Community, Demons, and Zion

I wrote a comment last night on someone's blog who was asking for a definition and discussion of community. This is what I wrote, which I would like to take the time to expand a bit more in this post:

Community is solely based upon the bearing of the image of God in our faces, and beholding that glory to be moved from glory to glory. It is found when the saints gather, whether for prayer, for Bible study, for worship, or for fun ;)
Community is the stepping out from this world and into the eternal together with other believers. It is the dividing of oneself away from the systems of the world, and the principalities behind those systems, in order to be taken by something much more organic and beautiful: Zion. Zion is the City of God. Zion is the Mount upon which the Temple sits. Zion is twofold – a heavenly dwelling with an earthly counterpart. Zion is the place of freedom. Zion is the beauty of holiness, it is the unadulterated splendor of where God’s people are in unity with Him, and it is where we shine with the radiance of Christ. This is community. It is where we love one another with the love of Christ Himself, and from that love, we pursue absolute perfection in that love together. Community, to put it plainly, is heaven manifest upon earth through the children of God. Though we know that when two or three gather in His name that He is in our midst, we also know there is a time for this literal manifestation, when Zion will come down from heaven, when the earthly Zion and the heavenly Zion will be one. That is community. It is born out of the travail for that reality in our midst, whatever means it might take through the Spirit of God to get there.
Grace and peace, dear brother. May Christ’s love overflow in you to be brought unto that eternal radiant glory.

First, lets start with that first statement. It comes directly from 2 Corinthians 3:17-18. For a little bit of context, know that Paul is expressing the immense glory of the New Covenant in comparison to the Old Covenant. He references Moses' veil when he hid his shining face from the Israelites, and he says that this veil is still over the hearts of all they who are not in Christ whenever Moses is read. This needs a bit of explaining. Isaiah 25:7 speaks of a "veil" that covers the nations. This veil is the principalities and powers of the air. It is the demonic strongholds that rule and influence all nations and peoples. That veil was upon the hearts of the Israelites when the came out of Egypt, for it takes more than just receiving the Law to be saved. There is an inward heart conversion that must take place - that did take place for some, hopefully even many, in that first generation. This veil is the Law, which is the power of sin. Now, Law in Paul's mouth is not the same as what we think. Law does not merely mean the words on the page, but the idea that we can have righteousness apart from faith. If we simply uphold "the law", then we are obedient and righteous. That is a false righteousness, one based upon our ability and pride rather than our humility and brokenness. It utilizes the wisdom of those principalities and powers in order to consider ourselves right before God, simply because we have a form of godliness.

Yet, when the heart turns, that veil is taken away. When the individual will come to Christ, and be regenerated, the veil is broken off. This is why Paul says, "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." 

Because we are beholding God's glory in one another's face, instead of that veil upon the heart, we are brought into a place of ever increasing glory.

You can see with this how we go from my first statement directly into the next. We step out from the influence of the principalities and power through living a life of reflecting the glory of God in our face unto all others. Freedom from the principalities and powers can only be attained when we come out and be separate unto the Lord. We no longer have our identity within the systems of the world - not even our father's house, our kindred (Irish, German, African, etc), or our national identity. That kind of separation is painful if it is only for the sake of separating. That is the beauty, though. It is not only for the sake of separation. There is a process unto which we must be taken, and sometimes that process is long and difficult, but we are indeed coming unto Zion, and you have indeed come unto Zion if you are in Christ.

Because we are no longer under the oppression of the devil, we are now at liberty to conduct our lives through the freedom of the Spirit. To live out of that Spirit is to wage war against the enemy. Our lives, everything we do, is a battle.

Ephesians 3:8-12 reads, "To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him."

This is the purpose of the church. We are to display the wisdom of God to the principalities and powers. What does that even mean? How do we do that?

The wisdom of God is displayed through the cross. It is that through sacrifice, and not selfishness, that we obtain exultation. It is through submission unto death, even the laying down of our lives for our brothers and sisters, that we obtain life. This is utterly paradoxical in our rational world. The reason this seems to be completely opposite of what we would think is because we are influenced all too much by the wisdom of Satan. It is his wisdom that tells us "It is a dog-eat-dog world out there! You have to look out for number one! If you don't, then who will? You have to take care of yourself before you can care for others, right?" It is the wisdom of God that says, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell all your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven." There is an utter contrast.

What is community? It is the place where the saints have come together utterly separated from the world, untarnished by the principalities and their wisdom, in order to serve the Lord their God in whatever way He might command. It is when we do not rely upon the wisdom of the kingdom of darkness - pride, self, manipulation, intimidation, greed, lust, etc - but rely solely upon God that we have entered into community. Our daily life is to go from house to house breaking bread. If we don't meet with all of the saints, and we don't receive from them the impartation of life, then how shall we survive the day? The enemy of my soul is too strong for me alone.

This is community, and this is what we are to display unto even the cosmic realities. May the Lord make you incredibly hungry for such expression of His kingdom in your midst, and may you be unwilling to settle for anything less. Blessings in Jesus' name!

Satan Destroys Nations

A man from Uganda had given a message that changed my life in regard to the way I perceive spiritual warfare. It has to do with fighting for our nation. Right off the bat, I almost feel the need to stress that this is not about patriotism, but about entering into the ultimate intention of God for our nation. We've prayed for revival for so long, and we've been pouring out our tears, and we've been hearing for so long that persecution is coming to America. So many seem to speak messages of revival, restoration, enduring hardships and suffering, and the coming persecution upon Christians.

Ignore all of it. They know almost nothing of God's purposes.

What people are sensing is from the enemy, and not from God. They are hearing the taunts of Satan, and are then crying because of his jeers. Let me explain this as clearly and concisely as I possibly can.

There are two ways that the enemy destroys nations. The first is only temporary to lead into the second. The principalities and powers will lull to sleep the strong, so that the net comes around them, and when they finally wake up, they have no strength, no authority, no voice, and no hope. Though they know their strength and have desire to fight (and will fight), they simply have handed over all strength to the enemy - like Samson gave his strength over to Delilah.

The second way that Satan destroys nations is to use violence and terror. He will come in like a flood to oppress anyone who stands in his way. Women are oppressed. Men live in fear. Children are taken from their homes and forced to serve in the military. Anyone who opposes the powers that be is annihilated. Absolute oppression is poured out upon all - even they who are being used as puppets at the top. For an example of this, look in the Middle East. See the work of ISIS for what it really is: the tactic of the enemy to destroy entire nations. (Another example in modern times would be Nazi Germany.)

Here is the problem: When we pray about issues regarding the Middle East, or regarding homosexual activism, or regarding abortion, or regarding the political agendas and the government that rules over us, we often are praying in regard to the issues that we see. There are deeper issues than that.

