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.

On Interpreting the Prophetic Scriptures

*Disclaimer: This is a rant about they who have studied the prophetic texts and actively try to teach them*

I am extremely zealous over this. I spend a lot of time in the prophetic texts of the Bible, and a lot of time reading various opinions on these texts. Something I’ve noticed is rampant is that the prophetic texts – especially the ones full of symbolism – are used to say whatever the person wants it to say. I’ve seen far too often verses pulled completely out of context just so that certain false doctrines could continue to be presented.

I’ll give a couple examples.

The woman in the book of Revelations is Israel – not the Church. In chapter twelve, it is Israel that flees from the dragon. How do I know this? Look at the symbolism. She is standing on the moon, her face is like the sun, and the crown on her head has twelve stars. Go back to Genesis 37 and read of Joseph’s dream where the sun, moon, and eleven stars bow down to him. This is Israel. Jump forward in Revelations 12 to where the serpent chases her. Check the Greek in verse 6. She flees to the wilderness where they will take care of her for 1,260 days. Who are the they? It is the Church. How do I know this? Go later in chapter 12 to verses 13-17. These are further details of that flight into the wilderness. What happens? The earth swallows the flood – something that is looking back to Numbers 16 where Korah is swallowed by the earth. Korah is a type of Antichrist. Who swallows the water? It is the Church. How do I know? Look at verse 17. The result is that those who obey the commands of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus are persecuted. Who are they? That is the Church – something separate and distinct from the woman.

Lets look at the two witnesses. Who are they? People want to say that they are symbolic of the whole Church. What language is used to describe them? They are two olive trees and two lampstands. This is a direct translation from the Hebrew of Zechariah 4:11. These two in Zechariah 4:11 are Joshua and Zerubbabel. Joshua and Zerubbabel are types. What do I mean by type? A type is a pattern. God is foreshadowing through the prophetic words over these two men something larger that is to happen way in the future. These men will perform miraculous plagues. In Revelations 11:6, we see these plagues are likened to Elijah and Moses. Does that mean these two are Elijah and Moses? No. Elijah and Moses are being used as patterns. Just like Elijah and Moses brought about plagues against the kingdom of darkness (see Exodus 12:12), so these two men will also plague the kingdom of darkness.

Everything in the prophetic Scriptures form together. They aren’t independent symbols that we need to “figure out” so that we can become famous because we found hidden symbolism in the Bible. The Branch is spoken of by many of the prophets. Every time, it is a reference to the messiah. There is the ominous king of the north – sometimes defined by the Assyrian, sometimes by Babylon, sometimes by another enemy of Israel, and sometimes just a shadowy figure “from the north”. Every time, it seems like the prophecy extends beyond the person being spoken of to the Antichrist that will arise at the end of the age.

This is the way that you read prophetic Scripture. You compare Scripture with Scripture, prophet with prophet, vision with vision, prophecy with prophecy, and even story with story. Many times there are patterns in the stories of the Scripture. Amalekites tried to destroy Israel when they were walking around the desert in Exodus. Later, Saul is told to destroy the Amalekites and doesn’t kill Agag. This causes Samuel to weep through the night. We find in the book of Esther that Haman was an “Agagite” – a descendant of that king of Amalek. The Amalekites have the pattern of always seeking the destruction of Israel. That is a pattern set up in the Scripture.

It is incredibly important that we learn this. King Saul was anointed by God, and yet we find at the end of his life he is possessed by demons and seeking the counsel of a witch. We find that John calls Judas who betrayed Jesus the “son of perdition” – one who was entered by Satan to betray his friend. In Psalm 55:13-14, we find David use that same language about Saul – the companion and friend is the one who betrays him. In 2 Thessalonians, we find Paul call the Antichrist the “son of perdition” – the only other time in the New Testament that this phrase is being used. This is a pattern. These men are types and foreshadowing.

What is the point of all this? If we do not want to do the digging necessary to understand the prophetic texts, we should just keep our mouths shut. That isn’t to say that I have all of the correct interpretations, but to say that when we just make up interpretations that “sound good”, we really do more damage than help. It is more beneficial when I read or listen to someone who has done their homework and they challenge my view biblically than when I’m talking to an internet infidel who doesn’t know that the prophetic words intertwine.

A Word on the Two Witnesses

In Revelation 11, we find these “two witnesses” that have both puzzled and fascinated many scholars and Bible students through the centuries. Some want to know who they are, and others want to symbolize them away. What is most fascinating about them is that they “have the power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.”

Before we get to this, lets do a small amount of background. We read in Revelation 11:4 that these “two witnesses” are the “two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth”. Now, this is important for two reasons. First, it is important to know that the lampstands in the book of Revelation are symbolic of the churches (Rev 1:20). Second it is a direct link to call us back to Zechariah 4. In Zechariah 4, we find these “two olive trees” next to a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it, with seven channels to the lights. No doubt the book of Revelation is looking back to this in Revelation 1:20 with the lamps and the “stars”.

Who are these two olive trees? The context of the vision here begins in Zechariah 2, however, we find that the answer is given when combining chapters 3 and 4 of Zechariah. One of the olive trees is Joshua the High Priest. The other is Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel. These two men are key in the restoration of the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem when Israel came back after the exile. Yet, they are also symbolic of something beyond them. Zerubbabel is the descendant of Jehoiachin – the same king of Israel that Jeremiah claimed was cursed and wouldn’t ever have someone to sit upon his throne (Jer 22:24-30). Now, this Zerubbabel is symbolic of the Messiah, because according to the word of Haggai, he is the one who is the signet ring of God, the chosen one (Hag 2:23). Christ Jesus comes from the lineage of Zerubbabel (Mat 1:12). Joshuah is the High Priest, and is symbolic “symbolic of men to come” (Zech 3:8). It is Joshua who is called “the branch”, which is once again a messianic title in the prophetic Scriptures. Thus, we have both Joshua and Zerubbabel as symbols of the Messiah – one as High Priest, and the other as King of Israel.

