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This podcast contains many bible study teachings to empower true disciples to walk in the steps of Jesus Christ.
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Sunday Apr 13, 2025
Sunday Apr 13, 2025
False Prophet Revealed
David Eells – 4/13/25
Who is the False Prophet and how may we identify him?
Experience and the Word have taught me concerning prophecy that if the majority of God's people believe something, it must be wrong. God hides His truths in dreams or visions that are parables so that the false prophets and carnal Christians cannot see them. Let’s read Mat 13:10-13 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 And he answered and said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables; because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
But privately He explains them to His disciples Mar 4:33-34 And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it; 34 and without a parable spake he not unto them: but privately to his own disciples he expounded all things. He hides things from the wise and understanding (of this apostate religious system) and reveals them to babes. Luk 10:21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes: yea, Father; for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight.
Notice that “disciples”, meaning, learners and followers, get to partake of the hidden manna. Rev 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knoweth but he that receiveth it. And Pro 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing; But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
John's Revelation was given to him as a parable of Jesus. If it were literal, the false prophets would know what is going to happen and that is contrary to Jesus' own words. When the disciples were young and under the law they did not recognize the false prophets. As a matter of fact, they respected them! And so it is today! I want to show you who have eyes and ears, who the false prophet is and what his work is.
The False Prophet is a corporate body of religious leaders that, to the trained eye resemble those of Jesus' day. In all of Jesus, Peter, and John's writings outside of the Book of Revelation, the warning is that false prophets (plural) would come. In Revelation, false prophet (singular) is used, but in an allegory. Since Jesus said in the end time that Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; … We read that many false prophets shall arise; verse 11 And many false prophets shall arise, and shall lead many astray. And verse 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
Then the false prophet in Revelation is a symbol of a corporate body like the rest of the characters in Revelation are; the beast, the woman, the harlot, the bride, etc. It's the only way that Jesus and John can both be right. You might say, “David, aren't you sharing the secrets with the false prophets?” Have no fear; they are too proud to admit they have passed on the lie of the traditions of men and repent. Moses prophesied the coming of the true prophet and the false prophet.
Deu 18:15-22 Jehovah thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; 16 according to all that thou desiredst of Jehovah thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of Jehovah my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. 17 And Jehovah said unto me, They have well said that which they have spoken. 18 I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. 20 But the prophet, that shall speak a word presumptuously in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die. 21 And if thou say in thy heart, How shall we know the word which Jehovah hath not spoken? 22 when a prophet speaketh in the name of Jehovah, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which Jehovah hath not spoken: the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously, thou shalt not be afraid of him.
The true Prophet of course, is the Son of God Jesus Christ. He is the Spirit that is in His true corporate body. (1Co 15:45 So also it is written, The first man Adam became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.) He is the head of His body the Church which is female (Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, being himself the saviour of the body.). Jesus' headship is manifest physically through the 5-fold ministry (Eph 4:11 And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;).
The senses of the head correspond to the ministers. For example: the prophets are the eyes (Isa 29:10 For Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes, the prophets; and your heads, the seers, hath he covered.) – Evangelists are the mouth (the ministry to those outside of the body), Teachers are the ears (1Ki 3:9 Give thy servant therefore an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this thy great people? 12 behold, I have done according to thy word: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart;) “Understanding” here is the Hebrew word for “hearing”. Soloman heard answers from the Lord. (1Ki 10:3 And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not anything hid from the king which he told her not.).
It takes the 5-fold ministry to raise up others into the head (Eph 4:15 but speaking truth in love, may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, even Christ;). We can see a false headship in these days because of the Nicolaitan error which Jesus hates according to (Rev 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate., and verse 15 So hast thou also some that hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans in like manner.) That false headship is that the pastor usurps the authority of the rest of the 5-fold ministry to be the head of the church. The Spirit of Christ is manifest through the 5-fold ministry to lead His body, the church. So also the spirit of antichrist is identified in (1Jn 4:3 and every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God: and this is the spirit of the antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it cometh; and now it is in the world already.). This spirit is manifested through men as a false prophet to lead his body the harlot. The false prophet also has a female body, the corporate harlot, who receives not the seed of the true husband. These do not confess Jesus, the Word, which was given in the beginning. Confess here is a word meaning “to speak the same as”. The false prophet body cannot say what Jesus said.
Christ sows His seed, which is the true Word, as we read in His parable in Mat 13:18-23 Hear then ye the parable of the sower. 19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the evil one, and snatcheth away that which hath been sown in his heart. This is he that was sown by the way side. 20 And he that was sown upon the rocky places, this is he that heareth the word, and straightway with joy receiveth it; 21 yet hath he not root in himself, but endureth for a while; and when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway he stumbleth. 22 And he that was sown among the thorns, this is he that heareth the word; and the care of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 23 And he that was sown upon the good ground, this is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; who verily beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.) The true Prophet, Jesus, always sows the Word. The false prophet cannot confess Him.
In Rev 13:11 And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like unto a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. Here we see a false lamb who speaks for the dragon. We see the head of the false prophet with two horns like unto a lamb, and he spake as the dragon beast. Also in verse 5 and there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies (meaning, to speak against); and there was given to him authority to continue forty and two months.
In verse 15, we see the body (harlot) of the false prophet. Rev 13:15 NENT And it was given to her to give a spirit to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as should not worship the image of the beast should be killed. Bible Numerics shows a perfect pattern for “her” in the ancient manuscripts and in the most accurate New Testament, the Numeric English New Testament by Ivan Panin. There is no pattern in “he” or “it”. Numerics show beyond a shadow of a doubt which manuscript is right and where. As the harlot of Judaism caused Jesus to be crucified, so will the harlot of Christianity cause His body to be crucified.
Let me show this another way. In 1Ki 18, Ahab represents the beast with ten horns, for he ruled over the apostate ten tribes, who worshiped the image of the beast (the golden calf). Ahab's wife, Jezebel, killed the saints and prophets. Compare this for relationship in Rev 17:1-3 …saying, Come hither, I will show thee the judgment of the great harlot that sitteth upon many waters; 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and they that dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her fornication. 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness: and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. There she is ruling by the ten horned beast again.)
Jezebel is a clear type of the harlot in (Rev 2:20 But I have this against thee, that thou sufferest the woman Jezebel, who calleth herself a prophetess; and she teacheth and seduceth my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed to idols.) She, like the harlot, was guilty of the blood of the prophets and of the saints. (1Ki 18:4 for it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of Jehovah, that Obadiah took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) (2K 9:7)(Rev 18:24)
In Rev 17:16 when the Beast is through using the harlot, he devours her. Rev 17:16 And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with fire. And so it is with Jezebel in (1Ki 21:23 And of Jezebel also spake Jehovah, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.).
The true ministers of God are fed at the Churches table (1 Cor 9:13,14) and the false prophets (corporately the false prophet) are fed from Jezebel's table (1Ki 18:19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, that eat at Jezebel's table.). The false prophets of Baal and the false prophets of the Asherah represent the two horns of the false prophet in Rev 13:11 And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like unto a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Find out who the two horns of Baal and Asherah represent in modern times, and you will know who the corporate false prophet is. These two go back to the tower of Babel and were originally Nimrod in (Gen 10:8-10) and his wife Semiramis, the false virgin Asherah. When Nimrod died and Semiramis became pregnant claiming that Nimrod had become the Sun God, Baal, who then by virgin birth was reborn as her son, Tammuz, the false son of God. Then of course, the Babylonian worshiped the false Father, Son and Virgin about 2,300 years before the true Virgin birth. Semiramis probably knew of the prophecy in Gen 3:15 concerning the virgin birth. This false scenario is still worshipped in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.
At the dispersion at Babel this legend went throughout the World and these three were given different names in different cultures, many of which are in the Bible. The golden calf in Egypt was a symbol of the Father (Baal) in the Son. Pharaoh's title meant Great Temple of the Sun God. Sun images all over the world and in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches symbolize the false Son. The Israelites, with their golden calf thought they were worshiping “YHWH” or “Elohim”, the true God, but it was Baal. One horn, the 450 prophets of Baal represent those who teach another Jesus. This is the apostate protestant ministers. The other horn is the 400 prophets of the Asherah or those who worship the virgin. This is the Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, and many others that are into Mariolatry.
Mary is my sister and I love her but she is not the mother of God according to (Rom 1:3) concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, (In Genesis Jesus was called the “seed of the woman”, who was Mary, the seed of David.) 4 who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead; even Jesus Christ our Lord. Here we see Mary is the mother of Jesus' flesh, which is “Son of Man”. His spiritual man was “Son of God” (Verse 4) and born of God. John 3:6 says, “that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”. The false prophet has always been the head of the harlot, and she sitteth (present tense) on 5 world empires that are fallen but still present in Rev 17:10. These were never Christian: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media Persia, and Greece. The corporate leadership of all false Christian religions is the false prophet.
Emperor Constantine was head of the early Roman Empire or beast as Daniel 7:7 describes it. Rome was the great beast devouring all the beasts before it (Dan.7:23). Much like the world is today, his kingdom was divided because of much religious faction. Because of Babel there were, to the untrained eye, similarities between the pagan religions and Christianity. In order to unite his empire, Constantine decided to capitalize on these similarities and merge paganism with Christianity. Through the temptations of bribery and power, the backslidden leadership of Christianity gave in. Constantine gathered together at his round table religious leaders of every sect and gave them a position of authority.
This corporate false prophet was to advise him and exercise authority over his religious empire. He presided over their councils and put down individual theological differences for the sake of unity. “That which hath been is that which shall be” (Ecc 1:9). Our modern-day revival of the Roman beast, the United Nations, has within its body the whole earth (Dan 7:23) and is doing exactly what Constantine did to unite the earth. The “World Conference on Religion and Peace” was a gathering together under the U.N. of all sects of religious leaders from all over the world to bring unity to religion and hopefully the world. This corporate false prophet with the authority of the U.N. has created a corporate one world religion called the United Religions (the U.R.).
Once, when I was teaching on the false prophet several years ago, a brother came into the meeting who had just received a confirming dream. Let me share that with you.
(David’s notes)
I went to church and to the altar to get delivered from smoking. There were many people up front. I knew that the pastor was walking toward me to get away from someone who smelled like smoke, and I thought, “I hope he doesn't come down here because I smell like smoke too”. Just then, my sister came to me very happy and said, “Oh, it's OK now, look over there.” I looked over and saw this man light up a cigarette. There were some booths and a sign that read “smoking section”. People said, “You don't have to quit because now we can smoke in church”. I said, “No, I want to quit smoking.”
(Spiritually, smoking is to partake of an unclean spirit because “breath” and “spirit” come from the same word in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Smoke is an unclean breath. “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and is become a habitation of demons, and a prison [booths] of every unclean spirit...” Rev.18:2)
Then the scene changed, and I saw on TV that everyone was rejoicing because a great agreement had been made to have “one church”. I saw that the agreement was two stacks of paper (two horns of the false prophet), but nothing was written on them. (This is a sign that everyone will drop their doctrinal demands, which in the case of Christians is truth, in order to have unity - Jude 3,4). Then I went to this extremely big church. I couldn't even see the other end of it (This is the U.N. corporate apostate church). I happened to open the wrong door, and I saw inside a giant ministers' conference. (The corporate False Prophet) They were being shown a film on how to scan barcodes on the foreheads of their congregation with a beam of light without them knowing it. (The spiritual mark of the beast given by the false prophet abusing the light of the word.)
More interpretation: This is the corporate two horned false prophet who makes merchandise of the people of God (2 Pet 2:1-3) and the Word of God (2 Cor 2:17 in Greek) and marks those belonging to the Beast in their foreheads (or minds Rom 8:5-6, Rev 13:16). Remember in Jesus' day, the “respectable” religious folks who walked after the mind of the flesh cast their vote against him. They were followers of a “respectable” group of ministers who gave them that mind using the light of the word. Remember that 10 out of the 12 tribes and their ministers worshiped the beast (golden calf) and had his mark in their foreheads (mind) and hand (works). The false prophets are the ones who war against this Word the most. It's an honor to have these against me as they were against my Lord Jesus. They protect their prestige, authority, position, and bank account. Draw close to God and His Word so you may be able to recognize them.
Daniel 3:4,5 says, “Then the herald cried...peoples, nations, languages... fall down and worship the golden image (of the beast).” This word, “herald” is the only Greek word in the text at a time before Greek became a world language. It is the same word used in the New Testament for preacher. The command to worship the image (Rev 13:14,15) will come from the pulpits in the form of a deception so strong that, “if possible, even the elect would be deceived” (Mat 24:24). If the truth weren't hidden in the parable of Revelation, there would be no strong delusion. In Daniel 3:7, all worshipped the image, even the Israelites except Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These three wouldn't bow because they wouldn't eat of the beast's food (word) and wine (nature) and be defiled (Dan 1:5-16). If you receive the word and nature of a Babylonish false prophet, you too will be defiled and bow down (Mat 15:6-20).
In Constantine's court, there sat the senate of secular rulers over the countries under his control. These foreshadowed the ten horns in Daniel's vision of the end time Roman Empire (Dan 7:7). The ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings (end time secular rulers), who have received no kingdoms as yet, but they receive authority as kings, with the beast for one hour (Rev 17:12). The horn represents power for it is the weapon of the beast. A king without his kingdom has no power. These kings gave their kingdoms to the beast in (Rev 17:17). From among these kingdoms in Constantine's day arose the religious rulers. They were different, for they were a corporate body of religious leaders from among all the kingdoms. This is exactly what Dan 7:8,24) says. The little horn came “up among” the ten and was “different from the former” because he was a corporate religious body among leaders of corporate secular bodies.
Now, the little horn is the false prophet of Rev 13 is easy to see because it had eyes (Dan 7:20), which makes it a prophet (Isa 29:10). He had “a mouth that spake great things” (Dan 7:20) and made war on the saints (verse 21). This identifies the false prophet who was given to the beast in Rev 13:5-7 for the false prophet is the beast's mouth to religious people. In Jesus and Constantine’s time, the corporate false prophet kept the people in line for the beast (Rome) because of the threat of loss of position (John 11:47,48). It was this corporate false prophet who was guilty of the blood of Jesus, the Apostles and prophets (Mat 23:29-36). Pilot, representing the Roman beast, did not want to kill Jesus. This is the way it will be in our day. The false prophet Sanhedrin was afraid the Romans would come and take away their position if they didn’t put down the Jesus rebellion.
Another type of the little horn was Antiochus Epiphanes in 175-164 B.C.. He came up among the horns of the division of Alexander the Great's kingdom and was king of Syria, which means “lifted up”. I emphasize that this king of the “lifted up” was a type because many believe that the history of his acts in Daniel are literally speaking of the end-time antichrist. Daniel prophesies what is clearly now history in chapters 8:9-14, 23-26 and 11:21-39 regarding Antiochus, but he is also a type and shadow of what is to come. His compelling interest was to subject God's people to himself, much like the false prophets of today. He “magnified himself” (Dan 8:25) above all the gods of the Harlot and “the one desired of women” (Dan 11:37) - Jesus was desired of seven women who are the church in Rev 1:11. Isa 4:1 And seven women (the Church) shall take hold of one man (Jesus) in that day, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name (In their rebellion against the Word, they still wanted to be called Christians.); take thou away our reproach. The false prophet, Antiochus deposed the Jewish high priest Onias 3 and usurped his place. Many today usurp the position of Jesus as head.
If you permit a person to exalt themselves or their teaching above Jesus and the Scriptures, they become to you a false prophet. He will even use the Word to paint an image in your mind of a false Jesus (2 Cor 3:18), which is none other than the image of the beast (spoken of later). Antiochus, in his position as “lord of God's heritage” then sacrificed a son on the altar and sprinkled the Holy Place with the swine's broth. He cast down many of God's people and caused them to lose their position in the heavenlies like the end time saints (Dan 8:10, Epe 2:6, Rev 6:13). He took away the continual burnt offering (Dan 8:11, 11:31) in the end time will be in the middle of the tribulation or seventieth week of Daniel when the mark is given. (Dan 9:27).
We are the sanctuary or temple of God (1 Cor 3:17). Our old life is the continual burnt offering (Rom 12:1) as we take up our cross and follow Jesus and lose our old life (Mat 16:24,25). It is a burnt offering because in the midst of the fiery trial (1 Pet 4:12, Mat 3:11,12) when we obey God, the flesh burns up (2 Cor 4:16,17). If we walk after the mind of the flesh and take the mark, the burnt offering ceases (Dan 8:12). We are to be as gold and silver refined in the fire by burning up the impurities of flesh - Mal 3:2,3. Many will follow the example of Antiochus and sacrifice the Son. Heb 10:29 of how much sorer punishment, think ye, shall he be judged worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God. They follow the false prophets and are defiled, turning back to their sins (2 Pet 2:1-3, 18-22). These are they who give up their life of sacrificing their flesh in the fiery trial in the middle of the tribulation and take the mark of the beast (Rev 13:5-7, 16-18 and Dan 9:27), having been deceived by the false prophets.
If you allow the false prophets to identify the mark of the beast and the image, you will not be able to see it when it comes. The Pharisees and Sadducees could not identify the true Image of God, Jesus Christ. What makes you think that they could today? It is not the visible Image and Mark of the beast that you should fear, but the invisible. This is how it can be a deception. Any physical mark can only be put on one who has the spiritual mark already. It will identify these people as members of the body of the beast.
Antiochus also set up a statue of Jupiter in the Holy of Holies. He, like the little horn of Ahab's day, Jesus' day, Constantine's day, and the U.R. of our day, gives to the people a false Image of God. Even among Christians, you will notice there are different ideas about who Jesus is, what His nature is, what His teaching is, and what His attitude is toward us. Much of this leads people to worship another Jesus, which is an abomination. Become familiar with the Jesus of the Bible, the true Image of God (Heb 1:3, Jn 1:1). The tip of the little horn starts in the leadership of the U.R., but like Mark W.’s dream, it shows that it goes all the way down to the man in the pulpit. All of them together are the false prophet, the head of the harlot. “Be not many of you teachers, my brother, knowing that we shall receive the heavier judgment” (James 3:1).