When we examine America's history, what is one of the issues that comes up over and over again? Racism. I saw somewhere that 150,000 people were killed in the trail of tears - the utter destruction of the Native Americans. Slavery has been something that has left a tarnish upon this nation, not just from 1700's, but even from the Civil War through the Civil Right's movement of the 1960's. When we see the racism issue being displayed every day on the media, it is not because we still struggle with racism. Whether that is true or not is a non-issue.

There is a principality over our nation that is driving the racism thing. It is an Assyrian spirit, one that would claim itself to be the "master race" (it was the Assyrians who coined this term), and their leaders were called “Khatti-sars”. From this we have words like Caesar, Tzar, Czar, Kaiser, etc. The Assyrians used symbols like the double-headed eagle, the iron cross, and the swastika as their representations. Yes, the eagle on the dollar bill comes from the Assyrian symbol. They are recorded by Philo and Josephus as being people with blonde hair and blue eyes, and white skin. The Indians (country) called them "white demons". This is what has infiltrated Germany, thus the rise of Nazism, and what has come across the sea into America, thus the racism and elitism.

The roots need to be noted and understood. We are fighting principalities and powers, not racism and abortion. The problem stems unto a spirit that presides over our nation, that until it be cast down by the Church that has come out from all influence of the principalities and powers, we will continue to find these problems. They won't stop here. The goal is to oppress the people of God, to numb them and to deceive them, until  eventually they have no power at all. To use their wisdom at all is to surrender your authority to them (see here and here for more information on their wisdom). To harness patriotism, which I do love what American is supposed to stand for (freedom), is to play directly into their power.

God has called us out of father, kindred, and nation - just as He called Abraham out - so that we might come into a different Kingdom entirely. It is from that heavenly kingdom, with the authority invested in us through freedom from demonic influence and manipulation, and freedom from sin, that we are able to war against those powers over our nation.

Ultimately, the casting down of principalities from a national level requires the command over even the elements of nature (see my blog here on the two witnesses). The replacement of government is not anarchy, but theocracy. The establishment of theocracy would require that we seek the heart of God, to understand what His purposes are for our nation, and to live from the reality of what He has called us to be. As Americans, God has called us to be that nation of freedom. But, what exactly does that mean? What precisely does God demand that we as a nation would do? This is something that we need to prayerfully wrestle with in community, for without the intuition and discernment of the saints in corporeity we cannot possibly come to solid conclusions of what God has called our great nation to be in this time. Whatever it is that He would call us to be and to do, it will relate to the Jew in our midst, and to Israel in the last days. What exactly that means is more than I can express at this moment, but for those interested, I would suggest reading this to start.

It's not Good to be Alone

18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

23 And Adam said:

“This is now bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

In Genesis 2:18, we find the first mention of "not good." Throughout the entirety of Genesis 1, we read about the first day, and God says it is good. The second day, God says it is good. The third day, God says it is good. All the way through to the seventh day, God says, "It is very good." Now we reach the first time that God says, "It is not good..." Isn't it fascinating that the first thing God says is not good is loneliness? 

Notice that God does not say it is sin. It is not sin to be alone, or to feel alone. Loneliness is something that we have all experienced at some time. The Hebrew word is bad (bawd). It has the implication of a branch severed from the tree, a body part disconnected. This is not mere isolation, but a disconnect from the whole. 

God's response to this loneliness is to "make a helper." The Hebrew word is etser, which comes from the root atsar - to surround. Etser means "one who helps," but seems like the implications are companionship and camaraderie, not service or assistance. It is also more than someone to talk to and be around. This suitable helper is supposed to be one that can come alongside and fill out the areas in life that are incomplete. 

We have in verses 19-20 the scene of Adam naming the animals. This has two implications. First, it implies hierarchy. Adam was "over" the animals in that he names them; they don't name themselves. In Daniel 1, Daniel and his three companions are given new names. The king of Babylon does this to show he has ownership over those young men. He named them; he owns them. The second implication is found in what a name represents. The Hebrew word shem (pronounced shame) means character. Adam would have deeply searched the soul of those animals to name them precisely as they are. Their name is the essence of their being. It takes intimacy with that other being in order to name them. You have to know them in their deeps and see what the animal truly is.

We come to verse 21 and God puts Adam in a deep sleep. The Hebrew word is tardemah. It means a trance, or a deep sleep (as if dead). The Greek equivalent is used in Revelation 1 when John sees Jesus and falls down before Him as if dead. Daniel sees a vision in Daniel 10, and falls down on his face into a "deep sleep." This is the same thing. It's the idea of being unconscious or in a coma or something. It makes me think of Paul when he said, "Whether in the body or out of the body, I don't know..." 

This idea of Adam being brought into a deep unconscious slumber, as if dead, is all the more amplified by the verb in the following phrase. Yashen means physical relaxation/being languid, but figuratively implies death. God took a rib out of Adam and from that rib made a woman. She was called such because when Adam awoke, he said, "Woah, man..." (That was a pathetic attempt at a joke). 

In the wording, "bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh," we actually have an idiom. To understand what this means, it is actually a comparison of bone and flesh. Whereas bone is hard, flesh is soft. Where I am weak, she is strong, but where I am strong, she is weak. We complete one another. This is the helper that Adam needed. This is the kind of relationship that was needed in order to not be "alone." In the case of Adam, it was a wife that was necessary. In the case of many people in our world today, it is not necessarily a wife or a husband. The implications of what it means for them to be a wife or husband is found prominently in the next couple verses.

Before we get to that point, lets further investigate this scene. The Hebrew for rib is tselath. It means side, but can be used in anatomy, architecture, or figuratively. Depending on the context, we would call it a beam, side, rib, plank, etc. It comes from the Hebrew tsala, which means "to limp." Tsala is used in Genesis 32:22-32 when Jacob wrestled the angel and walked away limping. For Adam to be put into a deep sleep, as though dead, and then a rib taken from his side, we're looking at a metaphor for resurrection. Just as Jacob transformed from Jacob to Israel, so Adam is transforming from man to humanity. It was male and female - He made them in God's image. There is something about man and woman uniting to bring forth the image of God.

The Hebrew for woman is ishah; the Hebrew for man being ish. The woman has a hey at the end of ishah. The man has a yod in the middle of ish. When you bring together the yod with the hey, you have yah, which is the name of God. To be truly united, we bring Christ in us to one another, the God that He invested inside of you. When I as a male bring the image of God in me to my wife, and she brings the image of God in her to me, we make a complete yah, and therefore have a three chord strand that is not easily broken. 

To build a relationship upon Christ instead of upon "I love her" is completely different. Notice in verse 23 that Adam never named the woman. There isn't a hierarchy. Adam is not over the woman. Paul notes that the woman was created for man, not visa versa. What's going on here? Paul cannot be saying that man is over the woman. Thus, it must mean that woman is to serve God with man, not as a lesser, but not alone either. The reason for this is because of what I've already mentioned the "bone of my bone" idiom stands for. In the ways of God, He has purposed that woman should serve Him alongside of man. We'll dive into this a little more deeply in a minute.