Now, for John to be referencing these two men, the “olive trees”, and for him to put them in the future as two literal men that are to be coming into Jerusalem to prophesy for 1,260 days is significant. What exactly is John getting at that these two messianic figures are supposed to be two literal people that are not the Messiah? The answer is found in Zechariah 4, where we see that though Joshua and Zerubbabel are considered messianic figures, the two olive trees are specifically considered “the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth” (Zech 4:14). Though they are symbolically messianic, they are still two real people.

Now, when we see in Revelation 11 that these two men have the power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want, we instantly should think of Moses. Likewise, when we read that they have the power to shut off the heavens so that it doesn’t rain during the time of their prophesying, we should think of Elijah. John is being purposeful here, because these men are symbolic as much as they are literal people. There is something about Moses and Elijah that we find in no one else through all of Scripture: they were given authority over even the elements of nature. But the question isn’t what, the question is why?

Every plague that Moses sent upon Egypt was against a god of Egypt. Khnum was the god of the Nile River, the guardian if you will, and thus the first plague was to turn the Nile to blood. Osiris was the god of the underworld, and the Nile was the “bloodstream” to the underworld. The Egyptians would have wondered where the goddess Tauret was, the goddess of the river, or where Nu, the god of life in the Nile, was trapped to allow such a thing to occur. The frogs were considered the theophany of the goddess Heqt, the wife of the creator of the world. Heqt was depicted as with the head and body of a frog. The “lice”, or “fleas” that came from the dust of the earth would have been an insult against the god “Geb”, the great god of the earth. The “swarms of flies” is actually missing the word “of flies” in the Hebrew, and thus we see the plague of “swarms”. It is most likely that it was swarms of scarab beetles, the god Amon-Ra being depicted with the head of a scarab beetle.

All of the plagues were directed against the gods of Egypt. But still, the question can be asked, “Why?” The gods are representatives of the principalities and powers. The principalities are demonic forces that influence government, society, culture, and every kind of system – whether educational, religious, governmental or otherwise. They rule and influence through the worship of these “powers” that they manipulate and claim to represent. The powers are these forces of nature that are beyond the control of humanity, but the principalities are somehow manipulating humanity into worshiping them as if they have the absolute control and authority over the rain, harvest, sun, and other aspects of worship through the millennia.

So what about Elijah? Elijah claimed there would not be rain nor dew except by his word. Elijah was speaking this to the king, but speaking past the king into the heavenly realms. The god Baal was the god of prosperity, but he was considered the god over the rain and harvest. So for Elijah to stop up the heavens, he is challenging the authority of Baal, and also showing that it is not by worshiping Baal that we will receive prosperity. Through the drought, Elijah would have bankrupted the whole country, not only of money, but also of faith in a false Baal system.

These plagues, though being manifest upon the earth in physical form, are actually somehow going past the physical and plaguing the kingdom of darkness. So, when we get to Revelation 11, we find that these two witnesses are men that somehow are able to see past the physical and into the spiritual. They see the worship of these false gods – even if we claim that we aren’t worshiping any gods. To follow the Antichrist is to worship him as god. We might call science our god (or emphatically say that it isn’t, yet still give it our every waking moment and devotion). We might claim sports as our god. We might claim education as god. Or maybe our society would worship sex and fertility. Yet, even though our society would say that these aren’t gods, we are serving the same old false gods of the Old Testament. In that, we find that the principalities and powers are still very much in control.

Elijah and Moses are referenced in Revelation 11:6 because these two prophets alone have stories of plaguing the earth, and yet somehow they weren’t merely “plaguing the earth”. The point being made with the two witnesses is that these men will have the authority to challenge the whole Antichrist system to its core – which is to say, to blow the whistle on the lie and unmask the principalities and powers. These men are still a curiosity to me, but I find that in this understanding, a lot more makes sense as to what is happening around this passage. The whole point of the two witnesses, their primary purposes and call in God, is to be a Moses and Elijah in their generation to unveiling the kingdom of darkness, and to make full exposure of their bankruptcy.

The reason this applies to all of us today is that we are supposed to be a prophetic people of that caliber. As the Body of Christ, we are to have the discernment and authority to plague the kingdom of darkness, and therefore expose the lie that many – even Christians – continue to live in support of day after day. The answer to many of the cultural agendas that are anti-religion and anti-god is not some sort of political movement, but instead to recognize the principalities that are at play behind those agendas, and to then uproot them through the use of the authority of God given to the saints. This is not a delegation to “call down fire”, but rather to take up the task of seeing the heavenly realities over our localities and nations, and to therefore war against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

The Words of the Prophets

The prophets are poets. When they speak, they don't pour forth a profusion of words. In such small statements, they make massive utterance. The prophet is gifted in oracular declaration, but more specifically, they are gifted with perception. It is the perception of the prophet that matters. What the prophet declares is the spiritual condition, no matter how contrary we might think, that prophet is speaking God's heart. This takes discernment. There are many false prophets that speak words that are glib. They are full of perversion and idolatry. With their words they speak peace and comfort, and with their lives they burn death and hellfire into the hearers.