Now, I’d like to share a few more revelations with you that reveal the end-time false prophet.
War, False Prophet, Harlot, Mark, War
Below are two dreams on these subjects
East and West War in the Middle East
Bill Steenland - 11/14/2014 (David's notes in red)
I dreamed there was a lion and a white tiger fighting one another very fiercely with a lot of back and forth, while rolling around on the ground. (I think the white tiger represents Russia, Iran, India, and China [Eastern nations] going to war with the “lion” [Britain, America, Australia, Canada, Europe and NATO].) (The lion with eagle's wings in Daniel is Britain and her lion cubs with the US and its air power. Siberia is part of Russia. The white Siberian tiger represents Russia.) (I was watching Putin in this video, and the Lord said to me, “The white tiger!” Why hadn't I seen it before? We are really seeing the fulfillment of this dream now. This topic is huge in the book Hidden Manna for the End Times, now that I think about it. We are really seeing the posturing and coming war that is shown in that dream now, with all the lines being drawn in the sand over Europe and Asia. (Ultimately this war that the Deep State has tied to start many times, to distract from their evil, will come to pass but I for one have fought for peace.)
As the lion and the tiger fought, the scenery and the settings were changing. It was as if they were rolling back and forth in the Middle East from the mountains to the desert to more mountains, back to a dry parched setting like a desert and then a combination of the two. It was as if they were rolling around, fighting each other across the whole Middle East. This is the strange part: There was a black car following them everywhere they went. (This is the Satanic Deep State powers that be, the banksters, with money invested on both sides of the war, as always.) All I knew was that they were in the Middle East and that it was a huge power struggle for territory.
At the end of the dream, I saw a black man in full-blown black Masonic attire with a black plate that had a golden pyramid on it. (D.S. Masonic powers that be.) The eye was not floating over the pyramid. It was one that has always represented Lucifer (The antichrist spirit who will once again rise up in Revelation 13 and control the Beast and finally bring their war between East and West to make money off of both.). (Masonic agenda is unfolding; their god Lucifer is the “all-seeing eye” over the Beast one world government.)
The black plate was hanging on his chest (the breath/spirit/demons of the Beast). He was standing in the middle of these two fighting animals as they fought, but he was much bigger than the cats. He was kicking his toes into the ground on each side, as if one foot or toes was the lion and the other foot was the tiger. He would kick his toes into the ground one at a time toward the other foot. (End-time fulfillment of the 10 kingdoms from Daniel 2, known as Nebuchadnezzar's image or dream.)
(The two feet of the image of the Beast in Daniel's revelation are the end-time Eastern Roman Empire, which Russia is the head of, and Western Roman Empire, which the US is the head of. The clay is nations that were not a part of the original Roman Empire seed, typed by the iron. This Roman Empire is the sixth head that was smitten unto death which is revived. Satan and his earthly representatives, the Deep State powers that be, are kicking their pawns back and forth in the Middle East. The pawns of the U.S. and Russia have also always had their pawn nations that they prefer to fight through, supplying weapons, logistics, trainers, etc., so that they are not personally drawn into a nuclear world war. [Although nukes may be used in this war, it is not the full-scale nuclear war that will come at the end of the tribulation, as seen in Bill's other dream below.] They have engaged in this covert warfare for many years, and it will continue because it makes money for the powers that be and decreases populations, plus it keeps the nations under control. I would say the big black man is the world Antichrist Beast ruled by Satan.)
Dan.2:40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that crusheth all these, shall it break in pieces and crush. 41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43 And whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron doth not mingle with clay. (Islam is invading the nations by the DS to bring division.)
44 And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. (This begins with the Man-child reformers.) 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
In the dream, I knew the black man over the big cats was Tiger Woods, the pro-golfer. (Tiger has a family heritage from many nations and represents the world beast like the Dan 2 vision of the world beast.) He is like the melting pot of nations and religions melted into one. Tiger Woods spent most of his life standing on grass, playing golf. (This war of back and forth is like a golf game to them. Life is cheap.) Here are a few details from Wikipedia about his multinational family tree:
Woods was born in Cypress, California, to Earl (1932-2006) and Kultida (Tida) Woods (born 1944). He is the only child of their marriage; however, he does have two half-brothers, Earl Jr. (born 1955) and Kevin (born 1957), and a half-sister, Royce (born 1958), from the 18-year marriage of Earl Woods and his first wife, Barbara Woods Gray[14]. Earl, a retired lieutenant colonel and Vietnam War veteran, was of mostly African American, as well as Caucasian, and possible Native American and Chinese, ancestry[15]. Kultida (née Punsawad), originally from Thailand (where Earl had met her on a tour of duty in 1968), is of mixed Thai, Chinese, and Dutch ancestry[16]. He refers to his ethnic make-up as “Cablinasian” (a syllabic abbreviation he coined from Caucasian, Black, American Indian, and Asian).[17].
Woods' first name, Eldrick, was coined by his mother because it began with “E” (for Earl) and ended with “K” (for Kultida). His middle name Tont is a traditional Thai name. He was nicknamed Tiger in honor of his father's friend, Col. Vuong Dang Phong, who had also been known as Tiger.[18].
The name Eldrick is an English baby name. In English, the meaning of the name Eldrick is “old/wise ruler”.
False Prophet, Harlot, Mark, Nuclear War
Bill Steenland - 06/22/2015 (David's notes in red)
The dream started off where I was in a big city, like New York or Philly. I had a large white tablet in my hands. There were two guys who were working on it, but we were talking about the mark of the Beast. The guy was talking about the basics of where it goes and so on. The second man was sitting on the step. He had a really faraway look on his face, like he had spent a long time looking at the physical properties of the mark. He sat down on the step and just kept saying, “It's so much more than a mark”, over and over. Then he said, “Calling it just a 'mark' doesn't do it justice. It's much more than that”. (I found out later in that dream the mark will have currency on it as an incentive to take it after a total global economic meltdown.)
I looked back at the tablet. I knew that in the dream, when I looked down at the tablet, I could see anything I wanted to or any place I wanted to and that I could be there by looking at this tablet. (It means the Word of God written upon the tablet of our hearts, which gives spiritual insight and discernment. 2Co.3:2 Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men; 3 being made manifest that ye are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in tables that are hearts of flesh. Maybe that is why when I looked at the tablet later in the dream, I could see future events and see into the spiritual realm. 1Co.2:10 But unto us God revealed them through the Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.)
I was watching a video of a beach as I walked around with the tablet. Then I found myself there on the beach at a resort. I was walking around this beach next to the resort. (Fellowshipping with Abraham's seed, the children of faith. God told Abraham that his children would be as the sands of the sea. Heb.11:11 By faith even Sarah herself received power to conceive seed when she was past age, since she counted him faithful who had promised: 12 wherefore also there sprang of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of heaven in multitude, and as the sand, which is by the sea-shore, innumerable. Rom.4:11 and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was in uncircumcision; that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be in uncircumcision, that righteousness might be reckoned unto them.) (The promised seed, the Man-child Isaac, would bring forth the great multitude of fruit, just like in these end times.)
While I was walking around, I saw an old friend whom I knew was caught up in confusion, walking around, too. In the dream, I knew that I had a room at this beach resort. I went to my room and relaxed on my bed (representing resting in the promises of God). I pulled out the tablet and I saw a picture of Benny Hinn. He was wearing a red shirt. (Red represents sin, as in the “man of sin”: 1 John 3:4,10.) (Isa.1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith Jehovah: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.) He looked very effeminate; there was make-up on his face (I.e. what you see is not what you get) and he had his arms out, as if to present something.
I noticed there was a witchcraft book in front of him. (1Sa.15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king.) 1Co.10:20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have communion with demons. 21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of demons: ye cannot partake of the table of the Lord, and of the table of demons.
There was a table with a whole bunch of objects in front of him that were being used in witchcraft to send curses. (Those infected with Kundalini and who practice false signs and lying wonders are sent out to deceive God's people. God is the one allowing it. 2Th.2:7 For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only there is one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming;
9 even he, whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Jesus warned of false leaders. Mat.24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. The word for “false Christ” is pseudochristos or false anointings. (When God does signs because of the faith of His people but the signs do not confirm the life and word of the minister, they are false signs and lying wonders: Mar.16:20 And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen.
Deu.13:1 If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods (another Elohim or Jesus’), which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 3 thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams: for Jehovah your God proveth you, to know whether ye love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul.)
They have another Jesus because they received another Word and another spirit. This scripture explains why he was performing witchcraft in the dream: Gal.1:7 which is not another gospel only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema. 9 As we have said before, so say I now again, if any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let him be anathema (accursed). When people receive another Word, they can receive this working of error mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 3:9-11.
Kundalini is a huge working of error that the Harlot Church is going under. Like in the dream, they say they serve God but are in rebellion and witchcraft. When people pray and fellowship with people who are serving these Kundalini spirits, they open themselves up to this working of error because, frankly, they are praying with a witch, and they get slimed with this curse from Galatians that they are under.
Here is a call of God to leave these false teachers and churches: Isa.2:5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of Jehovah. 6 For thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they are filled with customs from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines (Kundalini has been named the false prophetic movement for good reason), and they strike hands with the children of foreigners. (They have joined the Eastern religions through Kundalini spirits.) 7 And their land is full of silver and gold (Benny Hinn is reportedly worth $60 million. (Somebody is not eating while these kind surfeit and care not for the needs of others. Ecc.5:11 When goods increase, they are increased that eat them; and what advantage is there to the owner thereof, save the beholding of them with his eyes?
Isa.56:11 Yea, the dogs are greedy, they can never have enough; and these are shepherds that cannot understand: they have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter.), neither is there any end of their treasures (prosperity message); their land also is full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots. (His Rolls-Royce and private jets.) 8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands. (This type builds a false temple made with man's hands, which God says He does not inhabit. Act.17:24 The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands.)
Isa.10:1 Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write perverseness; 2 to turn aside the needy from justice, and to rob the poor of my people of their right that widows may be their spoil (Their ministries are funded by the poor and the fatherless whom they rob. Benny has promised to these poor people that if they give him $1000, God will multiply it. (When God is teaching His children to give, He may honor their faith but not a greedy leader.), and that they may make the fatherless their prey! (Those who have no true spiritual fathers but are hirelings.) 3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory? (What will they do when the Lord comes manifested in the Man-child ministry to bring justice?)
Back to Bill’s dream: There was a book on the table in front of him. As I looked at the book, I heard a news broadcast in the background. The female broadcaster said these words: “Benny Hinn has a new social media program to join,” like Alex Jones has, and another name that was mentioned but was blanked out. (I believe it was a reference to Facebook. I believe these social media programs are the hive mentality of corporate bodies of people who are under the deception of certain spirits. For instance, Facebook is vanity and self-promotion.
Benny is obviously Kundalini and the Harlot Church. As I looked at the book, I heard the famous singer Katy Perry singing these lyrics: “I hear that the mark of the Beast is coming and I want one”. (Katy is a perfect symbol of the Harlot Church who will take the mark of the Beast. She is also being used as a type of the Harlot spirit that cause the falling away and, finally, the mark of the Beast.) 1Ti.4:1 But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons. (The Feast of Unleavened Bread in Exodus 12 was for seven days, representing the tribulation. Anyone who ate leaven during that time was cut off from the people of God, so we must come out from them now. This will be a great falling away of the people who are cut off.)
Next, there were two aliens in my room. They were demons. I knew in the dream that the Harlot Church who rides the Beast was rolling out another deception: aliens. I immediately turned the tablet off, and the demons left. Then I had an open vision while there on my bed. I was looking at a world destroyed by a nuclear war with Russia and a total global economic collapse. (The war between East and West is bound to end this way.) Joe.2:30 And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The pillars of smoke mentioned in Joel could be the mushroom cloud pillars of nuclear war. That word “pillar” can also be translated as “column” that could stretch from the earth to the heavens, literally.
I was looking at a soldier and a young boy of about 14 years old. The sun was not giving its light, like the scriptures mention. I saw the boy with the mark of the Beast in his hand; it was glowing in the dark while in his hand. It was slightly curved in shape, like a banana. (Representing the fruit of the wicked? A crescent shape?) It was glowing green and yellow. The boy was thinking the following words in his head, and I heard them very clearly. As he looked up at a totally destroyed world, he thought, “We don't ever have to worry; we are safe. The government knows where we are at all times and will be here shortly to help us”. (Notice he had the mark before the nuclear war came and he was programmed to trust in Antichrist.)
Rev.13:16 And he causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead; 17 and that no man should be able to buy or to sell, save he that hath the mark (In the dream, I knew that this mark had electronic currency on it.), even the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man: and his number is Six hundred and sixty and six. (We who refuse the mark will be in the wilderness with God our supplier.)
Dan.9:27 And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon the wing (or pinnacle) of abominations shall come one (abomination = the mark) that maketh (them) desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate. (In the midst of the week, many so-called Christians will take the mark as sons of perdition in the temple of God's people. This mark is an abomination that makes them desolate, which means devoid of God.)
As I watched the boy, I knew that people would take the mark for many reasons, but one reason is that there will be currency given to the recipient so he can survive. I came out of the vision and said to myself, “I need to find my old friend”. I knew in this dream that there were a lot of people who needed to hear this warning: Rev.18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come forth, my people, out of her, that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues: 5 for her sins have reached even unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
And 2Co.6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement hath a temple of God with idols? for we are a temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you, 18 And will be to you a Father, And ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
False Prophets Revealed
Rex Veron - 11/29/2004 (David's notes in red)
I believe this is an end-time dream. (This dream is as seen from God's perspective of the false prophets who have put on their deceptive show to deceive the people as to their true nature and false teaching.)
I saw a mouse standing in front of a medium-sized congregation, preaching and teaching. It stood up on its hind legs and was the size of a small terrier dog; it had the face of a man. The face was nondescript and no one I knew. (The false prophets standing in the pulpits of God's people are indeed very small in spiritual stature and the vilest of beasts attempting to depict themselves as men of God. As in a plague, they are the carriers of spiritual disease that have brought spiritual and physical death to multitudes.)
It had a red broad brimmed hat with little gold tassels hanging from the brim. (They attempt to glorify their own thinking, but underneath is still hidden the brain of a spiritual mouse. The red color here is an attempt to appear to have blood-washed thinking but instead, it is sinful thinking. Isa.1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith Jehovah: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.)
It wore a red vest with some tassels hanging from the edge. (They attempt to glorify their own heart, which is not covered by the blood but the sin of the fallen nature. Underneath their show is the heart of a spiritually small beast.)
It wore red pants with tassels hanging from the bottom of the pant legs. He had jester-type shoes with a little gold bell on each end of the toe curl. (They love to bring attention to their walk by ringing their own bell when they put on a show to be seen of men. However, before God and those with understanding, they are seen as jesters who walk crooked as the curled toes depict.)
It had a stubby tail like a bulldog with a gold cover on it that was flattened out and looked like a spoon upside down. (As unclean dogs, they are dung eaters and that which should be left behind, as Paul pointed out, and flushed is glorified by these apostates and fed to the people as doctrine.)
The people kept saying, “We can't stand this any longer, he needs to be made to be quiet, get rid of him”. (When the people begin to awaken, they become dissatisfied with the religious show and want more of God and His Word to sustain them.) I went to the front, picked him up and took off his hat, his vest, his pants, and I started to put him down. (It is here that the true ministers are able to uncover the false thinking, heart and walk of these apostate leaders.)
Then I heard a voice saying, “You must take his shoes off and the golden tail, as well. You cannot turn him loose with those on”. (It is necessary to also reveal the apostates' evil walk and despicably unclean doctrine that the righteous will forsake.) I then took his shoes and golden tail off and set him on the floor, and he vanished. (When the truth is revealed, they become nothing in the eyes of God's people, as their yoke is broken off of them.)
Turning back to the people, they were quiet and at peace; nothing was said. While still dreaming, I thought the entire scene strange and was wondering about it when I heard, “Get up and write the dream down”. I awoke, wrote it down and meditated about it and then I went back to bed.
False Prophet & Son of Perdition
G.C. - 12/2007 (David's notes in red)
In this dream, I was watching a scene go down. There was a line of people shuffling forward toward a podium. There were two men at this podium: a father and a son. (In real life, I know them.) The father was dressed in full Masonic priest regalia and was wearing what seemed to be a pope-like hat. The son was on his left hand, and he was dressed like a normal person.
Many who only see the letter of the parable in dreams would think this father to be the pope, but this is not how parables work. Like the pope is the “holy father” over the Catholic, meaning “universal” Church, so this father represents a corporate False Prophet over a world body of apostate religions. Many of these very visible leaders are also Masons.
Judas, who was called the Son of Perdition, sold the body of Christ to the Sanhedrin, which was this corporate False Prophet in their day. Likewise a corporate Son of Perdition hidden in the body of Christ today will betray them. This way, both people in this parable represent a corporate body today.
I watched in horror as the father was giving the mark of the beast to the people in line. (Rev.13:16) And he (the False Prophet) causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead.) As soon as the people received the mark they instantly transformed into a wild pig and leaped straight into a furnace off to the side of the podium. (2 Pet. 2:12) But these, as creatures without reason, born mere animals to be taken and destroyed. (Php.3:18) For many walk, of whom I told you often, and now tell you even weeping, [that they are] the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 whose end is perdition, whose god is the belly (like wild pigs), and [whose] glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things (mark in the forehead).