The word for one used in verse 24 is echad. Echad is used many times in the Old Testament to mean one. It does not mean a multiplicity of ones. I've heard the argument that it is like one bundle of sticks compared to one stick. The truth is, echad would be used to describe both the bundle as well as the single stick. But here is what we do know: Adam and Eve would not have ended up somehow mutating together to become one being. They were still two distinct entities: male and female. Never does Adam become one with Eve in the sense of a merging of the flesh to become one person instead of two. So echad, even though it means one, is being used figuratively to make a point.

When we read in the shema, we read that the word echad is used at the end (the Lord your God is one). Jesus prayed in John 17:21 that we would be one as He and the Father are one. In Ephesians 5:31-32, Paul says that this is a mystery that is speaking of Christ and His Church. The very words in Genesis 2:24 are somehow now being related to Christ and His Church. 

I said previously that for Adam, the loneliness was cured by a wife. But for we in the twenty first century, it isn't necessarily marriage that cures loneliness. It comes from two sources, both being related inseparably. We are to be married to Christ, which is to say that we are to be one with Christ. That sounds nice and all, but what does that look like and actually mean? The ironic thing is that this is where the second implication comes in. To be one with Christ is to be one with one another. When we are willing to be intimate with one another, to the degree that you cannot tell where the one begins and the other ends, we are now being united with Christ.

It is beholding in one another's faces that we move from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). We're given a clue in Genesis 2:25 as to what it would mean to be one with one another. They were naked and felt no shame. Nakedness is not simply stripping down. There is a stripping that is not of clothing. There is a nakedness that does not involve nudity. Nakedness is transparency. We read in James 5:16 to confess our faults one to another and to pray for one another. Paul says to carry each other's burdens, for when one part of the Body hurts, the whole Body hurts. That kind of openness of confession to one another, and that kind of love to pray for one another instead of lording over one another is completely other worldly. 

In openness and honesty and nakedness, there was no shame for faults and failures. In all things, man was innocent. Could you imagine what it would be like to be that kind of person to someone else? Are you able to conceive what it would mean to be able to unload your heart to someone, and instead of judging or condemning, they embrace you and say with heartfelt tears, "Me too?" We've all failed in one place, and even if I've never committed adultery, I'm no better than the one who has. I've done things that the adulterer or murderer would never conceive of. The visions in my mind sometimes are so perverted and evil that to confess it would be to expose myself. I'm not a good person.

Yet, it is in the midst of that kind of relationship to one another that we find healing and freedom. We find healing from our sins, and we find innocence because we're not looking to hide or deceive. To be united one to another, so that we are no longer male and female, Jew or Gentile, black or white, slave or free, but are all one in Christ requires that we would be transparent before one another. The cure to loneliness is not to be around other people. The cure to loneliness is confession.

When we're united to a Body of believers that is naked before one another, shame is not felt. Adam and Eve were naked and felt no shame. This kind of innocence has been lost to us, but we can understand it and be a part of it through Christ. Honesty and transparency is being more naked than nudity would require. We don't like the idea of being that open and bare. We like to clothe ourselves and hide behind our fig leaves. It takes the Spirit of Christ itself to even get us to consider opening up and being real. 

The heck of it is that to be united to the Body here and now is actually more than just being united to the Body here and now. There is an unbroken continuum of saints that stretch back to Adam being a son of God, Abel offering a sacrifice that God accepted, Seth's descendants being the first mention of "At that time men began to call upon the name of the Lord", Enoch entering into eternity by faith, and all the other amazing saints that we're in line with throughout all ages. This is called the invisible cloud of witnesses. 

We are interwoven with this invisible cloud. Even when you feel alone, you are not alone. The others that have gone before you are ever and always about you. When we enter into the Body of Christ, we enter an eternal Body that spans from everlasting to everlasting. Before the foundations of the world, Jesus was the eternal Son of God. To enter into His Body is to enter into Him. To enter into Him is to enter into the Triune God. As the Bride of Christ, we are more than human. Divinity and humanity have been married, and in being united one to another, we are actually a fourth aspect of the Godhead. That isn't to say that we are divine as individuals, but to say that the marrying of Israel and the Church, Spirit and flesh, Heaven and Earth, and God and man brings us into an exalted place. We are somehow more than human, and even exalted above the angels, but not on par with Christ.

Just as the woman was created to serve God alongside of man, the Bride of Christ is to rule and reign alongside of Christ. The woman is not less than man, nor is she under man. She is not to be "ruled over", nor is she to be the head of the house. There is no "head" but Christ. When man and woman have been made equal and serve God together - one alongside of the other - we are displaying a mystery of how God has made the Bride to rule and reign with Christ in equality to Christ, and not in subjectivity or "underneath" Christ. 

Oh the depths and riches of our God! The tender mercies that would make man a little lower than the angels, but to be raised up unto Him as Sons and Daughters - co-heirs with Christ. Who is like the Lord? And who has been His counselor? To Him be glory in the Bride, forever and ever, amen.

Church Leadership

This has been a question asked by a couple people, "What does Church leadership look like?" I am so unfit to answer this question. Before we even talk about leadership, we need to ask what do we mean by "church?" There is a lot to unpack.

When you ask someone what church is, they will typically tell you it is the people. Then you ask them about their church and they will tell you about programs, events, buildings, sermons, worship music, and other things that really make you wonder how much they truly believe that the church is the people. Lets get this one clear: the church is not a building. You might meet in a building, you might meet in a living room, you might meet at a different place each week, but where you meet does not in any way, shape, or form tell us one iota about your "church." The church is first and foremost the people of God, coming together frequently in fellowship together.

In the midst of frequent fellowship, and in the midst of adversity of life lived together, we find ourselves in a strange place. Questions come from the devil asking whether these people even like you. He tempts and taunts and earns his title as "the accuser of the brethren." Nothing short of complete transparency and honesty will help to overcome that hurdle. When we can be united in a way that we are able to confess our faults one to another, and honestly tell each other when we have felt wronged or when the devil has been speaking his deceptions into our ear, it is precisely at that moment that we have stepped out from being an institution and into being an apostolic reality.

Our lives and characters are to be interwoven in a way that you cannot see me without seeing the other members of my community. You cannot tell where the one begins and the other ends. When you hear me speaking about a certain subject, I have not come to this knowledge independent, but instead in the midst of corporate wrestling. We all have a word, a song, a prophecy, a tongue, an interpretation of that tongue, a cry, a burden, a hope, a love, a message that cuts through all the crap, and most of all, we all have hearts yearning for a coming Kingdom. In that context, when we meet, we don't listen to the one man who has prayed, but instead we listen to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches through this man, and that woman, and these brothers, and those couples, and even the children. God speaks through each and every one, or He doesn't speak at all. Even in silence, we can be speaking the very word of God.