How a prophet words something should be equally noted with the content. It is not just what they say, but also how they say it, and even what they don't say. When Ezekiel tells Israel and Judah that they have been adulterous with the other nations and have gone after those nations that have penises the sizes of horses that ejaculate like stags, the wording is purposeful. As vivid and explicit as this word might be - not to mention uncomfortable - that is exactly the point. We need to be uncomfortable when reading this. We need to let it sink in as disturbing and disgusting. God sees it as disturbing and disgusting, because when there is idolatry, there is sexual salacity.

For a prophet, the word given has an intention. It utterly devastates. All of our pomp and boastfulness for and about the Lord is both vainglorious and frightening. Nonplus is not the word to use. The Church in Laodicea professed to be rich, and had need of nothing, but God declared that they were wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. The word came to show the false for what it is: false. It is not until after the false has been exposed, uprooted, destroyed, and cast away that the word can then come of how to rebuild and plant the authentic thing. Yet, if we are pusillanimous and childish, then that authentic thing will never come. The pulpiteers will drive out the prophet claiming that they are casting out demons by the prince of demons.

Now, if the Church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, and the true apostles and prophets are being driven out of the congregation, what, then, does that mean for the Church? It says in Amos that there will be a famine for the word in the last day. Almost everyone quotes this, but have we truly wrestled with it? The lack of prophets has given us barrenness and lewdness. If we will not accept the testimony of the prophet when it comes, then we will necessarily be pressed further into apostasy.

Before the Nazi time in Germany, there were a few voices that rose up declaring the evils of their culture. They were flat out calling the eloquent society, even that morally pristine culture, pagan. Names that come to mind would be Soren Kierkegaard, Karl Barth, and Friedrich Nietzsche. Whether these men were prophets, only God can say, but they did come with prophetic warning. The Church by and large not only rejected these men's warning, but even claimed that they are not a part of them - much like Jesus was said to have cast out demons by Beelzebub. It was the rejection of the prophetic warning that drove Germany into a state that would fill the gap with Nazism. An entire generation and culture were pushed into such depravity that they would strive to ethnically cleanse the world. It was a demonic spirit that possessed an entire nation.

The rejection of the prophetic word, spoken by the prophet, brings the people into apostasy. This is distinct from the prophetic gift. The prophetic gift might have predictive quality to it, and it might even speak for profound truth, but it is a gift. The Holy Spirit can speak prophetically through anyone, but the prophet alone is the mouthpiece of God. God invests into the prophet stature, character, and maturity. The man is the message, and the message is the man. The prophet speaks with words and life. This is why Hosea married Gomer, Ezekiel ate food cooked over feces, Isaiah walked around naked, Jeremiah buried his underwear, and why Zechariah took the "instruments of a foolish shepherd". They are the message. To reject the message is to reject the prophet. Yet, the rejection of the prophet is, as God told Samuel, a rejection of God.

Lets ask the final question: What does this have to do with us today? In one sense, it has much to do with those in the Pentecostal/Charismatic Movement who practice little or no discernment in these matters. Yet, there is another aspect that I want to address. In October of last year, Grace To You Church hosted a conference called Strange Fire. John MacArthur then riled up his goons to proclaim how the Charismatics and Pentecostals are demonically possessed. They offer strange fire before the Lord, and God has rejected them. They then declared that God does not speak except for explicit speak through His Bible. If God is speaking to your heart through any outside source, cast that demon away - it isn't God. This also means that there are not any apostles or prophets today. Anyone who claims to be apostolic or prophetic is demon possessed.

People rallied with MacArthur against their Charismatic brethren. This is extremely dangerous. When you throw out an entire section of the Body of Christ because you believe they are in error, you have just performed the same sin that Germany's Church performed before the advent of Nazism. The old saying seems absolutely legitimate: it takes one to know one. A Christian cannot possibly be this arrogant, and if the person who is acting in this manner is in fact a Christian, then there are deeper areas of idolatry and sin than despising their brother. How many of us have listened to John MacArthur thinking that he is speaking truth? And yet, for that kind of spirit to come forth, it brings into serious question the validity of his testimony.

Please understand me. This is not a declaration that MacArthur is false, nor is it a statement to say that we need to call him demonic. I simply do not know him. But far be it from us to simply take such a blanket statement and not bring it into serious question. When our leaders - especially the ones who get a lot of attention - are willing to be that arrogant, there is a requirement upon the Body of Christ to write them. How can we possibly claim that we are lovers of truth and then ignore this? At the same time, when prominent leaders of the Charismatic Movement then make arrogant or stupid claims in the name of God, we need to be equally fervent to call them out on it. It was not until the Levites went through the whole of the camp killing family, friend, and acquaintance for the sin of the golden calf that the proclamation was made, "This day have you been consecrated to the Lord."

Prudent Speech

Do you see a man hasty in his words?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Proverbs 29:20


There are a select few that are sagacious with their words. Many of us pour out of our mouths streams of words. Many people have the gift of gab - the ability to speak on any subject. Once you start a conversation with them, they can carry it for days. Some don't have this gift, but still practice lingual negligence. We speak when we need to shut up. We don't speak when we need to scream. We put forth a plethora of words, many times without even thinking before about what is coming out of our mouths. How many of us are guilty of this?

Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Christ Jesus was one that never minced words. In fact, by His own lips He said that His words are life because they are Spirit. He actually claimed that He says nothing out of His own mind, but everything comes from the Spirit of God. Then, at another time, Jesus said that we would be judged by every idle word that comes out of our mouths. Have you ever doted upon that? Mete on it for a moment. Every idle word... What about the words that are not idle? What about the words that are premeditated? I think the point is being made: every word, whether we think about what we're saying or not.