I considered what was taking place and tried to warn the people about the furnace (of the great and terrible day of the Lord and Hell itself), but they seemed not to take heed to what I was saying. They were willfully taking this mark as if under strong delusion. It was horrible.
Note: Although in real life I worked for this father, he had NEVER called me before. All the business matters were usually handled through his son. After I woke from the dream, the father called me on the phone! He asked me to come to his office to have a meeting with him and his son. So that was a sure confirmation from the Lord. They are merely figures the Lord used to show me something in the dream. They own their own company and are in the business of buying and selling (Just like the “merchants of Babylon” who “make merchandise of you”). The father's name is ROLAND, meaning “renown throughout the land”. This reminds me of the men of renown or giants of old. We have giants today, too: the megachurch pastors of the apostate church. The son in real life is a lukewarm Christian who is given to drunkenness (which is spiritually like the Son of Perdition).
Discernment Delivers from False Prophets
Jay N. - 06/09/2008 (David's notes in red)
I dreamed I was in a class with several other students. We were in this big room which looked rather like a gymnasium, and I remember thinking and missing my friends from other classes, whom I remembered were now long gone away. David Eells was our teacher, and I was standing next to him. (A type of the David man-child reformers.) David was telling me that the previous night, there was a party at his next door neighbor's house and he didn't get much sleep. (God's people giving into lasciviousness have truly caused me some loss of sleep.) He was casually dressed, like a sports teacher or a trainer. (We have to train the people of God to get in shape for the contest to come.)
Standing next to him, I could see his profile, and I noticed he was wearing a patch or a piece of wool over his nose, like he had a nose job, or even more, it looked to me like something he was wearing to filter the air he was breathing. (This nose filter represents the ability to discern good from evil. The nose gives discernment to the mind that is neither seen nor heard. Wool over the nose represents having the true clothing or actions of sheep, which filter out the false spirits, which is the meaning of “breath” in Hebrew.)
The next thing I remember was a tall man entering the room, accompanied by a woman. (The tall man is seen in many dreams as the corporate false prophet and his companion is the harlot church.) They were dressed in suits and looked to me like teachers. The man came and was standing next to me, and I knew they were there to acquire some students for themselves. (They will seek through lasciviousness, meaning a license to excess, to draw aside disciples of Christ.) I tried to ignore him since I could tell what his intentions were, and then he pointed his finger at me. I looked around for David but couldn't see him. (We will face temptation alone.)
I turned to the man and looked at his face for the first time. He was so tall, almost all the way up to the ceiling; I remember feeling the pain in my neck as I was struggling to look at his face. (His great size represents a corporate body of people.) He was nicely groomed, with curly hair and he had bright grey, watery eyes. (They tend to see things in grey, not black or white, as in wrong or right.) Being determined, I told him that I was not going with him because David was my teacher. As I was saying these words I was getting weak. I remember being hardly able to say that last word, “teacher”, but I succeeded. He looked shocked and very offended because obviously he had the authority to choose from the class as he liked, and he looked at the woman (harlot?) with disbelief. He looked back to me, trying to put some kind of smile on his angry face, and then I woke up.
(The Sanskrit meaning for “Jay” is “victory”. Although tempted, Jay obviously represents those who gain the victory over the false prophet and harlot because of their training in discernment. We are told that the Word exercises our senses to discern good from evil: Heb.5:12 For when by reason of the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need again that some one teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food. 13 For every one that partaketh of milk is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. 14 But solid food is for fullgrown men, [even] those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.
Wednesday Apr 09, 2025
Wednesday Apr 09, 2025
Return of the Man-Child (7)
David Eells – 4/9/25
History happened once in the letter, and it is happening again in the Spirit. We’ve noticed a repetition of history on a larger scale in every type and shadow that we have looked at. The first revelation was according to the letter, but the way it is being fulfilled in our day is in the Spirit. Last time, we saw that Christ had been anointed with the power of the former rain, and we know that Jesus did not do a miracle or a sign or a wonder until after He had received this anointing of the former rain. It was power! I don’t think a lot of people realize that when God gives you power, He tests you to see if you are going to use that power according to His Will or take it for your own use. In other words, you could abuse power and authority. Jesus was being tried here. The Bible says, He hath been in all points tempted like as [we are, yet] without sin (Heb.4:15).
We’ll continue our study in Matthew. (Mat.4:1) Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. So He had just been anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit to do all the wondrous works, and now He is being led by the Holy Spirit to be tempted of the devil. There is a purpose in temptation; there is a need for temptation, the Bible tells us. (Jas.1:2) Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into manifold temptations; (3) knowing that the proving of your faith worketh patience. (4) And let patience have [its] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing. Temptation is a way to perfection, or as it’s sometimes translated in the Scriptures, “maturity.” (Jas.1:12) Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been approved, he shall receive the crown of life, which [the Lord] promised to them that love Him. Even Abraham was tempted or tried. (Heb.11:17) By faith Abraham, being tried … The word there is peirazo, the same word for “tempted.” And the same word occurs again further down in the text, in verse 37 – “they were tempted.” So Abraham was tempted
Does God tempt anybody? No, He does not. Temptation comes quite naturally to us because of our old carnal nature. (Jas.1:13) Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man: (14) but each man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. God tempts no man, but He does bring us through the trial to be tempted, so we can make a decision as to whether we’re going to walk in the flesh or whether we’re going to walk in the Spirit. The Bible says, if we walk in the light, as He is in the light … the blood of Jesus … cleanseth us of all sin (1Jn.1:7). Being tempted is a method by which you can have more of God because when you walk in the light or, in other words, when you walk after the Spirit, the Holy Spirit cleanses you of the very sin nature that you don’t want anymore.
Temptation is God’s method for giving you more of God and less of you. (Heb.11:17) By faith Abraham, being tried, offered up Isaac: yea, he that had gladly received the promise was offering up his only begotten [son;] (18) [even he] to whom it was said, In Isaac shall thy seed be called: (19) accounting that God [is] able to raise up, even from the dead; from whence he did also in a figure receive him back. Abraham was tried and God said, Now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me (Gen.22:12). Will God do these things with us? Will He try us? Yes, He will. First of all, when Jesus received power, He had to be tried before He started His ministry. I think everybody is tried. If God gives you a gift or power or authority, you are going to be tried to see if you’re going to abuse what you’ve been given.
I’d like us to note the very next thing He speaks about. (Mat.4:2) And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward hungered. (3) And the tempter came … What does fasting have to do with a trial? Remember, I’m not taking anything away from the letter. Jesus was fasting in the letter; He was physically fasting, denying Himself food. So far, we’ve seen that there is a spiritual manifestation now in the New Testament for the people who walk in the steps of Jesus. We are not doing away with the letter. We’re still talking about literal fasting. But there is also a spiritual fast, and if you keep this spiritual fast, no matter how much the devil tempts you, you will win every time. Isaiah speaks about this spiritual fast.
Let me point out some things to you. (Isa.58:3) Wherefore have we fasted, [say they,] and thou seest not? [wherefore] have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find [your own] pleasure, and exact all your labors. In other words, there is selfishness in there – selfish desire and ambition. The old man is not only living, he is thriving in the midst of their fast. You can refrain from eating food and still be a big sinner, but you cannot do a spiritual fast and walk in sin. I will point that out to you. (Isa.58:4) Behold, ye fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye fast not this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high. (5) Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? He is being rather critical of a natural fast that has no spiritual component, no spiritual focus.
Then Isaiah speaks about another kind of fasting. (Isa.58:6) Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke … What is “wickedness” and what is “the yoke”? It is the old man. Remember when the three Hebrews went into the fire and the only thing that burned up was their bonds (Daniel 3)? What do you think that means? It means the wood, hay and stubble, the old man, was burned up. That’s what binds us; that’s the “wickedness” and “the yoke” right there. Jesus came with the Isaiah 61 anointing to open the prison for those who were bound and to set the captives free. How does He do that? The old man has to die here. (Isa.58:6) Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? So there is a fast that breaks every yoke. God is about to tell you about His fast, not just their natural fast. They were failing to do anything but sin in the midst of their fast. (Isa.58:7) Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry … It is not just refraining from eating it; it is giving it to somebody who needs it. It is denying yourself.
First of all, a physical fast is to deny your physical self food. A spiritual fast is to deny your self food because “self” is a spiritual entity. It is a sinful, carnal entity, and if you do not feed “self”, “self” dies. How many of you know that you can refrain from feeding your body and still feed “self”? That’s what God is talking to them about here. He is saying, “Okay, you are fasting, but it is not doing you any good whatsoever. Let me tell you about My fast.” It is a fast that actually does away with the bondage to the old man. It’s not enough to not eat it; give it to somebody else. Deny your “self”; don’t feed self. Instead, give.
(Isa.58:7) Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? We all like our privacy and our peace, but it is also a sacrifice to bring people into your house. For years, we have had people in need in and out of our house. It is a big sacrifice. You have to give up a part of you; you have to bend toward their needs. You have to resist your flesh, and that’s a big temptation, especially if people come to live with you for very long. But the Lord is saying, “Deny yourself; don’t feed the old man. Do something for the Kingdom here.”
Now let me say that there are a few verses in here that speak about the fast, and all the rest of the verses in this text are promises to those who do fast. Here is one promise: (Isa.58:8) Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall by thy rearward. (9) Then shalt thou call, and the Lord will answer (That is an awesome promise!); thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am. (And then here is a part of the fast:) If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly. Now that is a fast! It is denying feeding “self”. Self wants its way; self wants you to give it the reins and let it run. You have to pull back and say, “No. I deny self. I will not feed “self” today. I will not feed the flesh today.” Anytime you give the flesh its way, you are feeding it. When you are denying it, it is dying. Jesus said, Whosoever doth not bear his own cross (which is to die on), and come after me, cannot be my disciple (Luk.14:27). A fast is taking up your cross. It is not really something we should ever stop. In a literal fast, you have to stop, and it may not gain you anything. But it’s good if you use it as a means to an end in the Kingdom. For instance, when you give your bread to someone else, it’s good.
As we read on, we see another part of this fast. (Isa.58:10) And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry (In other words, in what your soul desires, make sure you are meeting someone else’s need.), and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in darkness, and thine obscurity be as the noonday; (11) and the Lord will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in dry places, and make strong thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. (12) And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations (Well, that’s what we need today, folks; we need to go back and restore again the foundation that is fallen.); and thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. Here’s another part of the fast: (Isa.58:13) If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day … Now we know that the Sabbath is not a day anymore, according to Hebrews 4. It is a sabbatismos, a continual ceasing from your works, which are the works of the old man, and entering the rest. In other words, it’s denying the flesh; it’s not feeding the old man. That is what the Sabbath is.
(Isa.58:13) If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, [and] the holy of the Lord honorable; and shalt honor it, not doing thine own ways (again, not feeding self), nor finding thine own pleasure (instead, attempting to please the Lord, meeting the brethren’s needs and sacrificing yourself, etc.), nor speaking [thine own] words. That’s an important one right there because the tongue [is] a restless evil (Jas.3:8), and the tongue can no man tame (8). Only the Lord can tame it if you give Him faith. (Isa.58:14) Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will make thee to ride upon the high places of the earth; and I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. That is an awesome promise of God’s spiritual fast! There definitely has to be a fulfillment in the Spirit, and we can look at Jesus or the Man-child ministry as showing us how to do a spiritual fast.
I believe that the Man-Child ministry’s corporate body is going to be tried in this question about power and authority, and I do not think that they are all going to overcome it. I have seen dreams and visions about this. But I believe that if we do this spiritual fast, we cannot fail. If you do what the spiritual fast calls for – if you do not feed your old man, if you deny yourself in the midst of trial – then you’re not going to listen to Satan, and you’re going to be an overcomer. As you read the Book of Revelation, all of the promises to the churches are for overcomers. There is no promise to people who are not overcoming. What are they overcoming? They’re overcoming self and temptation because they’re overcoming self. Notice that God is not necessarily doing away with the natural fast. He is saying, “Look, if you don’t eat food, give it to somebody who needs it.”
I want to share a revelation with you about fasting. It says the exact same thing about the spiritual fast, and it was given to Hermas, who wrote The Shepherd of Hermas, which you can read on our site. At the end of the first century, the Shepherd came to Hermas and gave him revelations in the way of visions to give to the Church, which was just about to go into great tribulation, as we are in our day. In fact, they were going to face the Beast and the Harlot of their day and many of them were going to lose their lives. The Lord gave them an exhortation through Hermas. That exhortation was then sent throughout the early Church, and he gave them a revelation on fasting. Notice its similarity to what we just studied. Let’s begin in similitude 5, chapter 54. (My comments are in parentheses.)
While I was fasting and sitting on a certain mountain, thanking the Lord for all that He had done for me, I saw the Shepherd (the Shepherd here is the Lord) sitting beside me and saying these things to me: “Why have you come here so early?” “Because, sir,” I said, “I am on guard duty.” “What,” said he, “is the guard?” “I am fasting, sir,” I said. “But what,” said he, “is this fast that you are keeping?” “Sir,” I said, “I am fasting just as I have been accustomed to do.” “You do not know how to fast to God,” he said, “and this useless fast that you are keeping for Him is not a fast.” (He called this fast “useless.” I’m sure Hermas was refraining from eating food, but the Lord called it a “useless fast.”) “Why, sir,” I said, “do you say this?” “I am telling you,” he said, “that this is not a fast you are keeping, but I will teach you what an acceptable and a complete fast to the Lord is.” “Yes, sir,” said I. “You will make me happy if I may know the fast acceptable to God.” “Listen,” said he. “God does not wish such a futile fast as this, for by fasting in this way, you do nothing for righteousness, (It can be, as we just saw in Isaiah 58, that they were fasting diligently, but getting nowhere and doing nothing but feeding the flesh because they were leaving selfish ambition alive.) but fast to God in this way: Do nothing evil in your life. (He is talking about a spiritual fast here. In other words, do not feed the flesh.) But serve the Lord with a clean heart, keeping His commandments, following His orders. (Again, do not feed the flesh. The commandments of God crucify the flesh; they do not permit it to live. That’s why there is so much emphasis on ear-tickling doctrines out there, because they all permit the old man to live. If you obey God, the old man dies. It’s like you’re starving him. You’re not giving him what he wants, so he dies.) And let no evil desire arise in your heart. (Do not listen to him; do not feed him; do not let him live.) Believe in God, because if you do these things and fear Him and abstain from every evil deed (in other words, not feeding the flesh), you will live to God. And if you do these things, you will complete a fast that is great and acceptable to the Lord.”
Wow! That is a spiritual fast! He didn’t touch on the physical fast, but in one of the next chapters, he does talk a little bit about the physical fast and how it can tie into the spiritual fast. You can see here the spiritual fast, which was the most important. You can fast for the rest of your life for selfish ambition, and you will not do anything for the Kingdom. Your sacrifice is worthless before God. But, if you do a spiritual fast, you are going to grow in God. I am not denying that you can mix this with a physical fast, but if you do a spiritual fast, you will conquer the devil every time. The only thing in you that he can use to conquer you is your flesh, so if you do not feed your flesh, your flesh is not going to be able to conquer you. Let me go to chapter 56.
I said to him, “Sir, I do not understand these parables, nor could I comprehend them unless you interpret them to me.” “I will interpret everything to you,” he said, “and whatsoever I tell you, I will explain. Keep the commandments of the Lord and you will be pleasing to Him and be enrolled in the number of those who keep His commandments. If you do something good beyond the commandment of God, you will gain greater glory for yourself. (This is an important issue here. You can go beyond what God commands and God will give you good credit for that.) And you will be more honored before God than you would have been. If then, while keeping the commandments of God, you add also to those services, you will rejoice, and you will keep them according to my commandment.” I said to him, “Sir, whatever you command me I will follow, for I know that you are with me.” “I will be with you,” he said, “because you have such zeal for doing good, and I will be with all,” said he, “who have the same zeal. This fast,” he said, “is very good, if you keep the commandments of the Lord. So observe this fast which you are going to keep in this way: First of all, guard against every evil word and every evil desire. (Do not feed “self” and do not give “self” permission or the right to give in to evil thoughts or evil words. Otherwise, you are wasting your fast.) And cleanse your heart of all the vanities of this world. (In other words, there are a lot of things in the world that have no point in the Kingdom. The Bible says to lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race (Heb.12:1). And the sin? Some weights are not sin, but they hold us back. They themselves are not sin, but they keep us from doing things that are important in the Kingdom.)
(Many people do not take the Great Commission seriously. They figure they hired their preacher to do that, so they just live their lives the way they want to all week long and then at the end of the week, they go to church and call that “service.” No, actually we’re called to be disciples of Jesus Christ and we’re called to keep and to do the Great Commission and do the works of Jesus. (Joh.14:12) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto the Father. We are called to do His works, and if the Church had been doing that all along, just think how much of the world would have been taken into the Church by now. The Lord says to avoid the vanities of this world, which are not necessarily sin, but have this uselessness. There are so many things that Christians do that are useless. If you are really devoted to God, your hobbies ought to be His hobbies. Your loves ought to be His loves. You ought to be doing the things that are pleasing to your Father. Even as a child, Jesus said (Luk.2:49) Knew ye not that I must be in my Father’s house? In other words, “be about my Father’s work”? That’s right; that’s what we are here for.)
If you observe these things, this fast will be complete. And here is what you will do: When you have finished the above-mentioned, on that day when you are fasting, (Now he is talking about a physical fast.) you will taste nothing except bread and water, and you will be aware of the cost of your food you would have eaten on that day which you are going to keep. Having set it aside, you will give it to a widow, or an orphan, or someone else in need. And in this way, you will be humble-minded, so that from your humility, the one who receives may fill his soul and pray to the Lord for you. (So, here’s a way that a physical fast can actually be a spiritual fast in denying yourself and then furthering the Kingdom, by not only refraining from eating, but giving it or the monetary equivalent to someone who needs it, or through sacrifice.) If then you complete the fast in this way, as I command you, your sacrifice will be acceptable to God. And this fast will be recorded, and the service done in this way is good and joyous and acceptable to the Lord. This is the way you shall observe these things with your children and all your house. If you observe them, you will be blessed, and as many as hear them and keep them will be blessed, and whatever they ask of the Lord they will receive.”