This brings me to another question often asked: How do you maintain order? We have set up "church" so that we have the worship, a little bit of announcements, and then the sermon, and then we all "fellowship" or leave. How is it that if there is no set schedule that we will have order?

It is not a cop out when I say that the Holy Spirit gives order. When we take off our control and allow Him to be in control, we find that the amount of order is amazing. Our time together can actually be more ordered and seamless when He is in control than when we are in control. The problem is this: often we let go of control and God is not in it. What happens when the Holy Spirit does not come in our midst to have authority and lead? Is God required to take the authority over the meeting?

When we come together, if there is no order, it is not because we haven't set up rules and bounds and guides, or that we lack leadership. The reason that there might be a lack of order is actually a spiritual issue. For those that have kept their hearts and are following the Spirit, there will be order. But if we have spent our Saturdays watching the football game, and have neglected prayer and the Bible, then it is no wonder that we need a system in order to keep from going berserk.

The quality of our life lived before God is no greater than the quality of the life we live together. When our lives together are constituted by seeing one another once or twice a week, we've already shown our cards. When we "fellowship" by playing games and watching movies together, we've already shown our lack. When we need some sort of entertainment to sit together for multiple days back to back, then our quality of life together is quite poor. How is it that the same eternal Spirit that is at work in me is at work in you, but we can't even find something to talk about? How is it that so often what we talk about and discuss has no eternal weight to it? How is it that we are far more intrigued with the ball game than we are with what it means to have a corporate character of holiness?

I say these things to our shame.

And then we want to talk about how we need church leadership. The leadership is often times equally as wanting in character and life as the person in the pew. The only difference is that you have a man or woman that is now a toddler in the faith that is able to lead the infants. This is not true of every congregation, but it is certainly true for the majority. Church leadership is born out of the intensity of life lived together. When we have wrestled with these first and foundational issues of how to even come together frequently, then we can start discussing leadership.

Leadership is never something that we promote because of a title, education, or credential. It is based on one thing, and one thing only: the word of God. When the credentials are met according to the Bible, and when that word comes from heaven to say, "Separate unto me..." then we shall know who the leaders are. God appoints the elders and deacons. He appoints the pastors and teachers. If it weren't for the assured times when discipline is necessary, you would not even know who the elder is and who the layman is. They are one together.

Submission to authority is thus a submission to the Holy Spirit. Those that are to be great among us are to be our servants. Just as Jesus did not come to be served, but instead to serve, so we are to serve one another. Those that God has appointed as elders are in actuality very rarely the ones that "stand a head and shoulder above all others" (reference to King Saul). Typically God chooses the servant and the least of all. That does not mean the least educated or least knowledgable, but the one that does not identify himself or herself as anything worthy of such a title. The one that does not desire to be sent out and speak to the world as a prophet is the one chosen as a prophet. Why? Because God knows that that man or woman will not speak their words, but will instead remain humble and speak only the words God has given. Likewise, the servant, the one that is truly humble, will not seek to somehow lord over anyone else when they are given authority, but will instead have the authority because of the anointing of the Spirit. They will not govern according to the way that the world governs, but instead have a different disposition: one that asks how Jesus leads; one that asks what it means to rule and reign in the Kingdom of God.

In this manner, God has made it that those who lead are not always those that are most qualified. It is a humbling to those that are more qualified to then submit to the authority. The authority, by the way, is never a man with a title - even one given of God - but instead a submission to the Holy Spirit. If the youngest and newest convert speaks a word that is cogent and drips with anointing, no matter how much we desire to scoff and say we're the elder or we know more, we bend the knee and submit to that word or rebuke that has come from even the babe in Christ.

The oldest is not too far from being rebuked by the youngest. All are able to speak into one another's lives, because what is more important than leadership is apostolic character. Our greatest pursuit is that we do not offend the Holy Spirit of God, which is to say that we we live solely for the glory of God. Anything less than the glory of God is apostasy, and we will not settle. Our leaders are to be those that have discernment to know when a word is truly coming from God and when it is coming from the flesh. These are men that might not know everything as far as knowledge goes, but they do know God. They do know His presence. They do know His power. They do know His Spirit.

Because the leadership has cherished that Spirit that is within them, they are able to see the false a mile away. Any kind of false humility, false speaking, false prophecy, false hope, or false spirit is utterly opposed. And know that it is never the person that is attacked, but the spirit of deception. We speak the truth in love to one another. That doesn't mean that we are somehow timid or wimpy. We can speak boldly and confidently without assailing.

In the context of community, in the midst of adversity of life together, we find an unusual calling. How can we even be to each other what we ought when our privacy is taken away? How can we show each other love when all of the luxuries that we've enjoyed up to now are no longer legitimate? It takes a certain kind of stamina and love for the truth to endure this. When we are willing to submit to that love of truth over our personal ambition, then we have come to a place where maybe we can start asking questions about church leadership. Out of that Body that is consecrated to the Lord, and has been sanctified through the outworking of His Spirit in the midst of that Church, God will speak, "Separate unto me." There will be no question of who the elders or pastors or teachers or deacons or leadership are. It will be blatantly obvious if we are indeed in the Spirit.

I hope that this answers some of those questions about leadership, authority, and submission to that leadership and/or authority.

Cosmic and Eternal Perspective

I find it quite strange that when I communicate this perspective, there are very few who are acceptant of it. As if saying that we won’t be raptured is bad enough, when you then compound upon that the belief that Israel will be the priesthood to the nations and that Jesus will return and set up His Kingdom from Israel, ruling and reigning from Zion, it is the final straw. For some reason, people are unwilling to come to terms with that. The most common response is not Scriptural rebuttal, but instead are questions like, “Why can’t God do it differently? How do you know that God wants to do it that way? How can you tell (which is the same as how do you know) that God wouldn’t do something else? He does work in mysterious ways, right? His thoughts are not our thoughts, right? So how would you know that this is what He has in mind?”

These are fair questions at face value. I’ve answered them, but haven’t fully answered them. It goes back to the God that chooses. Why would He choose Jerusalem? Why would He choose Zion? Why would He choose Israel? Why did God choose Gideon? Why did God choose Samson? Was there something intrinsic in Gideon or Samson that God saw? Or was it quite the opposite?

If we think that Samson was some muscular man that was 7 feet tall and 250 pounds of pure muscle, then we have a wrong basis from which we perceive. God chooses that which is foolish and that which weak to confound the wise and strong. It is not so much about the person of God’s choosing that make the man spectacular. It is the God that chooses that makes the man spectacular. This needs to register deep within us. If we think that God would choose us as the mostly Gentile Church to be that end time people to intercede for Israel because of our merit or qualifications, then we have left the faith. It is not in our strength that God is calling us, but in our weakness.