If Jesus was one that would not speak a single word without its inception being from the Spirit of God, what then shall we say of ourselves? Paul said that he desired to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified. What shall we say of ourselves, who are not the Son of God nor apostles? We don't have such a caliber of character as they, and yet we find even they are making statements about a choosing of their words and understanding. If Paul desired to know nothing except Christ and Him crucified, what then must his words have been enriched in?

The art of prudence is lost to our generation. We often don't think about the future, let alone act according to that thought. Of the famous music on the radio currently, we hear song after song about not thinking about what happens next. Let's worry about that when it comes, for now we want to party all night and sex it up until our bodies explode from erotic bacchanal. If our actions are so unpremeditated and without intuition, how many of our words are the same?

Jesus had said that out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. That, of course, supposes that our hearts are overflowing. But what is it overflowing with? We simply need to check out our words to know the answer to that. Think back on the past conversations that you've had. Think back upon the arguments or the reactions that you've had. What comes out from your mouth - whether in the good or the bad moments? How much was simply verbiage to fill the air, or make your point, or show how the person that you're speaking with is wrong? How much was the weighty overflow of the Spirit of God that brings a glory out of your lips?

Out of the overflow of your heart, your mouth speaks. I'm becoming acutely aware of the need to speak less, yet in those fewer words speak much more. There are a few that I know that when they speak, it is some of the most precious words that you've ever heart. And when they listen to you speaking, they actually listen. There isn't the hope of listening so they can respond. There isn't the hope of listening so that they can then tell you their opinion. They actually listen. Why?

They listen to you because they themselves are more accustomed to not speaking unless they have something to say. When you have others around you that are in like manner, then when someone speaks up, why wouldn't you listen? This is the very heart and soul of the person. To listen to the words of what a man or woman speaks is to listen to the very heart of that person. When their heart is given over to vanity, their words will reflect it. But there is a glory that comes when we "desire to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified."

I'm striving for the latter. Many times I find myself listening to sermons, watching movies, talking to people, and I just want them to get to the point. They spend an hour talking, and yet there is barely anything said. The void isn't filled simply because we've spoken. I know some that can speak for five minutes and say more than those that get up on Sunday morning and speak for an hour. The biggest need in our day is not to teach people more information about the Bible and the Gospel. The people aren't 'over-gospeled.' They are actually under-gospeled. Our words aren't weighty enough because we haven't spent enough time listening to the Spirit and not speaking until that word is birthed in our heart out of the waiting.

The Prophetic Call part 7

To the Nation

            The prophet does not speak to individuals typically. The prophet is to the nation before to individuals. He knows the proverb better than any other, “Righteousness exults a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any nation.” When the prophet speaks an oracle, though it might be to a certain audience, it goes beyond that audience. The prophet speaks as one speaking to the whole people and nation.

            Mankind continues to war against one another. It is the humanity of the nations that brings Rwandan massacre and genocide. It is in the lack of righteousness that causes many African nations to be poor and devastated and suffer severe famine. God has set up the nations and their boundaries. He is the one who has ordained their rule.

            What is strange to evangelicals is that the Proverb doesn’t even mention repentance or coming under the Lord. It is almost as if righteousness and justice and equity bring about a certain kind of living. In the righteousness of itself, we find the nation being exulted. But what is righteousness?

             We’re brought back to that discussion of morality. When a nation can implement torture on war captives, they have lost the righteous ground. When a nation can persecute a certain kind of person because of their race, ethnic background, or culture, we have already lost the righteous ground. The Middle Eastern nations that oppress any other people group that are not masculine dominated Moslems are going to continue to suffer war and famine and destruction.

            The European and American society that scoffs at religion and claims that godlessness (which looks a lot like Satanism) is the only formidable lifestyle will crumble. Righteousness exults a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any nation. Degradation of a generation comes from a national amorality.

            It is the for lack of a prophetic presence (which is supposed to be the Church) that the nations rage and conspire. If they do not follow the path of the Lord, they will follow the path of the gods of this Earth. This is why they are called principalities and powers of the air. They are the powers of the nations. They are the leaders and directors of the nations. This is why they lead the nations against God.

            It all stems back to the tower of Babel. Men made bricks instead of stones. They manufactured something when it was obvious that God had not given the area for something to be built. The generations past had built with stones, but this generation desired to make a tower unto them. They were going to make a tower that reached to heaven that they may crown themselves as gods.  It is the root of national pride.

            What is the root of World War 1 and World War 2? The nations were proud and arrogant. The ethnicities and cultures and differences in nationalities caused for a pride of kinds that would actually devastate and destroy one another. The prophet cries out against this pride. The prophet is identified with something greater than nationality, and therefore is able to oppose the nation and point out the root of its sin. When a culture can be raised on passing by the slums and not thinking anything of it, that generation is heading for destruction. How much more a whole world system that is designed to build slums?

            Of course, it also says something when the nations have their own religions and state churches that cannot oppose them. In Germany, you cannot receive your birth certificate until you have been baptized as an infant. In America, we have 501C3 forms to be tax exempt. In having this tax exemption, you sign over your rights to say anything against the state (meaning government). You no longer can speak truth.

            The government tells the church what they are allowed to say, do, and speak out against. Because of this, we have no power to oppose the demonic system that is government. How can you oppose something that you are a part of? The churches will not bite the hand that feeds them. Thus we have a regression.