That is very interesting because Isaiah 58:7 basically says that, too, “to deal thy bread to the hungry,” give that which you would have eaten to the hungry. Then Isaiah goes on to talk about the same principle, but in many other ways that are dealing with “self”, such as using something that you would consider yours to meet the need of someone else. In this way, a physical fast can be a spiritual fast. I dare say that a lot of people who fast are sometimes too miserable to even pray and take advantage of their fast. Have you ever caught yourself doing that? I used to fast regularly and I still do, but I would catch myself and say, “Wait a minute! I’m not taking advantage of this sacrifice here. I need to be fasting and praying.” So I would remember and go back to praying and making my fast count for something. I was always giving, and a person who fasts should use it to further the Kingdom and bless God’s people. Now, if you do that and the devil tempts you and you keep on fasting and denying self in order to let your Spirit man live, there is no way the devil can beat you.
If you look at the Book of Matthew, you see that Jesus received this great power from God and He was going to be tried by the devil to see if He was going to use that power wisely. (Mat.4:2) And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he afterward hungered. (3) And the tempter came and said unto him, If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. (4) But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. What kind of temptation is this? First of all, with “If thou art the Son of God,” the devil was tempting Jesus to believe that He was not Who He was supposed to be, and that is the Son of God. He was tempting Jesus to use His power to feed His flesh. Look at it in the Spirit, not just in the letter.
In what way can you use your power to feed your flesh? Well, for example, you could be in the prosperity doctrine. You can use your power and authority to live high above the average means of the people around you, to consume upon your flesh the things that would be detrimental to your spiritual health. (1Ti.6:9) But they that are minded to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition. Many people fall away, according to Paul in 1st Timothy, because of their lusting after the things of the world. They use God’s power and even their bodily efforts, which is again using God’s power because ye were bought with a price (1Co.6:20), to live after the lusts of their flesh.
Now let’s look at the next temptation. (Mat.4:5) Then the devil taketh him into the holy city; and he set him on the pinnacle of the temple, (6) and saith unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and, On their hands they shall bear thee up, lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone. (7) Jesus said unto him, Again it is written, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God. What is the devil tempting Him with here? He’s tempting Jesus with proving to others Who He is. Why do we have to prove to others who we are? Isn’t that really something that should just be left up to God? There are people who abuse the power and authority that the Lord has given them to make themselves great in the sight of other people. That is a temptation, especially if you have power.
I see it today in people exercising power in such a way as to put on a show. You’ve seen it; you’ve seen the wave of the hand and half the audience falls down. What’s the purpose of that? Who is getting the glory for that? When did Jesus ever do such a thing? Even when He healed someone and they were entering the town, He said, Go to thy house unto thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee (Mar.5:19), not “Remember me when you tell the story.” How many times did He disappear like the Lone Ranger after He did a good deed? That was because He was not looking for the credit for it. You do not have to prove who you are to anybody. As a matter of fact, it’s better if you are pretty quiet about it. If you did not deny yourself or fast spiritually, if you did not deny the flesh its right to prove who it was, then to glory in the things done would just cause your flesh to grow.
Here is another temptation. (Mat.4:8) Again, the devil taketh him unto an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; (9) and he said unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. (10) Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. (11) Then the devil leaveth him; and behold, angels came and ministered unto him. What kind of a temptation is that? Well, the glory of the authority over the world. When we receive power from God, there is a temptation to use it to gain the glory of this authority. In these days, there are many people who run around calling themselves apostles or prophets or giving themselves great titles, none of which the early disciples did or used. But they do that in order to profit “self” and glory in the authority that they have. They count the numbers of people in their churches so they can glory about how big their church is. They talk about how many churches are under their authority or how many men are under their authority. They use power and authority to glory and to build “self”. Jesus was being tempted to see if He would abuse authority and power. Of course, God knew the outcome, but you still have to go through the temptation. It has to be proven. That was the whole gist of this temptation, from beginning to end.
I believe that the Man-child ministry will go through the exact same testing, and those people who are making somebody of themselves, taking advantage of other people because of their authority, plundering the flock because of their position, will not be qualified to be in the Man-child ministry. When you look at Jesus, when you look at His disciples, you see humble people. You see people who did not plunder the flock for the sake of themselves, to live high on the hog. You don’t see fancy-dressed people who take positions of authority or who glorify self. Jesus and His disciples denied “self” in order to meet the needs of others; love caused them to pass up many of the things in the world that people take for granted. They didn’t have time for the world or vanity because their ambition and their hobby was God’s people, meeting their needs and serving them.
The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve. If Jesus did that, how much more should we? Glory to God! We are going to be tried. Everybody who is called to this latter rain ministry of restoring the Church will be tried and it’s a fairly small number who will remain in the Man-child. We will be tested and tried to see if we will abuse that power. If we do, we will not be qualified. But Jesus overcame and, therefore, God sent Him to the Church. You say, “Well, why wouldn’t He be qualified? He was the Son of God.” But when He came, He had to be made in all things like unto His brethren, and He came as a Spirit-filled Man in order to do the works of the Spirit and to be used of God. He could have come in all the omnipotence of God, but He didn’t. Jesus became tired; He got weak; He had to eat. He came as a Spirit-filled Man and laid aside His omnipotence and, in some cases, omniscience, because He said that God knew things that He did not know and could not reveal in order to come and be as a man.
We know that He was God in flesh, but did you know that your spiritual man, “Christ in you,” is also God in flesh? Christ is God wherever He is, and He is God in you, in your heart. Before we can be trusted to be used of the Lord, we are going to be tried to see if we’re going to be abusive of His power or authority. It doesn’t matter if you are in the Man-child ministry or not. You are going to be tried, and if you fail, that does not mean you will not keep on being a minister or a preacher or having your title or your church; you just will not be doing it in God. There were lots of ministers around when Jesus came, but they were a bunch of apostates. In fact, He said, All that came before me are thieves and robbers (Joh.10:8). They had stolen the position that they had over the flock, and they were plundering the flock.
But Jesus had the kind of authority from God that they did not have. They had natural authority that was given to them, given to their title, given to their position. But Jesus’ authority came only from God, and it came in the form of meeting the needs of God’s people, of serving God’s people and feeding them spiritually, of delivering them from demons and healing their bodies. I do not care what kind of ministry you have. You are going to be tried to see if the position of authority over God’s people you have is abused or if the power that God gives you to use your supernatural gifts is abused. If it’s abused for the purpose of aggrandizing yourself, then you are not qualified to do this for God. You might continue on in religion, and they may still give you a position and a salary, but you are not doing it in God.
We see that Jesus has overcome and it was obvious that anybody who took this position in the world to glory was worshipping Satan, not God. (Mat.4:10) Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God … The word “worship” is proskuneo and it means “to kiss toward.” It is an act of love toward God. If you love God, you’re not going to aggrandize “self” and you’re going to keep His commandments. You’re going to be humble. You’re going to know that you can do nothing without Him and that it is all by grace, and you’re going to know that you don’t deserve this position any more than anybody else does. It was given to you by grace. You cannot take it for granted.
(Mat.4:11) Then the devil leaveth him; and behold, angels came and ministered unto him. (12) Now when he heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee. Here is Jesus coming right out of His temptation and going to Galilee. Luke tells you some things that are not told to us in Matthew, so I would like to look at that. (Luk.4:14) And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and a fame went out concerning him through all the region round about. Fame is something you need to be careful of. A lot of people fail when it comes to fame and they will lose their humility and begin to abuse their position and power. (Luk.4:15) And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. This did not last long, but as soon as He was anointed and was tried and had overcome, God sent Him to the people of God. Where were they? They were in the synagogues, which were very apostate, as Jesus made clear to them. I am sure He was extremely graceful for a short while, but there were teachings He had to get out to them because He had an extremely short ministry. So He had to get around to some of these hard things. Well, in the beginning He was “glorified of all” and I can tell you He had to have been very weak to the weak (1 Corinthians 9:22) in order to get away with some of those teachings, being Who He was and having the power that He had, with the authority that He had. For Him to be accepted among these apostate synagogues, He had to be weak to the weak. I tell you, the first sermon when He was not as graceful, they wanted to kill Him.
(Luk.4:16) And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and he entered, as his custom was, into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read. (17) And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And he opened the book, and found the place where it was written, (18) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor: He hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty them that are bruised, (19) To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. (20) And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down: and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. They were saying, “What’s your point here, Jesus? What are you getting at?” (21) And he began to say unto them, To-day hath this scripture been fulfilled in your ears. Uh-oh. They believed that this text was written about the Messiah, and now Jesus is taking credit for being the Messiah, in a subtle way.
I think they’re finally getting the point here; they’re looking at Him and wondering. (Luk.4:22) And all bare him witness, and wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth: and they said, Is not this Joseph’s son? “Wait a minute now; we know this guy. We watched him grow up. He’s nothing special. He’s human like we are.” They were probably thinking all these things. (Luk.4:23) And he said unto them, Doubtless ye will say unto me this parable, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in thine own country. (24) And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is acceptable in his own country. (25) But of a truth I say unto you, There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; (26) and unto none of them was Elijah sent, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. (He had to even go to a Gentile, didn’t he?) (27) And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian. Wow! They’re really getting mad now, aren’t they? (28) And they were all filled with wrath in the synagogue, as they heard these things; (29) and they rose up, and cast him forth out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might throw him down headlong. (30) But he passing through the midst of them went his way. There is no doubt this was supernatural. When you’re on the edge of a hill and there’s a crowd behind you that wants to kill you, how are you going to pass through the midst of them, unless it’s supernatural? That’s what I think happened here.
At any rate, the honeymoon was over, as they say. Jesus was basically telling them who He was and what He was sent to do. And they thought instead that He was glorifying Himself, but in this case, He was telling the absolute truth because He was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24). He was pointing out to them, “There are a lot of Gentiles out there more righteous than you are.” Of course, that’s still true today, and the opposite is still true for the Church. There are a lot of Jews out there more righteous than some Gentile Church folks. That’s why God is going to turn back to the Jews once again at the end of the gathering of all the last Gentiles. But the honeymoon was over, and now they wanted to kill Jesus because He told them the truth, and the ministry that’s coming is going to be the same way. There is going to come a time when the Man-child ministry will be weak to the weak and they will go into the apostate churches because now it’s the Christians who are the lost sheep of the house of Israel, circumcised in heart and not in flesh (Romans 2:28-29). He called those believers the Israel of God (Gal.6:16) because they were sons of Abraham through faith.
So this time, the Man-child is going to go to the apostate church that is not willing to know the truth, not willing to know that Jesus is once again in their midst. You know, when Jesus sent out His disciples, He said, He that receiveth you receiveth me (Mat.10:40). Those disciples had Jesus in them because He had spoken His Word into their hearts and recreated His life in them. They were called “Christians.” They were anointed to go and serve, to teach, and to heal the sick and cast out demons. Jesus was in them. It will be the same with the last days’ disciples of the Lord, who are going to go forth with the authority and the power of Jesus to do these things. But their teaching and even their very lives are going to be rebuked by the apostate church, especially by the apostate leaders. They’re going to want to kill them, but they’re not going to be able to do that with the Man-child ministry. It’s not going to be possible. They will pass right through their midst and the apostates will not be able to kill them because their time is not yet (John 7:6). We will come a little later to the crucifixion and how that applies to the Man-child ministry, but for now, it suffices to know that these people are going to be hated by the Church, just exactly the way Jesus was hated by the Jews.
There was a first-fruits company that came out from among them and followed Jesus. John the Baptist pointed them out and said, He that hath the bride is the bridegroom (Joh.3:29). They followed Jesus, but they were in the minority. The rest of the Jews really loved their religion and respected their religious leaders, for whom Jesus had absolutely no respect because they were in total apostasy. And in these days, it’s again going to be just as we’ve studied. Before the David ministry can come, the Saul ministry has to lose its life on Mount Gilboa to the Philistines (1 Samuel 31:1-6), meaning the old man has to put them to death. They were twice dead, plucked up by the roots (Jud.12). There will once again be a great falling away in our day of the Saul ministry, to make room for the Davidic Man-child ministry.
They are falling away as they are plundering the sheep and stumbling in everything we saw that the devil tempted Jesus in. They’re falling right into temptation and they’re loving and serving the devil; they’re worshipping the devil and they don’t even know it. They’re living high on the hog, taking advantage of their position, glorying in the authority that has been given to them by the world. Remember, the devil said, “I’ll give you all this if you just worship me.” He had this dominion, and it was under his authority to give it. It is under his authority, actually, to “prosper” people if they will serve the devil to obtain it. If you are prospering in the world while your brother is not and you are not paying any attention to him, misusing your position to aggrandize yourself, then you are worshipping the devil. It does not matter if you call him Jesus; you are still worshipping the devil.
So the Man-child ministry is coming to leadership. Remember what Jesus said as the Man-child of His day: (Joh.10:8) All that came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. Wow! There was a group who recognized Jesus when He came. They recognized integrity, sacrifice, and humility. The rest of them were all fawning over the apostate leadership, totally submitting to them and respecting them because they had no eyes to see nor ears to hear. This is where we are heading again. History is going to repeat on a larger scale this time. We know that the Man-child ministry is what it is because Jesus lives in their hearts. He is the One Who is doing the works! Even Jesus gave credit to the Father for doing the works in Him, and these people will give credit to the Lord for doing the works through them. Everything they have is by grace. The apostle Paul said, But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not found vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me (1Co.15:10). Amen.
Sunday Apr 06, 2025
Sunday Apr 06, 2025
Return of the Man-Child (6)
David Eells – 4/6/25
We know that in the Gospels, the Lord has shown us that the things that happened in those times are going to happen again around the world. In fact, He gave us these as types and shadows of prophecies which shall come to pass in our days. Praise the Lord! God has hidden so many wonderful things in His Word. Father, we thank You for opening our eyes and bringing us into agreement with You. You say, “How can two walk together except they be agreed?” So, Lord, it is so awesome to see what You are doing so that we can cooperate with You and be used as vessels of Your glory in these coming days. We are just so happy to hear about the great revival You have planned for us that is almost upon us, Lord. We want to be partakers in that and let You use us in it. We thank You so much, Lord, in Jesus’ name.
I’d like to go back and talk a little bit more about the John the Baptist ministry because there’s much still to cover. (Mat.3:1) And in those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, saying, (2) Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (3) For this is he that was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight (or “make a straight path for Him”). John’s job was to prepare people for the coming of Jesus, and there is a corporate John the Baptist ministry in our day whose job it is to prepare for the coming of Jesus in the Man-child.
Remember, Jesus said He was coming again on the morning of the third day (Hosea 6:2), which is where we are now. We’re at the third millennial day from Jesus, when He came the first time as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth (Hos.6:3). He came as the former rain, and now He is coming as the latter rain in a corporate body of people. We’ll return to that text, but first, let’s look at this. (Luk.1:12) And Zacharias was troubled when he saw [him,] and fear fell upon him. (13) But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: because thy supplication is heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. (14) And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. (15) For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
There is also a fulfillment of that in our time. Remember that Paul spoke about being separated from my mother’s womb (Gal.1:15), meaning he was being born out of the Jewish religion. In John’s case, it could be taken that way as well, although Luke literally meant “from his (John the Baptist’s) mother’s womb.” I believe this John the Baptist ministry in our day is going to be the spiritual fulfillment of that corporate body. I believe that they will be anointed from their spiritual “mother’s womb”, or, in other words, they are delivered out of their religion. The woman in Revelation 12 who birthed the Man-child and other later seeds represents the Church who brings forth these seeds as they grow up and mature.
Luke goes on to describe what we know to be a great revival that is coming because this John the Baptist ministry is on the verge of coming forth, probably after the next great judgment. Luke continues, And many of the children of Israel shall he turn unto the Lord their God (Luk.1:16). Notice that it states “many of the children of Israel,” so this refers to those who were considered to be God’s people. However, they were not who they thought they were. Jesus had a great problem with people like that, who believed they were right with God because of their religion. But He said that the Father had sent Him to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24). In our day, we have the same situation. There are a lot of lost sheep in Christianity, and the Man-child ministry of our day is going to be sent to them as the fulfillment of that in our day. (1Co.10:11) Now these things happened unto them by way of example; and they were written for our admonition (referring to Christians), upon whom the ends of the ages are come. It says, “Many of the children of Israel shall He turn unto the Lord their God.” That’s a great revival!
(Luk.1:17) And he shall go before his face (that is, Jesus’ face, or in our day, it would be the Man-child’s face) in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children … What He means by that, I believe the Lord showed me, and this is also in Malachi, to “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,” is that we need the heart that our fathers had. We need to have the diligence and discipleship that our early Church fathers had. God is going to restore what has been lost to the Church for the last 2000 years. He said in Malachi that if He did not do this, He would have to smite the earth with a curse (Mal.4:6). (Luk.1:17) And he shall go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient [to walk] in the wisdom of the just … This will be the result of the John the Baptist ministry in our day. People will be seeking righteousness, purity, holiness, and repentance. This was the main message that John had, to “make ready for the Lord” a people prepared for Him. His ministry will be to prepare hearts to recognize Jesus.
Interestingly, most Christians could not recognize Jesus if He walked in the door. That’s the whole reason for this repentance. We don’t have eyes to see and ears to hear unless we have repented, which is the ministry of John the Baptist, who came to turn the people back to the Lord. If you turn to the Lord, you can hear and you can see; you can recognize someone spiritual. But not if you’re dull of hearing and have closed eyes like Jesus talks about when He says, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given (Mat.13:11). He was referring to His own people here who had become blind and hard of hearing, and who did not recognize Jesus. They didn’t know the importance of His words and didn’t lay any importance on the sanctification that was in those words. Also, it says, This is He that was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight (Mat.3:3). In other words, “make a straight path for your connection with the Lord and His coming into your life.”