The whole view comes from a much larger view. So in order to answer the rebuttals that claim I don’t know whether God would or would not act and react in this or that manner, we need to step back and view things from a cosmic level. We find such a cosmic level in Genesis. Of all places in Scripture, the book of Ephesians and the Garden of Eden are the 2 that most specifically address the cosmic and eternal perspective.

⁸ And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

⁹ And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁵ And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

¹⁷ But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Genesis 2:8-9, 15-17

Something that is a good study is to look up the Hebrew. What did God command that Adam not do? What would be the result? Then you cross reference with the next chapter and read what Eve says, it is completely different. Though the sentence in English looks the same, the Hebrew is very distinct. Then the serpent repeats what God really did say. Satan deceived the woman by telling her the truth.

But here in our study, I want to examine this text closely. Nowhere in the text does God say that Adam was to not eat of the tree of life. He was only told not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. What is it about knowledge of good and evil that God would forbid Adam to eat of this tree? What is it about the tree of life that Adam would choose to not eat of it?

Do you understand my questions? Out of all of the things that God could have set up in the garden and said not to partake of, why was it a tree that would reveal to Adam good and evil? Does God intend for humanity to be undiscerning? And what was so repelling of the tree of life that Adam would have possibly been in the garden for 100 years and not once taken from that tree of life? Did it look displeasing, whereas the tree of the knowledge of good and evil looked pleasing?

There are zero Scriptures anywhere in the Bible that will tell you what the trees looked like. There are also zero Scriptures that will tell you what these trees represent. This is something that needs to be discerned collectively and by the Holy Spirit. So lets start with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Why would God forbid Adam to take of that fruit? Is there something about knowing good and evil that God does not desire for us?

I think that this is easiest to answer. Obviously, God wants us to know the difference between good and evil. He tells us to discern right from wrong. He tells us to discern the spirits. He tells us to separate the precious from the vile. He tells us to walk in the light instead of in the darkness. He tells us to be holy as He is holy. He tells us to choose life over death. How can God require this of us if we aren’t to be discerning?

This is a different kind of discernment. What the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents is human efficiency. This is what we are able to accomplish outside of God. We can establish morale. We can use our rationale and our intellect to determine that it is wrong to rape, kill, and steal. We don’t want someone to come up to us and stab us, so that is obviously “wrong.” But by what basis do we judge others if atheism is true? To what degree is there a moral standard that is universal? At best, we can determine according to communities, societies, nations, and maybe even internationally what is good and bad. But can we truly decide whether Hitler was a good or bad person?

By what means, outside of God, do we gain our morality? This is key. Is morality simply a list of do’s and don’ts? Is there something else to morality? I think so. Morality is a necessity. But it goes beyond what is right and wrong. We think that morality is living life in a way that we dodge the “big sins.” Yet, we lack the understanding that morality doesn’t stem from what we do. It stems from who we are.

The grotesque sins that we can commit aren’t always connected to something obviously vile. I’ll give you an example. I know a family that has two kids. Both of them have grown up to be hellions while still being involved in their church. She is quite sexually active, and he is always doped up on drugs. What caused this? When you take a look at the family as a whole, the parents are very lenient. They have the attitude that you can’t decide for yourself until you try it. So they allow their kids to be demons and hooked on drugs and sexuality with full expectation that they’ll grow out of it. But then it doesn’t stop with the sex and drugs. Now they disrespect their parents. Why?

The question doesn’t start with the disrespect. That is what the parents are so offended about. It doesn’t start with their lack of obedience. The place to start looking is the parent’s lack of love. It was their lack of being parents that led their children to find some other fill. It was that drive to find another fill that led to the bigger problem: a hatred of their own parents. The hatred isn’t the problem. That is a side effect of the problem.

I’ll give another example. I know someone who is divorced. They had a child out of wedlock. Their relationship to their ex-spouse is rocky. What came first: the rocky relationship or the divorce? Well, common sense would say the rocky relationship. That isn’t the case though. They had both divorced one another before even having trouble in the relationship. I don’t mean that they left one another. I mean that they were still allowing their interests in other men or women dictate. They were still flirtatious. They were still willing to show their love to another at their spouse’s expense. This was from both sides. The sin wasn’t the divorce. It wasn’t the child out of wedlock. The child out of wedlock and the wedding were both attempts to try to keep the relationship going. The downfall was that neither one of them were devoted.

What am I getting at with this? We need to be people who are willing to plumb the depths of our sins. We need to be willing to see it for what it really is. Morality doesn’t start with a question of right and wrong. Morality starts with devotion and determination that nothing will go unchecked and unnoticed. Everything that we do in life will be observed carefully to see if there is anything behind it that is evil in disguise.

It is a nice thing to pick up the check for someone else at the dinner table. What is the motive? Are you trying to be nice? Are you trying to show off? Are you trying to hold it over their head so that next time you can say they owe you? The righteous does righteous acts and doesn’t even realize they have done it. You can bring it up to them that the way they conduct themselves is very righteous. They wouldn’t have noticed.

For example: it says in Deuteronomy 15 that we are to take care of the orphans, widows, foreigners, traveler, family, and that we should not knowingly try to oppress anyone. This isn’t hard for the righteous. They just live in that kind of lifestyle. They are generous. When someone is seen without a coat, they give him or her their coat. They don’t even have to think about it. That is just who we’re taught to be by God. You see someone in need, so you supply the need.

This is where morality starts. It starts with motives and core actions. If you are an introvert, there are certain things that you need to be careful of. You need to be careful of not keeping quiet when it is necessary to speak. If you are an extrovert, you need to be careful not to speak when you need to be quiet. It isn’t about whether it is right or wrong. The issue is over a love of truth.

There are certain situations where it is more loving to keep quiet and allow someone to suffer and ask, “Why would God allow this?” There are times where if you keep quiet, you are now doing disservice. It takes discernment. It also takes a lot of agony. God will form you. I won’t say that I have arrived because this is the biggest struggle I have. Trying to find the absolute root of things is tough.

But this is what morality is. Morality is searching to the root. It is digging up everything until you find that first initial problem. This doesn’t always involve your own life (although that is most frequent). Would it have been the moral thing to do if Dietrich Bonhoeffer would have succeeded in killing Hitler? Hitler was a monster, but the Bible says to submit under the governmental authority. It says that vengeance is the Lord’s.

Probing the depths of morality takes effort. It takes more than effort. It takes a certain kind of moral stamina. It is easy to raise questions of whether it is “right or wrong.” It is much more painstaking to not be content with right or wrong but digging to the root to see where the issue really lies. Is it okay to kiss before marriage? Is it okay to display any kind of physical affection outside of marriage?