            Then you have people getting up into the pulpit saying that there are no such things as prophets anymore. There are no apostles anymore. That was a 1^st century phenomenon. The prophets are only Old Testament. God doesn’t need prophets to speak to His people anymore. They miss the whole point. The don’t understand the function and role of the prophets. The Church is supposed to be prophetic. They lack this prophetic distinctive, and thus I would say that we need prophets very much. I would even use the word dire. They are a dire necessity to our world today.

            The Charismatic movement has set up a band of false prophets for the lack of the true. In this, they have distorted the crux of the faith. What is supposed to be a hinge and foundation upon which the Church is built and swings has now been torn down. If that foundation is false, how can anything true be built upon it?

The Prophetic Call part 6

Prophetic Perception

            The prophet sees God in all events throughout history including earthquakes, wars, and holocausts. This is another huge point. It is one thing when we believe that God has the ability to either allow or stop such things. It is completely different when we see God as being the very cause of it. Not only is He the cause, but He also has the power to ensure what kind of destruction and devastation comes to whom and for how long and if they will be utterly destroyed.

            Lets take the Nazi Holocaust as an example. There are very few options that can be taken. Many have commented on the Holocaust and few have said God was present. Either God was not present, or He was. If He was not present, then He is either not real or He is flawed in character to not intervene. If God was there, then we need to wrestle with the implications that that brings.

            The Nazi Holocaust challenges everything that we have supposed. It is nice and simple to get by with clichéd opinions and shallow perceptions of God. But when times of extremity come, we will either forsake the faith or be challenged to reconsider.

            So it was with the Holocaust. I believe that God was there. Any prophet would have to see it in this perspective. God caused it, and God was the one who ended it. He was the one who preserved Israel at all. What conclusion can be made?

            This can only be interpreted as a judgment of God. If we admit that God was present, then He was either judging Israel for their sins or trying to obliterate them completely. He obviously wasn’t the one trying to obliterate them completely. To Israel He has said many times in the prophets, “Because you have forsaken me, I will give you over to your oppressors. But if you will be humble and cry out to me in sincerity, I will hear from heaven and I will rescue you.”

            It begs the question of what God was judging. The message of the prophets always does beg this question. When we read our New Testaments, what exactly was Jesus so upset about when dealing with the Pharisees? Nicodemus visited him, and Jesus didn’t pronounce the woes against him. So Jesus wasn’t against all the Pharisees. He was against something else than their title.

            I think what God is against comes down to the religion that cheapens God. When we set up limits and restrictions and traditions beyond what God has said and willingly look for guidelines instead of God, we have set up a false religion. God said that we should follow certain dietary laws. What was the purpose? What was God’s intention? Instead we debate whether this Hebrew word means this kind of animal or that kind of animal. We debate whether Jesus has abolished such dietary laws and called them obsolete or whether we still need to follow them.

            Do you see the problem? God has spoken. Can He not speak and guide us? Why is there so much confusion? We have rejected God. We have utterly and totally neglected God and His Law, and in its place we have substituted a cheap forgery that will give us all religious obligations to feel satisfied. How have we neglected God and His Law?

            To this day the passages like Deuteronomy 15 aren’t taken seriously. Take care of the poor. Open your door to the foreigner. Give yourself beyond your limits. Don’t mistreat the orphan and widow. Instead, be their voice. Stand up for them. Rise against the powers that oppress them. When God delivers Israel out of Egypt, He tells Israel that there will be no poor among them. Why then were there laws about not oppressing the poor and taking care of those who cannot take care of themselves?

            God knew the heart. He knew they would be unable because they were unwilling. There will be no poor among you when you will provide for one another. When you share with one another and take care of one another and have all things common with one another, you won’t see poverty. There will always be an abundance given to the people of God. God will always give more than we can imagine.

            So you can understand the offense when you read in the prophets that the poor and the orphans and the widows are being crushed. This is a violation of God’s Law. Why did God send the Holocaust? He sent it for the same reason that Israel endured the Babylonian exile.

            That doesn’t let Germany off the hook. They don’t need to repent for being the ones who brought about the Holocaust. In that they take upon their own shoulders a blame that is not theirs to take on. But they are guilty of the same sin.

            Where was the Church in Germany? What was it doing? There are a few Corrie Ten Booms and Dietrich Bonhoeffers who opposed the Nazis. I know that. But by and large, where were the rest of them? Why was there such a small voice to stand up to this system? Why was there such a small amount to be willing to die on behalf of Israel? Why were so few in the Church willing to forsake their own lives for the lives of others?

            This isn’t only Germany’s sin. This is the sin of the whole Church by and large. The majority of us are all guilty of taking lightly the Scriptures. We are all guilty of putting self first. We are all guilty of forming our own religion in which we are at the center. We are all guilty of framing the Bible around our lives instead of our lives around the Bible. That is the same sin of Israel.

            The lack of power to stand up to such a demonic presence as Nazism is only a revelation of the lack of power that has always existed. It isn’t that we have power and we can feel the presence of God and we can pray down heaven until a massive demonic force is in our way. That is a lie from the pit of hell. Either you have the power and authority or you don’t. If the power and authority are lacking in the moment of terror, then they have been lacking the whole time.

            Now I’m not about to say that if the Church had responded with power that they would have stopped the Holocaust. What I am saying is that the lack of power and the lack of gumption shows too well that they never had obtained it ever. This was the age that declared, “God is dead.” This was the age that tried to fit the Bible into world culture. They tried to fit evolution and the Bible together. The historians and philosophers and scientists who are all atheists are telling us that the Bible is a joke. Well, to fix that lets take everything they believe in and try to reword the Bible so that it teaches it.