This is a part of Isaiah. (Isa.40:1) Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. (2) Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem; and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. It sounds like that’s when John came because this is a prophecy of John, which we’ll see when we look at the next verses. They had just come through a time of judgment, and this probably softened them up to be ready to repent when John preached and baptized in the river. He said that they had received double for all their sins. As we read on, we are going to see this again. (Isa.40:3) The voice of one that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of the Lord … The way to the Lord is in the wilderness. It is not in the city; it is not in apostasy; it is not in Babylon.
The way to the Lord is in the wilderness, as Moses told Pharaoh (Exodus 10) because you cannot serve God in Egypt. We have to go into the wilderness to serve God and that’s exactly what is going to happen here. We’re going into a wilderness where people will once again learn to walk by faith. (Hab.2:4) … But the righteous shall live by his faith. (Heb.10:38) But my righteous one shall live by faith … (Isa.40:3) The voice of one that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of the Lord; make level in the desert a highway for our God. In other words, make a way for His entrance into your life. You have to get all the stones out of the way; you have to remove anything that is between you and God. That’s what the John the Baptist ministry is going to be all about.
(Isa.40:4) Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low (God is saying about this coming time, that when a person is humbled, then they’ll be exalted and when a person is exalted, then they’ll be humbled.); and the uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain: (Isa.40:5) and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. It was prophesied of John to speak this, and in the letter, Isaiah was referring to the coming of Jesus. But Jesus said He was coming again on the morning of the third day, at the latter rain, and He’s going to come in His Man-child company first. His purpose is to fill His whole body with His glory. You know that we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory (2Co.3:18). “Beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord” is the real Gospel and the people have forgotten that it’s the Good News. They’ve forgotten that the Lord has done this; it is not us. We have faith in Him.
(Isa.40:6) The voice of one saying, Cry. And one said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. (7) The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the breath (or the “spirit”; it’s the same word) of the Lord blewit upon it; surely the people is grass. (8) The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand forever. (9) O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up on a high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold, your God! This is prophesied of John the Baptist. “Behold, your God!”
The Lord is coming, folks! This is an exciting thing about the days to come. We’re going to see the Lord again. No, not in His first physical body, but it’s going to be Him manifested in His people. This is the great joy that God’s people are going to have, and this is why no one will make them afraid in the wilderness because God’s people are those who do truly desire Him and invite Him into their hearts to truly live, not as religion says, but for the truth.
The next verse speaks of His coming. (Isa.40:10) Behold, the Lord God will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him … (Isa.53:1) … To whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? That was Jesus and it is still Jesus today. Jesus in you is still the arm of the Lord that strengthens His hands to do His work, and He calls us His hands in Isaiah 53:10. (Isa.40:10) Behold, the Lord God will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him: Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. Notice that His recompense is before Him. That sounds like what we just read, that Jerusalem has paid double for her sins. It sounds as if judgment is coming before the Lord comes, and I believe that the Lord is showing us exactly that through many revelations, dreams, and visions. We’ll return to that topic shortly, but it says, Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the earth (that is where we are), Say ye to the daughter of Zion (The daughter is born-again Zion, the New Jerusalem.), Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him (Isa.62:11). We can see that in two ways: First, we know that Jesus is coming in the Man-child as the white horse rider (Revelation 6:2) to bring judgment, like Moses came to bring judgment. But, and this is very interesting, it could also mean that there will be judgment before He comes, as we just read in Isaiah 40:2. (Isa.40:11) He will feed his flock like a shepherd (Ezekiel 34 refers to that – that He will shepherd His own sheep, His own flock.), he will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, [and] will gently lead those that have their young. That sounds great, doesn’t it? Praise the Lord! Glory to God! John the Baptist isn’t such a bad guy. He’s going to bring the beginning of a massive world revival.
(Mat.3:4) Now John himself had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey. (5) Then went out unto him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about the Jordan. That sounds like a revival exactly as Luke 1 prophesied of John, that there would be a great move of repentance in God’s people. What would cause God’s people to repent like this? I believe, according to Isaiah 26, that one of the main things that moves God’s people toward repentance is judgment. A very shaking judgment is coming, not only to America, but also to the world, and I believe that this may be the beginning of a John the Baptist ministry, which many will listen to. Something has to happen for God’s people to listen and it is spoken about in Isaiah. (Isa.26:8) Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee. So I think God is going to catch people’s attention with judgment and then He’s going to bring the John the Baptist ministry, which will have a message of repentance.
(Mat.3:5) Then went out unto him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about the Jordan; (6) and they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Notice that “Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about the Jordan went out unto him, and they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” (Mat.3:7) But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said unto them, Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (8) Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance: (9) and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. We see here that there were two kinds of people who came to the John the Baptist revival. Those who were worthy and those who were not worthy. So, according to Jesus, even those who were actually sons of their father, the devil (John 8:44), were coming out there to that revival.
Now, it just so happens that we received a revelation that really fits this John the Baptist revival, the repentant burning up of the wood, hay, and stubble, and the two kinds of people there. Kendall Remmick received this on February 7, 2010. My comments are in parentheses.
I was walking down an old, familiar street with a friend whom I never did see in the dream. I knew the person standing next to me was a friend, but I did not know his identity. (It could have been the Lord. Who knows?) The street is the one I used to walk home on every day from school when I was in the first and second grades. (I think he’s going to give us a revelation here of the path of immaturity, as you’ll realize shortly.) My friend and I walked by one house that had some low evergreen bushes about two feet high, and there was a woman sitting in a chair in the midst of the bushes. She was pregnant and had her hands on either side of her stomach in anticipation of giving birth. In appearance, she was actually a silhouette of a woman, yet still three-dimensional. Inside the silhouette was black darkness, like deep space with no stars. Staring at her was like looking at a portal into darkness. (This is talking about the apostate, immature Church in whom is the absence of God’s light. It is space, a vacuum, the absence of many things, but especially God’s light. The Church is in bad shape, andi it’s not the glorious Church that it’s soon to become. God has a plan and He is going to tell you about that here.)
When we walked past her, either my friend or I said, “She’s about to give birth to twins.” (The interpretation that came to me as I read this is that the twins represent the end-time Jacobs and Esaus born to the immature Church. Remember Jacob and Esau wrestled in the womb, And the children struggled together within her (Gen.25:22), and they were opposites, weren’t they? Jacob is the father of the 12 patriarchs, just as Jesus was the “father” of the 12 patriarch apostles. In our day, the endtime Man-child will be used to raise up the patriarch apostles to the end-time Church. So there are parallels there and history always repeats, so we should expect this. Esau represents those who have sold their birthright, as Paul said in Hebrews 12:16. These two types will be separated at birth, and Esau will persecute Jacob, who is a type of the Man-child. Jacob was the father of the 12 patriarchs, and the Man-child will also raise up the patriarchs in our day. These two different types are being born to this Church, very similar to what we saw in Matthew 3. Some sold their birthright because they were sons of Abraham, and there is the true seed of promise.)
At this point, we looked away and continued to walk forward a few steps. I then stopped and noticed that I had a very small lawnmower in my right hand. The woman who was in the small hedge was behind us now, and the yard had grown very big. The grass needed to be mowed, but it wasn’t green. It was golden yellow-brown, like wheat. And I realized that we were there to mow the lawn. (Now we’re back to what we just read: (Isa.40:6) The voice of one saying, Cry. And one said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass … So the yard of the woman, who represents the Church, has a large, grassy lawn, which represents lots of flesh. (Isa.40:6) The voice of one saying, Cry. And one said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. (7) The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the breath (or the “spirit”; it’s the same word) of the Lord bloweth upon it; surely the people is grass. (8) The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand forever. This is truly going to be a revival because of the Spirit of God breathing upon the flesh, withering it up. This is a part of the John the Baptist revelation of Isaiah 40. This is what we need in preparation for the coming of the Lord into our lives in a greater way than we have ever known, in the latter rain movement.)
I looked down at the little lawnmower in my hand. The top of it looked like a regular lawnmower, but the bottom side, where the blades were, looked like a house fan with a safety screen on it. (My interpretation is that a corporate John the Baptist ministry will breathe out the winds of the Spirit. That will cut down the flesh of the Church in repentance to prepare for the coming of the Man-child ministry.) I began to laugh and said, “I can’t mow this lawn with this little thing. This lawn is huge!” (Meaning that flesh is abundant in the worldwide Church. This is a worldwide John the Baptist ministry coming to a worldwide Church and their job is cutting the grass. I recently had a lady tell me that she saw me mowing her lawn and I said, “That means I’m cutting your flesh.” This should be the work of every minister, to cut down the flesh to make room for the coming of the Lord.)
My friend said, “Well, sit down on the grass.” (I believe that this represents that these ministers are going to be tested. They haven’t been anointed yet, so they’ll have to be tested. I believe they’re being tested right now, that John the Baptists and the future Man-childs are out there right now. The thing is, they haven’t been anointed. I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but evangelists like John the Baptist can say less and see more people come to an altar or any other form of receiving the Lord. Their message is very simple, but people just seem to flock to them. It’s a gift, an anointing that God gives. These people could be preaching away right now, but it’s Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts (Zec.4:6). Great revivals come by the Spirit of God. He is going to grant repentance, the Bible says. He can grant it to anybody. He doesn’t even need your help to do it. A great revival is going to be just that; it’s going to be a lot of people coming to repentance and wondering what happened. There’s nothing from the outside you can observe that would tell you why this is happening, but you know that it’s a move of God.)
When they set the mower down in the grass, it cut surprisingly well. But we realized that the lawnmower was way too small, so we agreed that we needed to go home and get a bigger lawnmower. (When the anointing comes on the worldwide John the Baptist ministries from Heaven, which is our real home because this world is not our home and we’re going back home, the people will be prepared for the coming of the Man-child ministries. (Mat.11:10) This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare thy way before thee. Malachi 3:1 calls him “messenger.”
We once had a brother come and share, and the Lord had been telling me for weeks beforehand that this brother was a John the Baptist, and so when I told Brother Brad to put a banner up on the site to let everyone know he was coming, Brad said that the Lord had spoken to him that this was a John the Baptist. I said, “I know that; the Lord has spoken the same thing to me.” And then, the first thing that the brother said when he opened his mouth was that he was a messenger. I said, “Aha! You just confirmed something for me.” Of course, he didn’t know that he was a John the Baptist. A lot of people don’t know who they are, but it doesn’t matter that you don’t know who you are. It matters that you follow the Will of God until you find yourself in the Will of God. Praise the Lord! He can do this!)
When I was writing this, a verse came to me. (Amo.7:2) And it came to pass that, when they made an end of eating the grass … (In Daniel 4, the Beast Nebuchadnezzar, who was the head of the Babylonian Empire, had been given over to the mind of a beast and had devoured much flesh. But when he was delivered over to the mind of the beast, he devoured the flesh of the field for seven years, representing the nations that he was conquering. The nations of the Beast were conquered. Why is God raising up the Beast? He’s raising up the Beast to cut the grass. He’s not raising up just the John the Baptists who preach repentance, but He’s also raising up the Beasts that put you on the cross in the first place. People don’t want to see the Beast. They don’t have any idea what the meaning and the purpose of the Beast is. They don’t understand that God raises up the Beast to put His people on the cross; in other words, “to cut the grass,” so that they will humble themselves before God.)
(There’s only one escape from the Beast, folks, and people are going to realize that it’s going to be the Highway of Holiness. The Beast can’t go on the Highway of Holiness. If you’re walking holy before the Lord, Isaiah 35 says the Highway of Holiness goes to Zion, the City of God, the holy city, the mountain of God’s presence, where also the Beast cannot tread. There is a place of safety from the Beast. God is going to make people understand that and that’s why people are going to flock to Zion. We know that the John the Baptist ministry is baptized for the death of the flesh before the Man-child brings the latter rain.)
The lawnmower is the ministry before the latter rain. (He had that right because I had that revelation as I was reading from the top down, and I didn’t know he had that there, but the ministry before the latter rain is the John the Baptist ministry. The dry grass is the saints who will die to the flesh. John the Baptist came in the anointing of Elijah, the Bible says. He will also come again in our time, to fulfill this revelation.)
According to Jesus, Elijah comes twice. (Mat.17:10) And his disciples asked Him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elijah must first come? (11) And he answered and said, Elijah indeed cometh, and shall restore all things: (12) but I say unto you, that Elijah is come already (So He said that Elijah was future and that Elijah had come already.), and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they would. Even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them. (Mat.17:13) Then understood the disciples that He spake unto them of John the Baptist. John the Baptist was Elijah (spiritually), who had come the first time, and now we have another John the Baptist Elijah that is coming. According to Jesus, he is coming twice.
Our text in Matthew 3 is an interesting revelation of a great revival and wave of repentance. We have had revivals, but a revival always starts with repentance, not just questionable signs and wonders. And for wise people, they are not even questionable. John the Baptist preached against such Babylonish hypocrisy as the Saul leadership, which we saw and understood must die before the David leadership could come.
I was talking with a brother one time about the John the Baptist ministry or evangelists in general, about how different they were, in that they generally stuck with the basics. The brother told me that the Lord had been telling him to get back to the basics, and I recognized that was what the Lord had taught me about evangelists or John the Baptist-type ministries. They’re speaking to a people who do not have eyes to see or ears to hear, but through the preaching of repentance God is going to give them eyes and ears. They need to get the basics first in order to come into the Kingdom. The John the Baptists and evangelists both are speaking to people who are not yet fully manifested coming into the Kingdom, and also to apostate ministries, to bring them to repentance. You cannot bring a deep word; in fact, a deep word will just hinder their work.
John the Baptist had a real simple message of repentance, which is more than just crying at an altar. It is changing your mind, turning, going the other way. The Bible says, For godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation, [a repentance] which bringeth no regret: but the sorrow of the world worketh death (2Co.7:10). That means you might repent, but you’ll regret it and go right back where you came from. The sorrow of the world is that way, but real repentance changes a person. It does not matter if you cry or not. Repentance is not necessarily crying; it’s changing your mind enough to where you reject your old way of thinking, which is the main problem.
Another text in Matthew 11 speaks about John the Baptist’s simple ministry, and perhaps he didn’t yet understand a few things. It seems very plain here. (Mat.11:1) And it came to pass when Jesus had finished commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and preach in their cities. (2) Now when John heard in the prison the works of the Christ, he sent by his disciples (3) and said unto him, Art thou he that cometh, or look we for another? Now, why did he say that? It may be that Jesus was not living up to expectations, not that Jesus wasn’t already doing great work. Maybe in John’s eyes He wasn’t living up to the expectations of what they thought the Messiah was going to bring. I’m referring to the religious crowd of his day; they didn’t expect Him to come this way or act this way. John likely had some of that in him because he asked the question through his disciples, “Art thou he that cometh, or look we for another?”
(Mat.11:4) And Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and tell John the things which ye hear and see: (5) the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good tidings preached to them. (6) And blessed is he, whosoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in me. Well, that was a mild reproof for John, to tell John, “You shouldn’t stumble; don’t stumble in Me.” Jesus was the “stone of stumbling” (Romans 9:33) and people did stumble over Jesus. But He warned John not to stumble over Him because there was a big difference between their ministries. John preached repentance and Jesus was an enigmatic teacher of the deep things of God. He had deep revelations of these things. We never had any sign that John ever went beyond the basic preaching of faith and repentance, which is what is needed to prepare the way for the coming of the teaching. People are not even interested in that unless they have changed their mind and turned to God. We hear many times of people who, after repenting and turning to God, ask Him to lead them to truth, and God did that for them. He led them to truth because they had repented and truly became a disciple, but they needed some “food.”
The important thing is that when John is through with you, you’re ready for Jesus. That is what’s coming in our day. When an evangelist is through with you, you’re ready for a teacher. So God is laying the foundation, and He always does a very good job of that. (Mat.11:7) And as these went their way, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with the wind? (8) But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft [raiment]? Behold, they that wear soft [raiment] are in king’s houses. John was not a fancy person at all, was he? He certainly did not eat fancy food. (Mat.11:9) But wherefore went ye out? to see a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is a great prophet. (10) This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, Who shall prepare thy way before thee. As we’ll see a little further down in the text, John was the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, according to Jesus, not because he spoke a lot of great things, but because of the anointing and the preparation and the job that he had to do. Once again, God is choosing a people through whom He is going to do a great work. Many of God’s people are going to turn to God through this ministry, a worldwide ministry.
(Mat.11:11) Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not arisen a greater than John the Baptist: yet he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. In Jesus’ day, John came at the end of the Old Covenant and was an Old Covenant prophet who was, at that time, preparing for a New Covenant; it was the old order preparing for the new order. The old and new orders are slightly different in our day but still have to follow according to the pattern. The old order in our day is the former rain ministry, and I know not many people have even come into that. This is really sad because, if you just read the Bible and pay attention to it, not getting distracted by religion, you cannot help but realize that you’re supposed to be filled with God’s Holy Spirit.
I believe the John the Baptist ministries that are coming in our day are going to fulfill being in the end of an old order, to prepare the way for the coming of a new order, which is the Man-child ministry. The John the Baptist in our day is going to come as the greatest prophet of the former rain and be a great ministry, bringing in multitudes of people. He will have the gifts of the former rain and be a former rain prophet, but the Man-child ministry is coming with the latter rain. That’s the anointing that will fall upon the Man-child. The anointing that fell upon Jesus was the former rain, but the latter rain will fall upon the Man-child. We know that Jesus said He was coming again after two days on the morning of the third day, as the latter rain (Hosea 6:2-3).