When we have a moral deficiency in any area, that deficiency will expose itself somewhere. This is certain: your sin will find you out. Moral deficiency isn’t about addictions to cigarettes or pornography. Moral deficiency is about a lack in even believing that there is a right or wrong in certain matters. Where were those parent’s morals when they allowed their children to grow up watching sex and drug filled movies? Where were those parent’s morals when they allowed their kids to go out partying all night? Now suddenly when they don’t have respect from their kids they want to play the morality card. You forfeited your morality when you allowed blatant sin and corruption to be displayed before their eyes daily in your own home.

I see a lot of people who have pictures of their whole family in a certain sport jersey. Then they want to talk about how their lives are devoted only to Jesus. You can’t have them both. If you have that severe of a pride for your favorite football team that your kids are forced to wear the jerseys before they even understand the sport, then you aren’t devoted to God. You can take your pick.

Morality must issue from God. He is the only fully moral being. Anything that will block us or keep us from seeing Him clearly and expressing Him clearly to others through our actions is not moral. Any kind of deception, whether inward or outward, is amoral. To be amoral is to reject morals. It is to say that morality doesn’t exist. There are no morals; there are only my own desires and lusts.

Lets take this back to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If man is the one deciding what is good and what is evil, then can there be true morality? Do we have that desire to probe the depths? Do we have that ability to discern the root of sin? It takes God’s speaking and discernment from His Holy Spirit to reveal to us the depths. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a cheapie. It is a cop-out, an evasion.

This is the struggle. We have two systems that have been established: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. The one says that we can decide what is good and evil, the other claims there is none good but God. To which do you prescribe? Does the basis of all morality come from God? Do you search the inner depths of self to see if there is anything that comes from something outside of God? Jesus got to the root when He said that to look upon another woman with lust is adultery.

This is the definition of the two trees. One is morale; the other is life. To one we grant access that we are all supposed to be “good people” and that we ought not to be unkind and this is how civilized people ought to live and move and speak and treat one another. There are certain standards that have been made by society. It is improper to go around yelling the n-word. But why? Is it wrong because it is offensive, or is it wrong because the root comes from ungodliness?

If morality is merely doing and performing the things that cause the least amount of offense or human pain, then we have a cheap morality. And this is only setting the stage. The true depths come when we add in Ephesians. This is only describing the two sides. This is only defining terms. We have the wisdom of God versus the knowledge of men. But where does that knowledge come from? Who is it that gave the knowledge to man?

Here is where the plot thickens. Satan deceived Eve, and in that has given us our morality. The devil doesn’t care how moral we are. We can be good people. He will still destroy us in our morals. There are good atheists. They aren’t all evil. Some are. But by what definition do we prescribe someone as good or evil? If Jesus Himself questioned the rich young ruler for calling Him good, then why would any of us take the title of good? Even Jesus said that God alone is good; we ought all the more to recognize our failure.

⁸ Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

⁹ And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Ephesians 3:8-9

I did not put the full statement here on purpose. I don’t want to rush into this. Let it sink in. Paul was given the ability to see this mystery because he really believed that he was the least of all saints. It is from this that he goes into the depths of this mystery mentioned in verse 9. But let me prelude. This is a mystery, but Paul calls it, “the fellowship of the mystery.” Why would he call it that? It is because it is from fellowship that this mystery is obtained. I haven’t told you what the mystery is yet. But view carefully what is being said. Outside of fellowship with God and with each other, this mystery has no place.

We find in chapter 2 the kind of fellowship that Paul is talking about. He mentions that there is no distinction between the Jew and the Gentile. When we read Paul, we have to take him at all the words that he has spoken. We can’t just read the epistle to the Ephesians and suspect we know what he is talking about. The Romans are the only Church he wrote to that he did not also visit before he wrote.

It is within the Book of Romans (chapter 11) that we find Paul explained that we as Gentiles have been grafted into the House of Israel. So when we see Paul expound that there is neither Jew nor Gentile, he is saying that we are both grafted in.

This is extremely important. The better we can view and believe that, the better we can prepare and believe the rest of the eschatological Scriptures. Do you truly believe that you have been grafted in and are now a part of Israel? You, though you might be Gentile, are now the Israel of God. But that does not diminish Israel at all. It paradoxically fulfills Israel even more. Because we are grafted in, God now has an Israel (both Jew and Gentile alike – whether saved or unsaved (Romans 11:26)) that is a fuller representation of who He is in the Earth.

¹⁰ To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
Ephesians 3:10

It is from this Israel that is the fullness of Him who fills all things that God is going to display to the principalities and powers (demons) the manifest wisdom of God. What is the manifest wisdom of God? It is the value system. It is everything we have been discussing about morality up to this point. There is an entire system that has been made where people follow and believe they are doing rightly, and yet are completely duped. God’s wisdom is to give strength to the weak. God’s wisdom is to use the fool to confound the wise. God’s wisdom is to take a sinner and be able to show the world through that wretch the righteousness of God.

How is it that we can display God’s wisdom? It is through being that Israel. It is from accepting the Jew, whether saved or unsaved, as part of the Kingdom because they are under the same Head – whether they know it or not. We are brothers and sisters with them. We are incomplete without them. They are incomplete without us. It is in unity that we are able to display the character of God. What kind of characteristic are we displaying? Drum roll, please.

God is a trinity. Jesus did nothing of Himself. In all things, He did only what He saw the Father do. He spoke only the words of the Holy Spirit. The Father only did that which would glorify the Son. He used the Holy Spirit to give strength and edification to Jesus. The Holy Spirit only desired to reveal the Father through Jesus. They were all interwoven together where you cannot see the one without seeing the other two. This is the basis of community. When you see me, you see my wife. You see those saints that God has put us in community with.

This is the fellowship of the mystery. When we can live sacrificial lives where our only desire is to promote and glorify our brothers and sisters (yes, that even means Israel), then we have come of age and are now qualified to rule and reign with Christ. It is by losing your life that you gain it. In living solely to glorify God and to promote those around you and to deny your own life so that Israel might live, you have now performed the priestly function of intercession. This is how God intends to display the manifest wisdom of God to the principalities and powers. This is how He intends to defeat Satan. By our deaths, and by the Antichrist overcoming us, we gain the victory. It is the same wisdom of the devil that put Jesus upon the cross. It is the same wisdom of God that raised Jesus from the dead and defeated Satan and death.

But there will be an ultimate triumph over both Satan and death. It awaits the consummation of the ages. It takes our death and sacrifice for Israel to defeat the powers that blind them. It takes Israel’s death and Calvary experience through the nations that defeats the demonic forces blinding the nations. It is in the death and resurrection of the saints that life is given to Israel. It is in the death and resurrection of Israel that life comes to the nations. As it is written:

¹² Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness?

¹³ For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:

¹⁴ If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.

¹⁵ For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
Romans 11:12-15 (emphasis mine)

It is with this perspective that we can rightly appreciate and perceive the eschatological framework. Therefore, I will give an overview of the end times for those who are going to need this repeated several times. In this overview, we will not be examining too many of the details. That will come in with Daniel and Revelation.