            We’re still guilty of it. We still have made humanism the religion. We have yet to pass beyond the flesh and obtain eternal life. This is why such events like the Holocaust happened. This is why in World War 2 the bombs were dropped on Japan. The same amount of casualties that Japan suffered from those atomic bombs is the same amount of casualties in China from the Rape of Nanking.

            God will not be mocked; a man reaps what he sows. The same goes for a nation. America has faced severe weather for the last 5 or more years. Don’t think for a moment that this is just “mother nature.” God is sending judgment. His judgment isn’t for the secular American atheists. It is for the Church that has rejected Him in the same way that Israel has rejected Him. They have desired so much to be Israel that they imitated even their sins. And now God has given the Church its wish. We will suffer the judgment to the extent that we reject the unbroken continuum of the authentic faith to embrace the Pharisaical religion.

Sensitivity to Evil

            It is at this point that we must now study the acute sensitivity to evil. The prophet doesn’t care a hoot about civilized society. The most “civilized” and the most prestigious are the ones who are the most in sin. The prophet comes like a bullhorn exposing the complete lack of morals. We pass by the poor and think nothing of it. We continue on in our daily lives pretending that nothing is wrong while CEO’s and banksters are getting rich by oppressing the poor. Society has been raised to pretend the slums don’t exist. We’re all middle class white Americans anyway…

            A prophet sees the most common everyday injustice and calls it a cosmic diablerie. Listen to the prophet Isaiah: “Hear oh Heavens! Listen oh Earth! For the Lord has spoken: I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its master, the donkey his owner’s manger, but my Israel does not know, my people do not understand… Your hands are full of blood; wash and make clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong; learn to do right! Seek justice; encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”

            How many orphans and widows do you think there were in Israel? How many in Jerusalem? How many people do you think suffered from oppression? I’m sure that it was probably the same percentage we face today. And countless people continue to go on and never even care. We’re taken from the high and lofty civilization where we don’t have to see the ghetto, and the prophets take us right into the heart of the slums.

            A prophet cannot stand sin. He cannot stand injustice. The problem isn’t that one poor person is being oppressed. The problem is that at the beginning of Exodus God said, “There will be no poor among you.” The very fact that there are poor is a statement that Israel has rejected the Law. They have forsaken certain aspects and oppressed one another. Someone somewhere has decided to neglect the laws that talk about setting the captive free and giving generously to the poor and taking the foreigner in and pleading the case of the widow and caring for the orphans. This is all found in Deuteronomy 15.

            It is almost as if entire passages of the Law had been ripped out and forgotten. God said there would be no poor among you. Why are there any poor at all? Has God not prospered Israel? We know that isn’t true. There are people who are getting wealthy off of taxing and oppressing others. This was forbidden in the Law. Yet, the rabbinical and Pharisaical traditions were promoted to keep people “holy.”

            Maybe this will help explain why Jesus was so fierce. People have purposefully held such a high standard on these laws that they are now impossible to obey, and then neglected other laws completely. The prophets were called hysterical. They were over exaggerating. But if we call the prophets hysterical, what then shall we call the blatant indifference of the multitude?

            This leads us to the understanding that in the prophet’s mind, few are guilty, but all are responsible. God holds each man who sees such things as responsible for not ever standing up. No one ever raises a voice. No one ever stops in the midst of everything and asks the simple question, “What are we doing?”

            Day by day we continue to go through the motions. We continue to live our lives according to the many habits that we have formed. We continue to ignore the homeless man we pass everyday. We continue to ignore the man who has the sign saying that he is willing to work, but can’t find a job. We continue to walk past the coworker who is struggling to make ends meet. We continue to block out the cry of the oppressed. We continue to dull our ears to the ever present nagging that the system is killing people.

            Though we might not be a part of that system that is destroying many lives, our lack of response to it shows that we are indeed responsible for it. Every day we continue to harden ourselves to it. Every day we continue to live as though it doesn’t exist. In New York City, the gangs are mostly teenagers. By the time these kids are in their 20s, they’ve wound up in prison or are simply drug dealers forming more gangs to be hooked on.

            We continue to ignore the silent screams. Wisdom cries out in the streets. She wails upon the wall. She shouts from the hilltops. She proclaims her words from the marketplace. We never hear. We never listen. We never stop.

            Few are guilty; all are responsible. It is because of the lack of voice that we have against such things that we are held accountable. Though we might not be the ones who are actually oppressing others, we are given the same rebuke. You might not be the one who is causing for millions to go into debt, but you also aren’t the one who protests the credit card industry or the loan offices or the housing industry or the IRS.

            The prophet brings it all to the attention of the hearer. He exposes everything. He lays it bear. He cries out and is considered a madman. “What am I supposed to do?” Are we really not saying that we fear the industry? Are we really not just saying that things will never change? How big is your God? Is He too small to take down the corporations? Is He too small to bring freedom again?

            It exposes more than just our lack of voice. It exposes our true opinions. Where does your faith lie?

            The prophet starts proclaiming his message, and the people will either be struck to the core or they will be hardened even further. Something happens. Either we will join in the voice of the prophets and cry out with them, or we will be the same people who oppose the prophets and rejoice over their deaths. The Beast at the end of the age will slay the two witnesses (Revelation 11). The whole world rejoices. “These are the men that tormented those who live on the Earth.”

