!
The gathering of huge crowds can signify many things ... a building on fire? ... an international test of athletic power? Who can tell? But one thing is certain ... a crowd is not necessarily testimony to the presence and benediction of Almighty God. To be sure, the multitudes did flock to the Lord Jesus as He performed God-honouring signs and wonders and miracles. And yet through that day when He toiled at His great work on Calvary's brutal Tree, His supporters were exceedingly few and far between ... their former applause dead on their lips.
Last year a Christian movement lauded (adulated?) for its ability to attract huge crowds into what gave every appearance of being "church", audited itself. Its leaders "confessed" that their programmes' excitement and convenience (froth and bubble) produced numbers, but not disciples (men and women consistently maturing under the discipline of Jesus Christ's Word, Spirit and Fellowship)!
Will these people now demolish their glittering, ecclesiastical ziggurat? Will they spend the rest of their lives repenting (clothed in sack cloth, mouths full of dust and ashes) for their grievous error, which has led thousands of local churches into a blind (but seeker-friendly!) alleyway? I doubt it!
In that place where waves break upon the land, the sea can be whipped into a foaming state where there is insufficient buoyancy to float, and inadequate oxygen to breathe. This is the place where people die.
It is not a good place to be; it is a place to get out of as quickly as you can!
"There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." (Luke 21.25-27)
Jerusalem 2008
The international community (on November 29) delivered Israel yet another ultimatum: Create and live alongside a separate, independent Palestinian State by 12/12/08 ... or else!
A "peace" conference (27-29/12) was hosted last week by the United States at Annapolis, Maryland, and brought together Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and the Palestinian Authority's President Mahmoud Abbas. Their deliberations were witnessed by 40 leaders of nations (among them representatives of the UN, the European Union, the Arab League, Russia and China) and multinational corporations.
"Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His Anointed One. 'Let us break their chains,' they say, 'and throw off their fetters.' " (Psalm 2.1-3)
One of the most significant consequences of the "accord" of this conference, is that the nations of the earth have thrust the "problem", status and destiny of Jerusalem right to the very top of their political agenda ... ahead of ecological disaster, Africa's AID's catastrophe, and multiplying bloodbaths continuing to be perpetuated by totalitarian regimes on every side.
During the conference, the PA's President Abbas told those attending that Israel "must end (its) occupation in all Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem."
He continued by saying that it was his "duty" to point out that "Jerusalem must be central to any deal. We want East Jerusalem to be our capital."
(Prime Minister Olmert shocked many of his fellow-countrymen during the Annapolis meeting by stating that he was "convinced that the reality that emerged in our region in 1967 will change significantly". A thinly-veiled reference to his apparent willingness to consider relinquishing neighbourhoods of Jerusalem to the Palestinians.)
"The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then He rebukes them in His anger and terrifies them in His wrath, saying, 'I have installed My King on Zion, My holy Hill.' I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, 'You are My son; today I have become your Father. Ask of Me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; You will dash them to pieces like pottery.' " (Psalm 2.4-9)
Jerusalem's continuing and escalating status as the international community's number-one problem and "hot-potato" is neither novel nor surprising. It is in fact the key to the understanding and fulfillment of all Bible prophecy concerning the Last Days. Jerusalem is God's city, and the Temple Mount in its heart will be the platform for Jesus' Throne during His millennial reign. Therefore, who is to occupy and control it will be fiercely contested and bitterly fought for, until satan himself (and his human and supernatural followers) are literally blasted out of their seigeworks around the city "by the splendour of His coming". (2 Thessalonians 2.8)
"This is the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths." (Zechariah 14.12)
"The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great wine press of God's wrath. They were trampled in the wine press outside the city (of Jerusalem), and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses' bridles for a distance of 300 kilometers." (Revelation 14.19-20)
This year is the 40th anniversary of the restoration of the whole of Jerusalem to Israel's jurisdiction and stewardship. This extraordinary event in 1967 was the fulfillment of the Lord's word concerning His return,
"When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near (70AD) ... Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (1967)...At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory (?) ... I tell you the truth, this generation (40 years ... 2007) will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away." (Luke 21.20-33)
Thus for some years now, I have plainly urged Christians to have a special regard for the "signs" of this year. Already some have taken it upon themselves to "stone" me: They have seen nothing worthy of their attention, and so have already begun to play mystical games with 2008's significance. So be it!
Annapolis 07 and its "resolutions" are the extraordinary signs and an extraordinary and quickened lunge forward, towards the scenario into which Jesus steps as this world's only King.
Sadly, it is unlikely that this world's "great ones" will heed the psalmist's counsel, "Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for His wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him." (Psalm 2.10-12)
Most will continue rushing headlong down the path of deception and destruction foreseen by the prophet Zechariah, "I am going to make Jerusalem a cup (of judgement ... Isaiah 51.22-23) that sends all the surrounding people reeling. Judah will be beseiged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves." (Zechariah 12.1-3)
Jerusalem is going to remain an intractable "problem": Primarily because it is God's city, and because it will indubitably be the centre of His earthly Kingdom and the place of his earthly Throne. And also because at the end of this Age there must be a Jewish community resident in that city, crying out to Jesus to return, so that He may be released from Heaven to come back on to this earth,
"That He may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you - even Jesus. He must remain in Heaven (whom Heaven must hold back) until the time comes for God to restore everything, as He promised long ago through His holy prophets." (Acts 3.20-21)
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem ... I tell you, you will not see Me again until you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.' " (Matthew 23.37-39)
All of this world's nations and countries will be judged by their response to the "immovable rock" which obstructs them in the pursuit of their own brain-fevered lusts and designs.
This satan-inspired "crusade" (which is nevertheless permitted by God) to bring "peace" to the Middle East by dealing to and sorting out "these troublesome and stubborn Jews", will reach its crescendo at the edge of the abyss ... into which not Israel is plunged, but the devil and all of his cohorts.
"I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half the city (East Jerusalem?) will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem ... The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and His name the only name." (Zechariah 14.2-4 & 9)
FOOTNOTE
November 29 last week was also the 60th anniversary of the UN vote to end Britain's "Mandate of Palestine". (Resolution 181) That Resolution provided for the partitioning of "Palestine" into a Jewish and an Arab state, with greater Jerusalem (and Bethlehem) under international control.
This plan was swept away by the Arab initiated, hate-inspired 1948-49 conflict.
Israeli history books still point to 29/11/1947 as "the most important date in Israel's acquisition of independence".
In the Bible, the number 6 represents humanity...man being created on the 6th day. Last week's anniversary signals (for Israel and also for the Church) that the days of "glorying" and trusting in human strength and giftedness are now at an end.
"This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel (the Jewish governor): 'Not by might (human strength) nor by power ( political force), but by My Spirit', says the Lord Almighty." (Zechariah 4.6)
"But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen." (Hosea 1.7)