A Warning of Israel

I know that this is a strange title. I want to communicate 2 things. First, I want to express that we need to have a mental acceptance of what is coming. We need to get deeply immersed in God and in His Holy Spirit in order to wade through the hell that is coming upon the earth. Second, I want to address the verse in Romans 11, “They are the enemies of the Gospel for your sake.”

So lets deal with our first topic. When touching on the end times and what it will take in order to make it through to the end, I am almost always found speaking of the need for wisdom. This somewhat makes sense. But in a lot of ways, it doesn’t make sense. Why would wisdom be what is absolutely necessary? Wouldn’t it make more sense that what we need is a game plan or some formula? There is never a formula.

How can we define wisdom? I would like to suggest that our current understanding of wisdom is inadequate. For most, wisdom is what we gain with knowledge. It is an understanding or common sense of sorts. But there is an ultimate wisdom. There is a wisdom that is attributed to being with God from the very foundations of the earth (Proverbs 8). This wisdom cries out in the streets. It declares the ways of God. It makes known His paths. It speaks to the righteous, but rebukes the fools. This wisdom that is found over and over again in the Book of Proverbs (specifically chapters 1-10) cannot be our conventional wisdom. It cannot be something that comes with knowledge.

Even knowledge is not rightly understood. If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, then what shall we say of the atheists? There are some very intelligent atheist and agnostics. Are they without knowledge? This knowledge surpasses words. This wisdom goes beyond having smarts or experience or common sense judgment. These are two concepts that the Bible speaks heavily upon, but few believers comprehend. It is not beyond anyone to grasp these concepts. In fact, it is quite the opposite. But these words need to be apprehended (which usually comes from being apprehended by them).

So when we speak of wisdom, what are we indicating? First and foremost, the Book of Proverbs gives personality to wisdom. This personality seems to line up very closely with the personality of the Holy Spirit. The same is true for the characteristics given to wisdom. It is for this reason, that I think that wisdom and the Spirit are synonymous. That does not mean, however, that if we have the Spirit that we are filled with wisdom.

We must nurture the Spirit within us. We must learn to listen and hear what the Spirit says. We must seek understanding. The kind of wisdom that will get us through the end times is this: a wisdom that expresses the ultimate path and choice of God when all other experience up to this point has never given us any bases to look back upon. What do I mean by that? When we live a life that is very safe, we can learn how to survive. Even when we move to a new environment where we aren’t sure how to adapt, we eventually get into the swing of things. This kind of wisdom is not necessary for that.

Imagine a scenario where everything you have ever learned up to this point cannot tell you one iota or shred of wisdom of how to respond. Here is an example: your son runs up to you and cries, “My head! My head!” and then falls to the ground. What do you do? Most would say to take him to the doctor. What if you’re living in the middle of the “wilderness” (lets say central Montana where the nearest doctor is 30 miles away)? What do you do?

Even in this example, there are bits that can inform you of what to do. Past experience can play a role in deciding what to do next. For most of us who don’t live in these places where we are 30 minutes away from the nearest town, we can’t fathom what the options are. Lets take this a bit further.

Lets say God is speaking to your heart to take in the Jews in the last days. You need to provide a place of refuge for them. It doesn’t matter if you live in the city or in the country. When it happens, how do you let them know they can run to your place? How will they know they have a safe haven there? How will you stand up for them? What will you do? Where will you hide them? What if you’re found out and you need to send them onward? How will you know when and where to send them?

These are the kinds of questions that nothing can prepare you for. You can study the Underground Railroad. You can look into the history of World War 2. Just because you learn a couple techniques of what others did does not constitute that you will know what you should do. It takes a very specific kind of wisdom. It takes knowing what the Lord has to say. That is the only thing that will get you through to the end. And if He decides that you get found out and are killed, that is up to Him and not you.

But on the note of “how will they know to come to you,” you obviously can’t put up a sign on the door. It is at this that there are a couple ways to look. The first is one that says we need to get in contact with the Jewish community. We need to let them know we're friends and not foes. Then the will feel comfortable to flee to us when they need it. But even this seems manipulative and as though it doesn't fully trust in God. The other option is equally as difficult. It is to do nothing but trust that God will provide those people and speak to your heart when the are coming and when they come. In a sense, this is exactly what seems like the legitimate option. But in another sense, it seems to be totally opposed by reason. I am all for communicating with the Jewish society around us. How can we say that we stand with Israel and then ignore the Israel within our own towns or cities? But I don't think that our ultimate reason for communicating with them ought to be "to build relationships" so they know that we're safe. That is still promoting a lie and a deception. Our reasons must be pure.

This kind of struggle is ultimate. It will find you out in every way. If there is anything within you that will say, “I’m not willing,” it will be brought to the surface. God is not playing games. If you have an addiction or are in sin, God will be ruthless with you to pluck it out. You will undergo chastisement and suffering before they do. In order to be a priestly people to Israel, we will need to undergo similar suffering. We will need to understand where they are coming from so that we can minister to them.

It takes a certain kind of character that does not come about in a day. This will take years to harbor. It will all be the work of the Holy Spirit. In the end, we will not be able to take any kind of credit for our character or wisdom or love. Which, to bring up wisdom again, we will be required to give answer to the Jewish people for their suffering. If you think that playing nice because they’re going through a hard time is the correct way to speak with them, then you are sadly mistaken.

If God gives you a sharp reply, then you speak sharply. If God gives you a gentle answer, then you speak gently. If God would give you a personal revelation of such and such circumstance to speak a prophetic word, then you speak in faith. If God tells you to say to them that they are under judgment and to continuously push that button that they are out of the will of God and under chastisement, then you do it. If you are called upon to say nothing, then you give no answer. If you are told to give a layout of the whole end times, then you give an overview of the end times.

It all comes down to what God says, and not what we say. If we speak or act out of flesh, then we have forfeited all. This is part of what it means to be priestly. The priest would walk up the altar by a ramp. This was so that the robe would not lift up and expose any flesh (even a foot). The priest was to wear a certain thing, act a certain way, pray a certain way, and minister a certain way. Everything was to be conformed to what God called priestly, and not to what other nations called priestly. The priest taught the ways of God. So when we read of the Pharisees in the New Testament, one of the first questions should be, “Where are the priests?” If you read the Old Testament, it doesn’t take long to realize: like priest, like people.

If we are faulty in any way, then we will bring a faulty foundation to the redemption of Israel. This is a calling for ultimate sanctification and purity. We won’t be able to buy, sell, or trade. Why, then, would we expect to have medical, grocery, mail, internet, or any other convenience that we have in modern times? It will take wisdom to make it through this. It will take God speaking to us as a prophetic Body. Community is not an option. Community is the only way we can survive.