            But lets be honest… they never torment anyone. The prophet is accused of torment and speaking blasphemy. He speaks against God. He speaks against the people. He speaks against the Temple. Anywhere they can blame the prophet, they do. Why? His message is not a well received one. In this, we find out who are really the people of God.

            Those who will kill the prophets and rejoice over their death, are the very ones who have given alms to the system that oppresses and torments. The prophet takes upon himself the sins of the people. They were the tormentors; he is the one called a tormentor. They were the oppressors; he is the one called the oppressor. They were the ones promoting injustice; he is the one called unfair. The cycle continues throughout history.

            The prophet takes upon himself the very sin of the people. They called Jesus a blasphemer. Jesus is God in the flesh. Who is really blaspheming? Who is really oppressing the people? Who is really casting out spirits by Beelzebub? Who is really leading the people astray? And yet Jesus did not open His mouth on the cross at all. He took it all upon Himself. All of the names, all of the sins, all of the threats, all of the mocks, all of the scorns.

            In this the prophet is the priest. It is intrinsic to them. They will take up the sins of the people and repent for them. They will die on their behalf. 

The Prophetic Call part 5

The Gift of Prophecy or The Prophetic Call?

            We have reached in deep enough to now discuss the prophetic. There is a distinction between the prophetic call and the prophetic gift. This is one of the many tragedies in the Church today. We are unable to separate the one from the other. Anyone who is able to exercise that gift in a fluent way is considered to be a prophet.

            What is the main distinction? If you want to discern the difference between the gift and the office, you merely need to look at the role they play. The gift of prophecy isn’t permanent. It’s only role and function is to bring a word from Heaven, whether a revelation of our situation or a future prediction. I want to be very careful with my words.

            The gift of prophecy can come in many different ways. The man or woman who receives this prophecy receives it once. It could be anything. It could be a revelation of an interpretation of Scripture. It could be a prophetic view of things to come. It could be personal prophecy concerning a certain individual. But it is only a prophetic word. It never branches out beyond being a statement. It might be anointed. It might have power when it is spoken. That doesn’t mean that it has validated the person as a prophet.

            The prophetic office is quite different. A prophecy could come to anyone. It might come once in a lifetime; it might come frequently. It is the Spirit that has liberty with choosing how, when, to whom, and how often prophecy is given. When we look to wrestle with what a prophet is, we come to conclusions that it is so much more than that.

            The prophet doesn’t bring a word that gives light to a certain situation or speaks directly to an individual. A prophet challenges an entire framework and system. The prophet’s word doesn’t come as some sort of blessed revelation. It comes and lays bare everything. It devastates. And example of this is Moses before Pharaoh. Moses didn’t go to Pharaoh because the problem of Israel being beaten and suffering. The word of Moses and the miracles that God performed through Moses challenged an entire system that is built upon oppression. We gain wealth by oppressing those people.

            The prophets of Ba’al had the same story. Elijah didn’t come into the picture challenging the system of Ba’al because it was a foreign god. That is only an outward manifestation of the problem. The problem was in Elijah’s words, “How long will you waiver between two opinions?” There was a system set up where it both eliminated God as God and gave way to announcing any other things claiming to be god was also valid. The system that King Ahab had built with Jezebel using the power of Ba’al is one of extreme religious devotion. But a religion of what kind?

            Here lies the prophetic office. The prophet stands in the place that can discern the spiritual reality. But he doesn’t just give a word concerning that spiritual reality. He doesn’t simply point it out. The prophetic word and the prophetic office are intertwined. When the prophet is sent from God, he is sent to Pharaoh that binds and oppresses. He is sent to King Ahab that enforces a religious system bent on ungodly religious fervor. He goes straight to the core and proclaims, “Let my people go!” This is why the prophet has such power. He is a force to be reckoned with.

            The true prophet of God will come and destroy everything that is false. He will expose and utterly cut through all of the garbage theology and all of the junk institutional system that has been set up. I can’t understand how it is when you go to prophetic conferences there are never messages about Israel. Israel is always brought up in a cheap and glib fashion. How is it that Israel could be the very crux of the Bible in that their redemption means the return of Christ, and yet they are barely ever even mentioned? How is it that there are never messages that challenge the very system that the conference is set up upon? You donate to this or that ministry to be blessed and receive the word of the “prophet.” And not one word is ever spoken against it.

            We don’t have prophets being employed. In fact, many of the supposed prophets aren’t even anointed by God. They haven’t heard anything, yet they run onto the platform to give the word. How many of these prophets are real if they are only too eager to share what the Lord has spoken? Does the Lord not have an indictment against anything that we are doing in modern Christendom? Or is it only those other denominations? We are the perfect faultless ones, right?

            We have glib, cheap, knock-off prophets that have no backbone. They are eager to tell you your license number or give you a word that will let you know that God knows you, but they can’t interpret the times. Many so-called prophets today think that Israel will come to know Christ during the Tribulation after we have been raptured out. The view is that it is their sin and their problem.

            Does that sound like humility? Does that sound like God’s character? How is Israel supposed to come to the knowledge of God? They come up with ridiculous theories on how maybe rabbis will learn and teach people. Or maybe they will just come into awareness and that will be sufficient. They have not a prophetic understanding of the Bible. How then, can they be prophets at all?

Prophetic Proclamation

            If we are going to understand prophetic proclamation properly, we need to first understand the formation of such a man. The prophet is not a romantic. I don’t mean this in a sense of relationship. I mean this is his view and perception of the faith. He doesn’t have a romantic view of what it means to be a prophet. There isn’t anything about the prophetic call that would draw him to desire it.