So you see, Jesus is coming again, but this time He’s coming as the new order for our day. He came as the new order for His day last time, and He’s coming as the new order this time, as well, but He’s coming after a John the Baptist ministry, which will be the greatest of the old order former rain. We know that the prophecy says that the rain will come, the former rain and the latter rain, in the first [month] (Joe.2:23). We see that there’s a revival coming and it’s going to be a revival of the former rain and the latter rain. The latter rain is going to supersede the former rain, and John the Baptist said just that. (Joh.3:30) He must increase, but I must decrease. In other words, “Don’t get your eyes on me too long, boys, because there is coming One whose shoe latchets, I am not worthy to undo” (John 1:27). So John’s disciples started getting the revelation of Who Jesus was, and they started following Him. John freely admitted that he was not the Messiah, but that the One Who was coming was greater.
(Mat.11:12) And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force. How much more is this going to be true in the coming revival? Why do we have to take the Kingdom by force? Because there is a whole army standing against you, one over which you have been given authority. (Luk.10:19) Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you. He gives us authority, but we have to fight a spiritual warfare to take the Kingdom of Heaven. It has been given, but you still have to take it with your “sword” (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12). When God sent the children of Israel to take the Promised Land, they had to take it with their sword. God said, “You go in there with your sword, and I will be with you.” Basically, that’s where we are today. We have to take the Kingdom with our sword. Why? Because there’s a second heaven before the third Heaven.
We dwell in the first heaven, but the second heaven is filled with the principalities, powers, and world-rulers of darkness (Ephesians 6:12) that do everything they can to keep us from reaching the third Heaven. We don’t take the Kingdom from God; we’re taking it from these spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places] (Eph.6:12). By the way, Paul was a type of the Man-child who entered the third Heaven. He said that he fought the good fight and finished the race (2 Timothy 4:7). We are fighting a fight to take the Kingdom of God, but we must take it here. People think that you don’t enter the Kingdom on Earth, but you do. (Luk.17:20) And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God cometh, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: (21) neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the kingdom of God is within you. So He says, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force (Mat.11:12). Remember the authority that the Lord gave you. You have a right to everything that the Lord says is yours in this Book, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to get it if you don’t take up your sword and fight. For everything that God has given you, you may have to fight. Don’t expect God to just lay it in your hand. You may have to speak faith, act faith, and repent to receive it.
(Luk.17:13) For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. (14) And if ye are willing to receive [it,] this is Elijah, that is to come. (15) He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Praise the Lord! And so it is, we are about to enter into more of the Kingdom than we have ever experienced, or anybody has experienced, except the Lord. We’re going to enter into it right here. And for some people to receive the former rain, repent of their sins, and become true disciples, it’s going to be because of John’s ministry. Then the Man-child ministry shall come, which is the latter rain. During the first 3½ years of Jesus’ ministry, He was the only One Who had the former rain. When He was baptized by John in the river, He came up and the Spirit of God came upon Him; that was the former rain. At the end of His 3½-year ministry, He breathed on His disciples and said, Receive ye the Holy Spirit (Joh.20:22).
Their former rain came out of Jesus and in our day, it’s a perfect parallel because the John the Baptist ministry in our day is going to have the former rain, while the Man-child ministry in whom Jesus lives is going to have the latter rain for the first 3½ years. At the end of that time, they’re going to pass on their mantle to their disciples. Why didn’t the disciples need it during the first 3½ years? It’s because they were being trained under Jesus’ authority. He said that He would send them “another Comforter” (Greek: Paraclete; John 14:16). Jesus was also a Paraclete, meaning “One who stands beside and helps.” But the Holy Spirit was also a Paraclete, and Jesus went away in order to send the Holy Spirit, Who would manifest Him in those disciples.
So for the first 3½ years, Jesus’ disciples were given authority by Him to go and do the things that they would do. They needed the other Paraclete when Jesus left in order to continue with the anointing and the power. Jesus was the only One Who had the former rain for the first 3½ years, but He imparted that mantle to them, as Elijah had done to Elisha (2 Kings 2:13), who turned and faced 42 youths who were mauled by two bears (2 Kings 2:23-24). The bears were the Beast, and the 42 youths represented the 42 months of the last 3½ years. We’re seeing the parallel there of passing on this anointing, this mantle. Elijah passed his mantle to Elisha, who went out and performed more miracles than Elijah ever did. So did the disciples of Jesus; they went out and did greater works than Jesus (John 14:12) because they were multiplied. This was Jesus in all of them, going out and performing the same works that Jesus was doing, so it was multiplied into many greater works.
This is going to be repeated again and the reason this revival is going to spread all over the world is because of a geometric progression, or the “stadium effect” we’ve spoken of before. The stadium effect is a circle inside a circle inside a circle, and each circle that receives the words spoken in the center passes it on to a larger circle. Everyone who receives the Word passes it on to more than one person, creating a progressively larger circle. Geometric progression is going to turn the world upside-down in these coming days, just as it did for these disciples. The Man-child ministry is going to teach under the latter rain for the first 3½ years and will impart that to the disciples, who are going to go on in the second 3½ years to raise up the five-fold ministry (Ephesians 4:11), and so on and so forth.
We saw in Acts 16 that Jesus was still with them in Spirit, just as Moses went halfway through the wilderness and had to put a veil on his face because there was a glorified man underneath. Then Moses went with the Israelites the rest of the way through the wilderness, which represents the last 3½ years of the Tribulation. We know that the wilderness is, according to Revelation 12 and 17, the first and second 3½ years of the Tribulation. So, every Man-child type in Scripture adds more and more detail to the final revelation. Praise God! He’s going to do an awesome miracle, an awesome revival, that will start with John the Baptist and be carried on through Jesus and the Two Witnesses because they’re the ones who were trained by Jesus. He sent them out two-by-two, in every place that He was about to go. Where is He going? The whole world, For as the lightning cometh forth from the east, and is seen even unto the west; so shall be the coming of the Son of man (Mat.24:27). That anointing will be passed from these ministries throughout the Church in this way and Jesus is going to raise up a body in His image. He will raise up the body of Christ.
We have been calling ourselves the body of Christ for a long time, but Jesus lives in the body of Christ, and He ministers from the body of Christ, so we’re going to really see the body of Christ in the earth. Jesus will be famous from here on out. For the last 2000 years, His name has been small among the nations, but not so from here onward. The Lord is going to manifest His glory in this earth and people will fear the name of the Lord. They are either going to love Him or fear Him, but He is coming again, though not in the way the Pharisees and the Sadducees think. He didn’t come the last time the way they thought He would, either. Once again, God has hidden these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes (Mat.11:25). Praise God!
The Lord has a great plan to once again hide these things from the Pharisees and the Sadducees of our day. They will not understand it; they will not believe it; they cannot see Him, and they do not know Him. But, as Jesus said, those who come as a child to the Kingdom of God will do awesome wonders in the power of God, like He did through those ignorant fishermen. They were like babes to the great theologians who looked down on them, but these were the true believers, the true people of God. And in our day, it’s going to be God coming in simplicity through John the Baptist. You couldn’t imagine John the Baptist in a suit and tie in the wilderness, could you? He was a simple man here for a very important purpose, and I will guarantee you that’s exactly what is going to happen. Praise God!
Thank You, Lord, for doing a mighty work. Amen!
The things God has spoken in Matthew are prophetic of something to come in the future. The prophet Isaiah also said the same thing: (Isa.7:14) Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign (The Hebrew word there is uwth, meaning “a sign of something to come.”): behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Jesus’ birth to the virgin Mary was for a sign and we’ve discovered that Jesus’ ministry was a sign of the coming Man-child ministry. When we look in the Gospels, we can also see a prophetic word about the coming days. Our study has reached the part where Jesus was anointed of the Holy Spirit, so we’ll continue there. (Mat.3:16) And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him; (17) and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. This, too, is a prophecy of the things to come. As you know, Jesus spoke to us in John 16 and said that He was going to come again as a baby born to a woman, “a woman when she is in travail” (John 16:21). When we look all the way through the Bible, we come to Revelation 12:2 and there’s the woman in travail with the Man-child.
After the sign that Jesus gave us here in Matthew, we know the Man-child is a corporate body coming forth in our day. It’s interesting that everything that happened in the former rain is going to happen in the latter rain and this Spirit of God falling upon Jesus at this particular time was the outpouring of the former rain of the Holy Spirit that Joel prophesied would restore all things to the people of God (Joel 2:23). The former rain was given to Jesus first, who taught His disciples for 3½ years and then breathed on them, saying, Receive ye the Holy Spirit (Joh.20:22). Ten days later, a mighty, rushing wind came into their presence and baptized all of them in the Holy Spirit and they received the former rain.
But Jesus had it first and was the One Who breathed it on the disciples. Paul said that Jesus is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence (Col.1:18). And He is going to have the preeminence this time, as well. Many people leave Him out of their Manchild theology, but the point is that it is the Lord Who is coming to do this. The Lord came with the former rain, and He is the One coming with the latter rain, although He’s coming in a different body. It is still Him coming to do it. He came in the body of the Son of David, the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15).
I know people want to make that the “seed of God,” but That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (Joh.3:6). Jesus was declared to be of the seed of David according to the flesh (Rom.1:3), but declared [to be] the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness (4). God was the Father of the spiritual man Jesus, the Son of God, Who came from Heaven, and it was Mary’s seed that was the son of David. Jesus said, a body didst thou prepare for me (Heb.10:5), and that body was from man. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Once again, the Lord is going to take on a human body in these days and the body gets no credit; it is the Lord Who gets the credit.
But the Lord is coming to start the latter rain and though you’ve heard this before, I’ll share it with you again briefly. (Hos.6:2) After two days will he revive us: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live before him. (3) And let us know, let us follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is sure as the morning; and he will come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth. “He will come unto us … as the latter rain that watereth the earth.” This is referring to the epiphany of Jesus, not the parousia of Jesus. The parousia is the physical coming of Jesus, but this latter rain is the epiphany of Jesus coming in His body. The first-fruits who are going to receive this blessing are called the Man-child ministry and it’s on the morning of the “third day,” exactly what we see here in the text. It is Jesus who is coming to anoint His people and to, once again, sit upon the throne of David, as Luke 1:32 tells us; Jesus sat upon the throne of David.
The Bible also tells us, by the way, that the Man-child is going to be caught up unto God, and unto his throne (Rev.12:5). A lot of people do not realize that the throne the Man-child is caught up to is not some throne up in Heaven, way out yonder. It’s the Kingdom of Heaven here. The “throne” that Jesus was caught up to is that He was given the throne of David to rule over Israel and He even came in the triumphal procession into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:9; John 12:13), where it was quoted, Behold, thy King cometh … (Mat.21:5; Joh.12:15). Of course, He wasn’t treated like a King, was He? He was a King Who was born of the seed of David and was to sit on David’s throne and rule Israel. The Bible tells us, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king (Jer.23:5), and that David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel (Jer.33:17). So, once again, the Man-child is caught up to the throne, but I want to tell you Who rules on that throne: it is not the Man-child; it is Jesus! Jesus is coming as the latter rain to rule.
Here’s another verse that pertains to this: (2Ch.9:8) Blessed be the Lord thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on his throne, to be king for the Lord thy God. He’s talking about the throne of David. We are still talking about flesh, aren’t we? Who is that Spirit in David? Paul spoke about the Spirit of Christ, which was in the prophets and that Spirit of Christ was pointing toward the suffering of Christ in our day. So, who was in David who manifested that righteousness and goodness? It was Christ. He has always been on the throne; nobody else is going to sit on the throne. Oh, yes, there will be fleshly bodies that rule, just like there are in the Church today. There’s the five-fold ministry that God raised up, and those are now our leaders in the Church. They rule, yet they really only have a gift that comes from the Lord, and it’s the Lord manifested in them to Whom we are submitting. Paul said, Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ (1Co.11:1). In other words, “Follow me as I follow the Lord.”
The latter rain is in complete parallel to the former rain and the Lord is coming to rule in a body, to raise up the whole Church into His Image, the glory of God. (2Co.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. That’s the Gospel! I believe that the Man-child is the first-fruits in our day to reach sun glory. There is “star glory,” there is “moon glory,” and there is “sun glory,” the three glories that Paul spoke about in 1 Corinthians 15:40-41. He said that we grow through each of them in stages to come to maturity in Christ, Who is sun glory
Notice that one of the key words spoken in the verses that we looked at from Hosea 6:3 is “rain.” (Hos.6:3) He will come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth. This “rain” keys in on quite a few verses, especially in the Old Testament. Those verses give us little clues as to what’s going to happen in the latter rain, not only for the Church, but also in the Tribulation, because the latter rain happens in the Tribulation, which is “on the morning of the third day,” the third thousand years from when Jesus came.
Now let’s look at Micah 5. The chapter starts out speaking about Jesus. (Mic.5:2) But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel (that was Jesus); whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. (3) Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she who travaileth hath brought forth (That’s the woman bringing forth the Man-child in Revelation 12. He has given them up, but they are going to come back.): then the residue of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. However, the children of Israel in the New Testament are not those who are circumcised in flesh but circumcised in heart. That’s what Paul tells us in Romans 2:28-29. His brethren are going to come back to the children of Israel, the ones who are grafted into the olive tree. As the Bible tells us, they’re going to be grafted again back into their own olive tree that they were broken off from because of unbelief (Romans 11:23).
This is what He’s referring to right here, but the wonderful thing, the thing that excites me, is this: (Mic.5:4) And he shall stand, and shall feed [his flock] in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God: and they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. This is the Lord coming as the latter rain, at the time that the woman brings forth the Man-child, and it says He is going to feed His flock. That excites me! The Lord is coming, folks! I love to think about His coming. He’s coming to feed us and minister to us. The Lord is angry with the shepherds and what they have done unto His flock, as He tells you all through the Old Testament.
Some key verses that refer to the latter rain begin a little further down. (Mic.5:7) And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples as dew from the Lord, as showers upon the grass (There it is again, “showers upon the grass.”), that tarry not for man, nor wait for the sons of men. Wow! They are not dependent on this world, are they? People who love the latter rain are just carried by it. Without the Spirit of God, it is such a struggle to live and do His work and to minister as He called us to minister. It’s a struggle without the Word of God. He makes it easy. We’re supposed to give Him our burdens (Matthew 11:28-30). It’s Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts (Zec.4:6). It will get done by God’s Spirit. We have now wasted almost 2000 years and made very little progress, as far as Christianity being born in the earth, as Isaiah 26 tells us. In just a very short time, the anointing of God is going to do its work. The Lord Jesus is coming with that anointing to sit once more on the throne of David and rule over His born-again people.
(Mic.5:8) And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples (We are spread throughout the world among the beasts of the field, the Beast being the nations of lost mankind.), as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep; who, if he go through, treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and there is none to deliver. (9) Let thy hand be lifted up above thine adversaries, and let all thine enemies be cut off. He is referring to the Lord here, the Lord in His people. The Lord stands and feeds His flock, and the Lord raises up “seven shepherds, and eight principal men,” or “princes among men,” as stated in Micah 5:5. The seven shepherds are like the apostle John, who was also caught up to the throne as a type of the Man-child, but he gave a revelation of the end time to seven angels, who were then to bring it to the Church. The word “angel” is the same word as “messenger,” and it’s used in the New Testament for not only heavenly-type angels or messengers but also earthly ministers. John is giving his revelation to seven ministers, who go forth to the seven churches. This is what Jesus did. He raised up disciples to go forth to the 12 tribes because He was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. John raised up seven ministers to go forth and bring the message of the end time to the seven churches. Here in this text, we see the same thing. We see the seven princes among men, and the eighth is Jesus in the midst.
We also see here that they are going to be used to bring judgment in the earth, that they will be like a lion and not like lambs. Jesus came as a Lamb and He sent out His sheep to be lambs in the midst of wolves (Luke 10:3), but now He is saying they will be like lions. Not only are they going to bring the Gospel, but they are also going to bring judgment, like the Two Witnesses company brought judgment upon the earth. The Two Witnesses represent the disciples of Jesus because Jesus sent them forth two-by-two, corporately, to the places He was supposed to go, and the same thing is going to happen to the Man-child ministers: they are going to send forth witnesses, two-by-two, and they are going to speak judgments. It is like Revelation 11 on the earth and upon the wicked. No, it’s not going to be like a lamb this time. It’s going to be the Lamb and the Lion this time.
There is judgment coming with the latter rain movement because the end is near. All nations are going to persecute the saints, but God is not going to leave them defenseless. He is raising up a Man-child ministry, who is raising up a Two Witness ministry, which is raising up a five-fold ministry. Remember the disciples that Jesus sent out ordained a five-fold ministry to lead and guide the Church. This is what we’re referring to that will happen again in our day. The Spirit that is upon Jesus, the mantle that is upon Him, He put upon His disciples, and they put it upon the five-fold ministry, and so on. This same thing is going to happen. The anointing that is upon Jesus coming as the latter rain is going to be put upon His disciples, etc. This anointing is the latter rain. It’s the power of the Holy Spirit.
There’s another way that God speaks about coming judgment. (Rev.6:1) And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals (the first seal), and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, Come. (2) And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon had a bow; and there was given unto him a crown (this is the crown of David): and he came forth conquering, and to conquer. Notice that he had a bow but no arrows, and this is the first judgment. I have shared before that this is not really referring to the Antichrist, nor literally Christ. It’s referring to the Man-child ministry, which is coming with judgment. Moses was the Man-child ministry in his day and he loosed all of the “horses” of judgment in his day. All of them followed his ministry. All of the judgments that fell upon Egypt came right out of Moses’ mouth, and this is the same thing that’s about to happen, according to type and shadow. The Man-child is the first judgment and because of his ministry, all those other horse judgments and the other seals are loosed upon the earth. This white horse rider is none other than the Lord in His Man-child.