Sunday morning church isn’t enough. As much benefit as it might bring, there is an ultimate calling to daily fellowship. We must learn to go from house to house daily. We must learn to have all things common. If our brother needs a coat and we have 2, we give them one. How else will they survive if we store up for self and lock self away? This is life and death. The very teachings of Jesus and Deuteronomy will determine whether we live or die. If we aren’t one with each other, then we cannot be to Israel what we must. We will continue to give only a religion, but will not have the life necessary to breath into them (1 Kings 17:19-24).

The second thing I want to communicate is that it will not be easy to house the Jews. Paul tells us they are the enemies of the Gospel for our sake. Why would he say it is for our good? There is something in witnessing to the Jew that is more difficult than witnessing to anyone else. They are not only stubborn, but have an ingrained disdain for the name Jesus. They have “suffered by that name for 2000 years.”

I would recommend doing some research into their history. You will find that even under the name of Jesus Christ they have been persecuted. During the time of the bubonic plague, Jews weren’t getting sick. So they were blamed for the plague and genocide commenced. The reason they weren’t sick is because they kept to the Kosher diet as prescribed in Leviticus 11. During the middle ages, the Catholic Church spread the rumor that certain Jews were using Gentile blood while making their motzah. They were killed. During the inquisition, Jews were herded like cattle into their synagogues, where the buildings were then burnt to the ground. Hitler publicized himself as a Christian. The Nazi soldiers had crosses and their uniform had their own German version of “in God we trust.”

This enmity runs deep. There is something intrinsic within Jewish nature to reject and abhor the name of Jesus. If you think you are going to take them in and they will respect you and treat you kindly, you are wrong. They will be in panic mode, and the things they might say will be completely other than kind. They might bring up their tragic history and blame you. They might search out for any false motives and hold that over your head. They might degrade you. They might even be the reason why you are handed over to the authorities and murdered.

It will not be an easy thing to take in the Israeli. They that are Israel have seen their God at Sinai. They are able to scrutinize and see through any falsity. When we have our little religious prayers that are self indulgent, when we have our religious festivities on Sunday morning, when we have our midweek Bible Study, when we have our “corporate worship,” do any of these things bring an authenticity? Is there anything contained within it that is more than religion? I ask this as an honest question for honest assessment.

Many places that meet on Sunday morning are shallow. They don’t have the authentic reality to display to Israel and drive them to jealousy. Everything that we offer on Sunday morning is what the Jew can receive in their synagogue. Nothing will suffice less than the awe inspiring reality and presence of God that would cause for them to fall upon their faces once more and cry out, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” Do you live in that kind of reality? Are your friends and family stupefied?

I’m telling you that it takes more righteousness than what the Pharisees obtained. We like to read our New Testaments and see Jesus call them out in their sins. But what if the tables were turned? What if it was our religious functions and religious leaders that are being examined? How would they hold up? Are their lives governed and constituted by the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit alone? Do they speak from their own minds, or has God sent them (Jeremiah had a lot of words to say about those folks)?

I’m not here to challenge anyone’s salvation. I am going to challenge the faith, as we know it in western society. I started with saying that the Kingdom of God is essentially Jewish. If that is true, then we ought to have some sort of Jewish perspective. I like the word Hebrew. It is more than Judah. The people of God stem back to before Abraham. There is a Hebraic root. Our mindsets and attitudes need to be changed and brought into a Hebraic understanding. There are a lot of ways that I can show how this applies. That, however, is for another time.

I only make the point that when we come at the faith from a Gentile or Greek or Western perspective, we will find that our contention with the Jews will shake us to the core. It is one thing to have a sentiment for Israel because it is “God’s people.” It is completely different to have the attitude of Paul that would say, “I could wish myself accursed for their sake,” Romans 9:3. What kind of burden must he have had that would cause him to say such a thing? He rightly apprehended the faith. Not only that, but also rightly apprehended the end times.

Because Paul was able to see the ultimate purposes for Israel, the Church, and the nations, he was able to make such a statement that would start with wishing himself accursed and end with ecstatic praise (Romans 11:33-36). This kind of view will change everything. It is apocalyptic, but it is also glorious. To rightly apprehend (which is to say, be apprehended by) this point of view will shatter any previous conception of the faith. Anything that is found wanting or shallow is either cast aside or dug into further. I can’t simply speak clichés. I can’t simply pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Because I know the coming judgment of God, when I pray for the peace of Jerusalem, I am praying for that judgment that will bring redemption and an ultimate peace that unless the judgment come, we would never have seen or comprehended that peace.

My religion can’t be trite. I cannot allow myself the privilege of simple sentiment. There are ultimate purposes that are going to take place. If I am not mature to be used of God in that time, then I will either be put aside or fall away. This is crucial. Triviality will sustain us for this time, but when the sun sets and all is not well, how then will we make it? When persecution breaks forth, and the Antichrist is creating hell for God’s people (Jew and Christian alike), how will we bear it? It takes something bigger than the view we currently have.

It takes the glory of God. This will strip everything from you. Anything that is not conformed to His image will come to the surface. Even in my speaking of these things and the harshness that we will be called upon to endure, things are rising to the surface. If you have any kind of contention that would rage against Israel and their purposes (for whatever reason), then you have already shown that you are against God and His purposes. It isn’t that you are too zealous for the Church or whatever other reason you want to bring. This will find you out. There is a scandal in specificity. I don’t know precisely what it is, but to get specific brings about rebellion. We don’t want God to choose this over that. We don’t want God to be specific.

In God being specific, we find that our knowledge and understanding does not suffice. We thought we understood and knew full well the plans and intentions of God. We thought we understood and comprehended His character. But when He chooses something that is other than what we had supposed, it suddenly challenges to the core. It isn’t about Israel. It is about us. The reason we kick against this is because we wanted their calling. We wanted to be the hot shots.

God has put it together so that in even considering this perspective will test and try our hearts. This is why they are enemies of the Gospel for our sakes. To even consider that we ought to go to the Jew first, and then to the Greek challenges our intentions. To even consider that they will suffer with us challenges us. I thought we were the people of God. I thought the Antichrist overcomes the saints. They aren’t saints! They are the people that have continually rejected their God since they came out of Egypt! They crucified their own Messiah! Why should they have anything to do with God’s Kingdom?

And in the very questions – if they are going through your mind – you display your own rebellion against God. This is deep stuff. Everything is stacked against us and is stacked against God. It is made to look as though this is impossible. We’ll see how many truly do believe “With God all things are possible.” This is my warning. Take heed to it. It will not be easy, and in taking up this kind of mindset and motive will bring against you all of the forces of darkness that have up to this point been able to yawn and say, “Jesus we know and Paul we know, but who are you?”

The realities that are all around us at every moment that we haven’t up to now been able to perceive and recognize will become tangible. It is for this reason that I want to next speak about the cosmic and eternal perspective, which is dealing with the principalities and powers of the air.