            Such a calling and office lends itself to pain and non-comfort. The man’s word is as much a part of the man who speaks, as his skin is part of his body. God comes upon the man and ruthlessly purges. The prophet is the prophetic office. This isn’t something that comes separately.

            If the prophet is to speak a word of judgment, the prophet must undergo judgment. If the prophet is to then speak a word of redemption, the prophet must undergo redemption out of suffering. The prophet and his word are one. If you reject the word you reject the man, and visa versa. This is why a prophet is not born in a day.

            Maybe one of the biggest evidences of whether someone is truly a prophet or not is their desire to be a prophet. When they are only too excited to be called a prophet and be cherished as a prophet, then it is too much a sign that they have not that office or calling. However, when someone is willing to take on that office and doesn’t have eagerness for or against it, they are the real candidates.

            A prophet must first be uprooted out of the system. They can’t remain within the context of any sort of institution. Camel’s hair and locusts are intrinsic metaphors for any and all prophets. The false prophets ate at Jezebel’s table. Elijah was fed by ravens in the wilderness. So it goes for the true prophet. God must first take you out. That doesn’t mean you get cut off from fellowship. That does mean that any kind of church building or congregation is less than satisfactory.

            This is another sign between the true and the false. The true prophet cannot remain within the walls of church structure, as we know it today. God might call them to remain there. That doesn’t mean they enjoy and delight in it. When the man of the hour is only too excited and eager about the congregation they are a part of, it is most likely a sign that they are not separate from the false religions of this age.

            God takes the prophet out to relearn everything. He reshapes the man. He rebuilds and reforms everything from the doctrines to the great words of the faith to eschatology. Just like Abram was brought out of his father’s house, so the prophet must be brought out of the establishment. They find God in the wilderness. They undergo their metamorphosis on the backside of the desert.

            Ruthlessly and exactingly the prophet is dealt with. Everything in life, speech, conduct, belief, dogma, action, reaction, faith, opinion, character, etc is destroyed. You no longer have a life. You no longer represent an opinion. Your life is God’s life. Your opinion is God’s opinion. Your word is God’s word. Your doctrine and faith and belief and dogma are God’s view. Nothing more and nothing less will suffice.

            But it doesn’t stop there. The prophet isn’t taken out of Jerusalem so that he might stay at the Jordan all the days of his life. He isn’t taken out of Egypt so that he can find a wife and live away from his people. God reshapes the man and sends him right back into the heart of the problem. He must be his message, but beyond that he must be able to bear the reproach of such a message. God tears him down, but then builds him back.

            This is why the prophets have some of the most amazing passages in all of Scripture. They are the message. This is why there is such power and authority in their speaking. This is why there is such conviction. God doesn’t lead the prophet to believe a certain view of the end times because He says it and that is all. God constantly shows in the life of the prophet that this is how God works. The prophet’s message is a Deuteronomic message. Every aspect comes straight from Deuteronomy.

            If you obey the Lord your God, then such and such blessings will come. If you disobey the Lord your God, then such and such curses will come. They have experienced in their own lives this very message. That is why I can say with complete conviction that Israel will soon be uprooted and in exile once more. It is their history as well as mine.

            The prophet isn’t only one who is brought out and in. There is something else that is also developed into their character. They don’t fear men. Now, this is slightly assumed with bring made into the kind of people who can take rebuke. But what this also brings is a connotation that they could care less about the esteem of men as well.

            We all enjoy to be esteemed. We all enjoy when others will pat us on the back and tell us that we did a good job. We all enjoy when others who are prominent will acknowledge our efforts. This is a natural sensation for humanity. But it can also be the most dangerous and poisonous thing to the Spirit. If we find more fulfillments in hearing the praises of men than the praises of God, we have already come to a place of apostasy.

            Maybe this is why Samuel’s first prophetic word was to Eli. It wasn’t “nice.” God was judging to house of Eli, and it took a young boy named Samuel to expound that God was not pleased. Can you imagine what it would feel like to go to the man who raised you and tell him such a message that God is cutting you off from the Earth?

            There needs to be both reverence and sympathy for such men. They are to be reverenced because of their deep sincerity and willingness to bear the message. We ought to sympathize because many times their message of judgment means that they too must suffer that same judgment. Elijah proclaimed that it would not rain except at his word. That doesn’t mean that Elijah is free from the drought. It actually places Elijah right in the midst to suffer with the rest of Israel.

            When we ask what the prophet’s message will be, we need to see it from this perspective. The prophet will only speak what the Lord has spoken. That could be blessing or curse. Either way, the word itself is an event. It is the word that actually brings about the completion of it. When the prophet is obedient to speak the word that has been given, the judgment or blessing has already begun.

            It is for this reason that the prophet’s task isn’t to simply expose. The prophet will set up an alternative that has never been considered. Why has it never been considered? It is the heavenly alternative to a world steeped in the earthly things below. That which is from the earth cannot consider the things of heaven.

            When speaking a prophetic message, or when hearing a supposed prophet, if we don’t hear of some alternative way to live and breath and have our being, then we are being lied to. The primary task of the prophet is not to bring prophecies concerning the future. The primary task is to expose the false reality that we cling to by presenting the authentic and revealing the glory of God in it.

            There might be some sort of prophecy given. There might be an oracle displaying future events to soon take place. But that oracle will not be presented in a way to educate. The purpose is not to say, “Prepare yourself for this!” The point is first and foremost to present the authentic reality and perception of God. From that reality and perception might then come the statement of preparation.