We can see the same thing here: (Zec.10:1) Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain (We need to be praying for that now because it is very near.), [even of] the Lord that maketh lightnings; and he will give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field. There are ‘the showers’ on the grass again. Peter said, All flesh is as grass (1Pe.1:24), and yet, the Lord said that He was going to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh (Acts 2:17). That refers to the Church because that is “all flesh,” men and women out of all nations. He is pouring out His rain upon the “grass of the field,” which Jesus said was the world (Matthew 13:38). This gives you the timing that we are talking about in the latter rain; this is a prophecy of our time. If we go back one chapter, we read, For I have bent Judah for me, I have filled the bow with Ephraim (Zec.9:13). What does Judah represent? Well, Jerusalem the Bride came from Judah, and David was from Jerusalem, and David ruled over the Bride in Jerusalem over the rest of Israel. He says, “I have filled the bow with Ephraim,” and the name “Ephraim” means “the fullness of nations.” That refers to what we just studied in Revelation; it’s a different parable, but it means the same thing. A remnant of Jacob or Israel was going to be used by God and was going to receive the anointing of the Man-child through the seven shepherds, who went to the churches, etc.
So how is this going to spread all over the world in just seven short years? It will be like a geometric progression, starting with a 144,000-member Man-child, first-fruits people with an anointing. And that anointing is nothing to belittle; look at the miracles that Jesus did. And then consider the miracles that Jesus is going to do because The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former (Hag.2:9). The miracles of the Man-child through the Two Witnesses, through the five-fold ministry, and through the Church will spread very quickly. God is doing a quick work here, for the Lord will execute [his] word upon the earth, finishing it and cutting it short (Rom.9:28) in righteousness. He will fill His bow with Ephraim. Notice also that the Man-child who rode upon the white horse had a bow, but he did not have any arrows. He had already sent forth His arrows.
The Bible says that our children are our arrows. (Psa.127:4) As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, So are the children of youth. Jesus called His disciples “children” (John 21:5) and He sent them forth. He drew the bow and sent them forth as His arrows to bring His anointed, His works, and His ministry all around the world. The exact same thing is going to happen again. (Zec.9:13) For I have bent Judah for me, I have filled the bow with Ephraim; and I will stir up thy sons, O Zion (the Bride), against thy sons, O Greece (the Beast at that particular time), and will make thee as the sword of a mighty man. Anytime one of the Beasts (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, Rome, etc.) is mentioned in the Bible, it’s a type and a shadow of the end time. Well, He says He would stir up sons, so there’s a war preparing to happen here.
Let’s see what He says about this white horse rider. (Zec.10:1) Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain, [even of] the Lord that maketh lightnings; and he will give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field. (2) For the teraphim have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie; and they have told false dreams, they comfort in vain. He’s referring to the ministry that is there when the Man-child comes. It’s the same as the ministry that was there when Jesus came. They were into a lot of falsehood – a lot of false prophets, false shepherds – and they had dealt corruptly. The Lord was judging them, but He did not judge them like He is about to judge this time because it is the Lion who is coming this time. (Zec.10:2) For the teraphim have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie; and they have told false dreams, they comfort in vain: therefore they go their way like sheep, they are afflicted, because there is no shepherd. Remember, the Lord is mourning because there is not a shepherd in Israel. They are like sheep scattered without a shepherd. Of course, they had shepherds, but God was not calling them “shepherds” and that’s the problem. So the Lord sent His Own right arm, the Lord Jesus.
(Zec.10:3) Mine anger is kindled against the shepherds, and I will punish the he-goats; for the Lord of hosts hath visited his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them as his goodly horse in the battle. You know, all those horses in Revelation 6 represent the harnessing of the flesh to do work. They were all judgments, but God was using different flesh to bring each kind of judgment. The kind of flesh that the Man-child is riding here is talking about Judah. David’s authority was first received by the Bride because the capital city was Zion, which represents the Bride, and David was king in Zion.
The house of Judah will be “his goodly horse in the battle.” (Zec.10:4) From him shall come forth the corner-stone (which we know has happened), from him the nail (which we also know has happened), from him the battle bow … (And we know that happened. He sent forth Judah and Ephraim as the arrows. Judah is once again going to be in leadership, including the Lord Himself, Who is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. They will raise up the whole Church and that’s what Ephraim represents as the “fullness of nations.”), from him every ruler together. (Zec.10:5) And they shall be as mighty men, treading down [their enemies] in the mire of the streets in the battle … A lot of people do not know the authority God has given His people, especially in a time when grace is being taken from some. There is going to come a time during the Tribulation period when nobody else will repent. In fact, God will turn away from the Gentiles and He will turn to the remnant of the Jews that He is going to bring in, like He said He was going to do, back in Romans 11.
Once again, this white horse rider is going to bring judgment in the earth, like Moses did with the judgments he brought. (Zec.10:5) And they shall be as mighty men, treading down [their enemies] in the mire of the streets in the battle; and they shall fight, because the Lord is with them … That’s another meaning of “Immanuel.” Remember the sign that the woman would conceive and bring forth a son and they would call His name “Immanuel,” meaning “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14)? Once again, “God is with us” because the Man-child is going to be born to the woman and God is going to be with us again. This is not saying that men will be God. It’s saying that God is coming to do His works.
If that offends anyone out there listening, the Bible says through Paul, Or know ye not as to your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you? unless indeed ye be reprobate (2Co.13:5). To the extent that you are bearing the fruit of Jesus, 30-, 60- and 100-fold, as in the Parable of the Sower, to that extent Jesus lives in you. We’re just talking about Him coming in maturity in some people first in order to lead the rest into the same maturity. It’s still Jesus, and He is still the Son of God. He is still God. (Zec.10:5) And they shall be as mighty men, treading down [their enemies] in the mire of the streets in the battle; and they shall fight, because the Lord is with them; and the riders on horses shall be confounded. Now, what is this referring to? God is leading the horsemen, yes, but they don’t have any effect upon God’s people. If you remember, in the Exodus, the judgments that fell upon Egypt, God separated His people in Goshen from those judgments (Exodus 8:22). So the riders on horses will be confounded in one aspect and that is concerning God’s people because they are under the Passover; they are not under the curse.
(Zec.10:6) And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them back (Back from where? Bring them back from Babylon, back from bondage. They were the first ones to come out of bondage and build the city of God.); for I have mercy upon them; and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the Lord their God, and I will hear them. (7) And [they of] Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine; yea, their children shall see it, and rejoice; their heart shall be glad in the Lord. This is talking about a great revival, folks. (8) I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them; and they shall increase as they have increased. (9) And I will sow them among the peoples; and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and shall return.
They will return from their bondage to the beastly nations to the one holy nation, which Peter said we are; the one holy nation that Peter said we belong to. They’re going to return to Zion. That is not referring to geography because Zion is all over the earth now. The Davids are going to be all over the earth now. It’s only in Spirit that this is true. (Zec.10:10) I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and [place] shall not be found for them. This is talking about a great revival and I want to remind you of what time He’s referring to. It says, Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain (Zec.10:1). When is the latter rain? It’s on the morning of the third day (Hosea 6:2-3), which is where we are now, the third millennium after Christ. This is all a type and shadow, and God has hidden it for us to help us understand that this latter rain is going to come with judgment.
We have keyed in on this part about the showers, about the latter rain falling upon the grass and the fields, all through the verses that we’re looking at, and here is a similar one: (Psa.72:6) He will come down like rain upon the mown grass (it’s saying that the Lord is coming), As showers that water the earth. There is our key verse that helps us understand that this chapter is talking about the latter rain. Now let’s go back to the beginning verse. (Psa.72:1) Give the king thy judgments, O God (What king is he referring to? He’s referring to the King David of our day.), And thy righteousness unto the king’s son. Praise the Lord! (Psa.72:2) He will judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with justice. (3) The mountains shall bring peace to the people, And the hills, in righteousness. The mountains and hills represent righteousness, living above the world, and overcoming the world.
The Man-child’s ministry is to resettle Israel; it’s to bring back the people who were taken away to bondage and to resettle the mountains of Israel, as it says so many times in the Scriptures. And, especially, it’s to resettle the mountain, the capital city mountain, which is Mount Zion. This represents living above the world. (Psa.72:4) He will judge the poor of the people, He will save the children of the needy (Again, this is referring to the Lord, Who is coming as the latter rain. He is going to do this.), And will break in pieces the oppressor. This is very interesting; this is the judgment we studied by the Lion and by the white horse rider.
(Psa.72:5) They shall fear thee while the sun endureth, And so long as the moon, throughout all generations. That is the 60- and the 100-fold glory, isn’t it? (7) In his days shall the righteous flourish (I tell you; God’s people are going to grow up fast under the teaching of the Lord Himself. He’s coming to bring the teaching, and He’s coming to give us His mantle. In other words, He is passing on the gift of the power of the Holy Spirit of the latter rain.), And abundance of peace, till the moon be no more. (Isa.30:26) Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be seven-fold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the hurt of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound. That’s talking about His people maturing, about people who are “moon glory” growing up into “sun glory” and people who are “sun glory” manifesting seven-fold. It’s the maturity of God’s people growing up. And it’s all going to be because of the latter rain, the teaching of the Lord bringing back the restoration of the teaching of the Word of God, and true shepherds leading God’s people. Praise God!
(Psa.72:8) He shall have dominion also from sea to sea (That may be a type and shadow of something that Israel never did. They never did take the Promised Land.), And from the River (which was the Great Sea) unto the ends of the earth. Israel never did take that land. A lot of the land that their enemies are squatting on right now, including parts of Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon, really belongs to Israel but they never have taken it. Read the first chapter of Joshua and you will see. But He says here that the people are going to take their land, and I think this is a type and shadow of that. Who is “the land”? Hebrews 6 tells us that we are the land that drinks the rain that comes upon it to bring forth fruit for the One who sows it (Hebrews 6:7). We are that land. In other words, the old man has ruled in this land, but now it appears that the Lord is going to rule. The old man is going to be driven out.
(Psa.72:9) They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; And his enemies shall lick the dust. There are a lot of people called “Christians” who are not going to go into the wilderness. They are going to live with the Beast because that is actually who they are; they are members of the Beast. You can tell by their walking after the mind of the flesh and doing the works of the flesh (Romans 8) that they are members of the Beast. But those who go into the wilderness with the Lord and learn how to live by faith and trust in Him, and submit to the throne of David, are going to be blessed. (Psa.72:10) The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall render tribute: The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. They did offer gifts, you know. In Matthew 2:11 they offered gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the Man-child Jesus. Once again, gifts are going to be coming to the ministry of the Man-child. No doubt they will be very useful. In fact, He speaks a little further down about receiving gold, and we’ll get to that shortly.
(Psa.72:11) Yea, all kings shall fall down before him; All nations shall serve him. This is true. The Lord Jesus conquered something when He came as the sign. He conquered the Beast in His people. He conquered the Beast that ruled over His people – not the Beast that was ruling in the world, but the Beast that was ruling over His people – the flesh. People wanted to see how He was going to rule as King, but He was a King Who caused His people to come out of bondage to the flesh. He conquered the Beast that ruled over them. And the Roman government? In a way, He conquered that, too. Jesus spoke a judgment in Matthew 24 that destroyed the Harlot first and then the Beast, in 70 A.D. And here He’s saying, “Yea, all kings shall fall down before him; all nations shall serve him.” You know, all nations are serving the Lord; everything serves the Lord. (Pro.16:4) The Lord hath made everything for its own end; Yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. Everything serves the Lord. Even the wicked serve the Lord. The wicked have the purpose of bringing God’s stubborn, rebellious people to their cross.
(Psa.72:12) For he will deliver the needy when he crieth, And the poor, that hath no helper. (13) He will have pity on the poor and needy, and the souls of the needy he will save. Praise the Lord! How many times do the prophecies about the coming of Jesus have to do with the poor and the needy? He is always saving the poor and needy. The rich have no need for God; their money is their God. Very few of those people who are proud and in control in this world, very few of those people who have position in this world, will ever come to God (1 Corinthians 1:26). Most of them have to become needy before they will come to God.
(Psa.72:14) He will redeem their soul from oppression and violence; And precious will their blood be in his sight: (15) And they shall live; and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: And men shall pray for him continually; They shall bless him all the day long. Amen. So, gold is something that we become; it’s not just something that we use. (Rev.3:18) I counsel thee to buy of me gold refined by fire. He was talking about the worth of the spiritual life, the life of Christ in us, about the value of the spiritual life in us.
(Psa.72:16) There shall be abundance of grain in the earth upon the top of the mountains (Praise the Lord! The world is going to suffer greatly. There is going to be famine and judgment, but the Lord says through the Apostle Paul, my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory (Php.4:19). There is a people who are going to escape the judgments of Egypt in the wilderness and be provided for, just as He said a little earlier. And upon the mountaintops, which are the high places of God, we see that:); The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: And they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. Drinking in the rain! He is pouring out His Spirit upon all flesh! What city do you think He is talking about? I think He is talking about the capital city, Zion. (Psa.72:17) His name shall endure for ever; His name shall be continued as long as the sun: And men shall be blessed in him (This is the Lord coming “as the latter rain that watereth the earth.”); All nations shall call him happy. (Psa.72:18) Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who only doeth wondrous things: (19) And blessed be his glorious name for ever; And let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen, and Amen. This is so true! O praise You, Lord! Thank You.
Let’s read in Deuteronomy where it refers to the former and the latter rain. (Deu.11:11) But the land, whither ye go over to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, [and] drinketh water of the rain of heaven. This is the rain, or the outpouring of Heaven, spoken of in Hebrews. (Heb.6:4) For as touching those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit (that was the former rain), (5) and tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the age to come (God’s children are going to be tasting all of these things in the days of the latter rain.), (Heb.6:6) and [then] fell away, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh (Why? Because as they walk after their flesh, they are crucifying their spiritual man, Who is “Christ in you,” as Colossians 1:27 says.
So, they’re crucifying “to themselves the Son of God afresh.” The Son of God lives in you.), and put Him to an open shame. (Heb.6:7) For the land (He is calling these people “the land.”) which hath drunk the rain (the rain of the Holy Spirit) that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them for whose sake it is also tilled (The Bible says, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns (Jer.4:3), and, Sow to yourselves in righteous, reap according to kindness; break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you (Hos.10:12), receiveth blessing from God: (Heb.6:8) but if it beareth thorns and thistles, it is rejected, and nigh unto a curse; whose end is to be burned. He’s talking about those people who bear fruit and those people who do not.
Now we can return to Deuteronomy. (Deu.11:11) But the land, whither ye go over to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, [and] drinketh water of the rain of heaven, (12) a land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year. (13) And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, (14) that I will give the rain of your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy grain, and thy new wine, and thine oil.
In other words, the land is bearing fruit because of the former rain and the latter rain. The former rain came at a time when the lost sheep of the house of Israel were coming to the end of their covenant, and now the latter rain is coming when the lost sheep of the house of Israel are coming to the end of our covenant, and now I’m talking about the Church. There is a great falling away in the Church, which the Lord is coming to restore. He came to restore the former falling away by the former rain, and now He is coming to restore the latter falling away by the latter rain. Praise God! And we’re going to have the same opportunity that the first house of Israel had. Many religious people are going to be offended with this ministry, and judgment is going to fall on them swiftly, the Bible says. There is going to be less mercy poured out today because not only is the Manchild ministry going forth as lambs, they are going forth as lions. And the wolves among the sheep are going to be judged. Praise God!
But the land is going to bear its fruit. (Deu.11:15) And I will give grass in thy fields for thy cattle, and thou shalt eat and be full. (16) Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; (17) and the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and he shut up the heavens, so that there shall be no rain, and the land shall not yield its fruit; and ye perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord giveth you. This is the warning, and then He gives the solution. (Deu.11:18) Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul; and ye shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes (or on your forehead). This is talking about the mark of God that the first-fruits company is going to have.
(Rev.14:1) And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads. And just a few verses before, He talked about the mark of the Beast. (Rev.13:16) And he causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead. So there’s a mark of God and a mark of the Beast. The people who are receiving the latter rain are going to be empowered by the Lord Himself – His anointing and His mantle, are going to fall upon them. They’re going to walk as Jesus walked, with the name, which means the nature, character and authority of the Lord in their forehead. But the rest are going to fall away.
A lot of people who are called “Christians” are going to take the mark of the Beast and be reprobated from the Kingdom, just exactly as happened in Jesus’ day. I don’t know if you have ever read John 6:66, but it says Upon this many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him (Joh.6:66), referring to Jesus, because His Word was too hard for them. He wanted them to eat His body and drink His blood (John 6:53-58) and they were being rebellious. We are to eat our Passover in these days, so that there is a Passover for us. We partake of this Word, just like it’s saying here, when we “lay up these my words.” Jesus was the Word made flesh. We eat His flesh and drink His blood, which is His nature.
The nature of humanity is passed on to you from your parents through the blood, yet now we’ve been given the blood of the Lamb, and now we belong to Him. We are His kindred, so because of the blood of Jesus, because of the latter rain and because of the new ministry He’s raising up to lead us, we’re going to grow very quickly. There is going to be much fruit, and a great revival is going to happen in the Tribulation period. The land is going to yield its fruit to us. Praise be to God!
The Lord loves the land of Israel, but He is talking about us. He is talking about the New Testament spiritual Israel, which is born from above. Glory be to God! It’s a great day! Lots of good things are about to come. Yes, hard things are going to come, too, but they are coming to put the fear of the Lord in His people so that they will come to Him. (Ecc.1:9) That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
So we just give thanks unto You, Father. We ask You to do a quick work in our lives. We ask You to draw us quickly to run after You. We ask You to prepare us for this Tribulation that is coming. We thank You so much, Lord, for sending the help that we need now. Lord, we rest in You; we enter into the rest; we trust in Your promises and put our faith totally in You, Lord. We know that You are going to carry us. We know that You are going to bless and empower us. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Thursday Apr 03, 2025
Thursday Apr 03, 2025
Return of the Man-Child (5)
David Eells – 4/2/25
We’ve been exploring what it means that everything that happened in the Gospels and in the Book of Acts is going to happen again, except it will be on a worldwide scale, and the cast of characters will be multiplied. So we’ve been looking at the characters to see what they will do in their corporate bodies in our day. We need prayer.
Father, in the name of Jesus, we ask You to be with us this day, to open our understanding, to lead us, to guide us, to give words of wisdom and knowledge that will reveal Your Will to us. Thank You so much, Father. You are our guide, our wisdom, and we thank You so much for leading us in this Bible study. Amen
Let’s back up to where we left off. We saw that Herod, as a type of the Beast, was attempting to destroy the Man-child and actually did murder many “man-children” in Bethlehem (which means “the house of food”). We also saw that, as a type and shadow, the Lord told us, A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; And she would not be comforted because they are not (Mat.2:18). When we were looking at the text in Jeremiah 31:15-20, the words “they are not” did not mean physical death. It meant spiritual death because Rachel’s children had been taken into Babylonish captivity. They were in bondage to the Beast, and they were not serving God but serving the Beast. The Beast was their head and ruler; it was ruling over them. (Rom.8:13) For if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. So spiritual death is definitely what is being pointed out here in this text. There was no physical death involved in the original text of Jeremiah. It’s very interesting that, in all of our lives, the Beast has to die. If it does not die, we are not free to follow the Lord.
The very next two verses give us more clues. (Mat.2:19) But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, (20) Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead that sought the young child’s life. Notice again the word “they,” meaning more than one person. That may point to the fact that Herod represents in our day a corporate body, but we know from this that Jesus was ready to come out of His wilderness and start His ministry when Herod, the Beast who ruled, was dead. I believe that’s a type and shadow for us in our day.
It goes on to say, And he arose and took the young child (Note that He is still being called a “young child,” the same as He was called when the wise men came.) and his mother, and came into the land of Israel (Mat.2:21). He had to come out of His wilderness to do that. He came from Egypt, a type of the world, through the Sinai Peninsula and the wilderness there, and into the land of Israel. And Jesus was coming out of His wilderness from Chapter 4:1 on down, where He came from His personal wilderness to His ministry. This may be the exact same type. We noticed that Moses, David, and Jesus all had a perfect parallel.
(Mat.2:22) But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither; and being warned [of God] in a dream, he withdrew into the parts of Galilee, (23) and came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets, that he should be called a Nazarene. This is rather interesting. We’ve seen many revelations about a baby being born in a type of the Man-child, yet the baby was born very mature and alert and grew up very quickly. We’ve seen quite a few of those and I think we see in this text that this is true. It refers to a “young child” in verse 21, and it’s still talking about that young child for the next two verses.
But immediately following this, it says, And in those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea (Mat.3:1). That’s intriguing; what happened to all those years in between? John the Baptist was only six months older than Jesus, so in Matthew 3:1, Jesus had to be almost 30 years old. You could not start your public ministry to the congregation until you were 30. That was the law. The text jumps from Jesus as a young child all the way to “in those days” with John the Baptist starting his ministry at age 30, and it makes you think, “Well, that Man-child must have grown-up very quickly.” Do you suppose this was a type and shadow of what is going to happen in our day? That the Man-child will be birthed and then immediately be caught up to the throne? In Revelation 12:5, the baby was born and then he was caught up to the throne of God; then he was leading the woman through the wilderness, which appears pretty fast. Clearly, God is shortening the time span that it takes because we don’t have a lot of time for Jesus in the Man-child to grow up.
At any rate, John the Baptist’s ministry was very short, starting when he was 30 years old. Six months later, Jesus was anointed to preach the Isaiah 61 anointing message, and He was 30 years old, so Matthew 3 is actually between when John the Baptist began his ministry and when Jesus began His. (Mat.3:1) And in those days cometh John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, saying, (2) Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. That was proven by the great signs and wonders that God did in the midst of them, to show them that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. In other words, the Kingdom where God rules and where He reigns over the curse, over the devil, and over the flesh was at hand. It’s obvious where the Kingdom of God rules because He does signs and wonders.
John the Baptist had a relatively simple ministry, which was the preaching of repentance. It did not seem that he ever went into much deep doctrine. He preached, “turning from your sins,” yet he had a very anointed ministry and he was, according to Jesus, the greatest of the Old Testament teachers “born of women” (Matthew 11:7). Jesus also said he that is but little in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he (Mat.11:11), meaning John the Baptist was the greatest of the old order ministers before the former rain came. Jesus came with the former rain, and that brought the Kingdom. So John was the greatest born of women up until that time.
I believe that we have just such a corporate body of preachers coming right now, who will probably be considered the greatest from among the former rain, before the latter rain comes, because now the former rain is the old order and we’re coming to the latter rain. Some of you are seeing this program down the road, and all this is history, but at the point we are now, this revival is starting with the John the Baptist ministry and is yet to happen. We’re on the very brink of it, and it is going to be a corporate body of people around the world who are coming to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. (Mat.3:3) For this is he that was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ye ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight. Obviously, without repentance, you cannot do that. If you want the Lord to live in you, it will not happen without repentance. John the Baptist was preparing hearts to receive the Lord Jesus and to receive the Man-child in our day. History is repeating.
(Mat.3:4) Now John himself had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey. (5) Then went out unto him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about the Jordan. This sounds like a great revival, doesn’t it? I did learn that “all” was not all because the Lord said that the Pharisees and the Sadducees rejected for themselves the counsel of John, being not baptized of him (Luk.7:30). So “all” here means all of the elect, not all of the people. The Jews understood that very well because they believed in election. They believed that they were the elect people, the “chosen” (which is the same word, eklektos), people of God, and that God did not choose anyone outside of them.
Well, it’s still the same today. (Mat.22:14) For many are called, but few chosen. God does call “many” unto Him, but not all are called, and of those whom He calls, He still chooses only those who bear fruit. The first thing people need is repentance, and I believe that we will see this preaching of repentance through some very anointed men of God, men who have the former rain anointing. And it’s going to start a great revival, as in this passage where you see people coming out of their “churches” and going into the wilderness to meet John. (Mat.3:6) And they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. That’s a good sign of repentance, when people confess their sins. Every great revival starts out that way, and a great anointing falls on people to be grieved over their sinfulness and to repent and confess their sins.
(Mat.3:7) But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said unto them, Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? John was very hard on their preachers, wasn’t he? That got him in a lot of trouble – and Jesus, as well. No doubt that the same exact thing is going to happen in our day because the leadership of the churches has been leading them astray for a long, long time. (Mat.3:8) Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance: (9) and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. Notice that it says we are to bring forth fruits. It hasn’t been very long since I was confronted by a preacher who told me that he had repented of various abominable things that he was doing. He said that he had gone to God and asked God to forgive him, and he was forgiven. I said, “Well, that’s fine, but that’s not repentance because repentance is changing, and you’re still in the middle of a crime spree.” So you have to change your mind because that’s what “repentance” means; it means “to turn and go the other way.” That preacher didn’t know what repentance was because he was not doing it. That’s what John is saying here: “Bring forth fruit worthy of repentance.” There has to be fruit of repentance.
There has to be fruit showing in your actions that you are changing your mind, and John demanded that, even of these religious leaders. Obviously, some of them put on a show for the people. (Mat.3:10) And even now the axe lieth at the root of the trees … Amen! That was true in John’s ministry, and it will be true in ministries today, that the axe is at the root of the trees. By Matthew 13, Jesus was saying that those religious leaders were reprobated, saying, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but unto them it is not given (Mat.13:11); and that He had blinded their eyes (Matthew 13:13). (Mat.3:10) And even now the axe lieth at the root of the trees: every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
(Mat.3:11) I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and [in] fire. And Jesus did just that; He brought the baptism of the Holy Spirit and was the first one of the former rain to receive, according to type, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In fact, He received it in the verses immediately following these that we’re studying. (Mat.3:12) Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor (The fan was used to blow away the chaff, which was useless, and to leave the heavier grain, which is the fruit that God was after.); and he will gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire. The chaff represents the old man, the carnal man, the fiery trials that we go through to burn up the old man and leave nothing but the spiritual man. Notice that John preached to “make His paths straight” and here Jesus is cleansing the people.
There is a text that speaks of this differently. (Mal.3:1) Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to his temple (That represented Jesus, but it also represents the Manchild because this is a repetition of history. The word “temple” here means His body. (Heb.10:5) A body didst thou prepare for me.); and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye desire, behold, he cometh, saith the Lord of hosts. (Mal.3:2) But who can abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire (That is the fire to burn up the chaff.), and like fullers’ soap: (3) and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi. Remember, the sons of Levi were the only ones who did not bow to the golden calf, the image of the Beast. They were the true ministers of the sanctuary.
He also said that He had called us to be a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6), so really all of God’s true people are priests because we have an offering of fire to bring forth and we present our bodies as a living sacrifice on that altar of the fiery trial. That is the crucified life. That is what Jesus called taking up your cross and following Him, for you to be His disciple (Matthew 16:24). (Mal.3:3) And he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer unto the Lord offerings in righteousness. (4) Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years. For our day, He’s talking about New Testament spiritual Judah and Israel and the New Jerusalem.
(Mal.3:5) And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the sojourner [from his right,] and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. God is going to judge quickly those hanging around His people who are walking in their sinfulness. He will be very protective of His holy Church in these days with Ananias and Sapphira-like judgments on people trying to sneak in, acting as though they are Christians while they are not. So far, it’s been difficult to keep that from happening, but the Lord says that He will put an end to it. Praise God! He is going to have a holy Church.
(Mat.3:13) Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. (14) But John would have hindered him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? (15) But Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer [it] now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffereth him. Obviously, we need to be baptized, or put to death, by the washing of the water of the Word (Ephesians 5:26), a crucifixion of the old man, which is what it’s all about. It behooves us to do this. Jesus went through this before He came to His anointing, which is very important. (Mat.3:16) And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him; (17) and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Jesus was baptized in the Spirit here; He was anointed in order to start His ministry.
And we’re also told this in (Luk.1:31) Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. (32) He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: (33) and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. So Jesus came to be anointed to take David’s throne. That’s what this anointing was about; it was the king’s anointing. All the kings received this anointing when they took their position. Right after Jesus was filled with the Spirit and before going into His wilderness, it says, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor (Luk.4:18). Jesus was 30 years old when this happened. This anointing of the Spirit started His public ministry and goes right along with history.
Joseph was 30 years old, according to Genesis 41:46, when he stood before Pharaoh and received the kingdom, and David was 30 years old when he began his ministry, which is very interesting. All these types of the Man-child were 30 years old. (2Sa.5:3) So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the Lord: and they anointed David king over Israel. (4) David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. Forty is the number of tribulation. (5) In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months; and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah. Jesus came to sit on David’s throne. Jesus was anointed King of kings and He reigned over the true tribes of Israel. The apostate tribes did not recognize Him, but the true tribes did. Those who were born of God recognized Him immediately. He merely walked by His disciples and said, “Come, follow Me,” and they dropped their nets, left their business, left everything, and walked after Him. Now that’s a strong calling! They just followed Him.
Well, what was the first thing that David did after he was anointed? (2Sa.5:6) And the king and his men went to Jerusalem … It wasn’t called Jerusalem then. (1Ch.11:4) And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (the same is Jebus); and the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, were there. It wasn’t called Jerusalem until they conquered it. (2Sa.5:6) And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites (which means “to trample down” or “trodden under foot”), the inhabitants of the land, who spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither; thinking, David cannot come in hither. Jerusalem had to be conquered before it could be called Jerusalem, before it could be Zion. It was in the hands of the pagans, in the hands of the old man, the Jebusite. We know from Revelation that Jerusalem is the Bride, but she did not start out as the Bride; she started out as a pagan, as an unbeliever, and was converted and became the Bride. Jerusalem, before David conquered it, was Jebus.
David’s job was to take Jerusalem, to show his men how to conquer and take Jerusalem. With the coming of the Man-child ministry, which is also a Davidic ministry, the first thing that’s going to happen is that they’ll be conquering Jebus. They’re going to raise up Jerusalem again – not old Jerusalem; they’re going to raise up New Jerusalem. Paul spoke about it in Hebrews 12, but then there was a great falling away, and this place represented holiness, the place of safety, the Bride. It represented the only place the Beast could not conquer, and it represented the Philadelphia church because it was the only one that escaped the hour of trial from the Beast kingdom. Here, we see that the Jebusites were telling David, “You’d better get rid of the blind and the lame, or you can’t come here.” In other words, nobody who is blind and lame can take Zion. It represents the Bride, who is not blind and lame. She is spotless and blemishless because she has overcome some things, especially being lame, which represents being crippled or not being able to walk right with the Lord. And she has overcome being blind, which represents not being able to see, understand, or discern the truths of God.
So they said, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither; thinking, David cannot come in hither (2Sa.5:6). You know, some people do not think it’s possible and, in fact, there are a lot of preachers right now who are saying that it’s not possible for you to be an overcomer. They say that you just have to settle for being “a sinner saved by grace.” The old man does not think that it’s possible for you to conquer him and have this place become Zion, the holy city. (2Sa.5:7) Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David. (8) And David said on that day, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites, let him get up to the watercourse, and [smite] the lame and the blind, that are hated of David’s soul … The lame and the blind represent the apostates. Of course, the Jebusite represents the old man, and David and his men represent the spiritual man who must conquer Zion. We’ve been called to do that, and David is telling them that the way to do it is to “get up to the watercourse and smite the lame and the blind.” Put to death the old apostasy in your life. Two rivers fed Jerusalem, and David’s men used those rivers to get into Jerusalem.
The place of the watercourses was where the water drained out of Jerusalem, akin to the sewer system. Instead of scaling the walls, they could go up the sewer. They probably smelled pretty bad by the time they got in there to take their sword and go to work, but that’s what he was saying. Though most of this was probably river water, they still had to go against the current that was coming out of Jebus, so they were “going against the flow,” so to speak. And that’s the way it is with us. Everything we do is contrary to the world: what they think is the right way, we think is the wrong way; what they think is up, we think is down. If we humble ourselves, God will exalt us. At any rate, David was teaching them that the way to conquer the city and the lame and the blind was through the water. (2Sa.5:8) … Wherefore they say, There are the blind and the lame; he cannot come into the house.
(2Sa.5:9) And David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward. He is talking about the ramparts of Jerusalem, so David built Jerusalem. He was the one who started building the “New Jerusalem” at that point. Jesus was doing the same thing. What Paul described with, ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb.12:22) … and to the spirits of just men made perfect (23), was what Jesus was building. I’ve shared with you a revelation the Lord gave me many years ago, where He showed me the tower in the midst of what was depicted as the New Jerusalem and He was giving it to me, revealing to me that my ministry was to build this tower. I found that Micah 4:8 spoke of Jerusalem as “the tower of the flock,” and it was the kind of tower that they actually built in those days in the midst of those cities to preserve them from invading beast armies. Jerusalem was just that; it was a place of safety where, if beasts invaded, whether from Babylon or Assyria, the people could flee into the broad walls and be protected.
David was building the tower of the flock here. (2Sa.5:10) And David waxed greater and greater; for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him. I have found this language referring to only two people in the Scriptures, where it says, “waxed greater and greater.” It spoke of David, and it spoke of Mordecai, whose name means “little man” or “man-child.” Mordecai was the same type as David; both of them were the Man-child. Mordecai’s job was to raise up the Bride, Esther, and save the people of God from the Beast, Haman. Basically, this is the same thing that David did. He raised up the Bride, Jerusalem, and defended the people from one of the Beasts, the Philistines. David’s first job was to conquer the Jebusites and take their city away.
In thinking about this, I’d like to share with you a revelation we received concerning the same thing. This is Pamela Orr’s revelation, and she received it in January 2010. My notes are in parentheses.
In a dream, I was in a house that is safe and secure. I have no desire or plans to leave this house. (Pamela is a part of our broader UBM Fellowship safe-house, but also, I believe that this is referring to Zion, and she had no plans to leave.) To my amazement, though, there are people leaving. … I’m given to know that there are many who do not return. (This is necessary because the sons of perdition and the Jezebels and the rest of the tares who have come in amongst God’s people cannot be a part of this Zion, as I will show you shortly. The only people who entered Zion were the ones who conquered the lame and the blind, and it became Zion, the holy city, because they were the only people there. The Jebusites were driven out. The carnal Jebusites are leaving Jebus so that it may become Zion. They’re being conquered. Zion is the Bride. Praise the Lord!
I remember her brother Mark Fritz, who is a part of our fellowship, asked the Lord when he first met us about the church he was currently attending. God answered that it was Pergamum, which was the third church of Revelation that was caught up in the Nicolaitan error. So Mark asked the Lord about UBM, and the Lord said, “The sixth church.” So he counted and found out that the sixth church was the Philadelphia church, which is the Bride, the one that escapes the hour of trial under the dominion of the Beast, and the name means “the love of the brethren.”)
There are locks on this house, a whole row of them, probably seven or more, but I didn’t count them. (This is a very secure place, like Zion, which was called “the stronghold of Zion.” We’re all supposed to be climbing Mount Zion to enter into the presence of the King. The throne is on Mount Zion; the Temple is on Mount Zion; His presence is there.) These locks are high up in the wall. We can’t touch them or tamper with them; they are a fixture of the house. (The key to enter is high up with God. It is not with man.) Some, if not all, of these locks are specific to profiles. For example, there is the ‘age 18-and-over’ lock. I’m given to know that when a certain lock turns over, then no one fitting this profile will ever again be allowed to enter the house. (I thought about that and felt that the Lord was saying that God gives more grace to the immature and innocent. He does not impute iniquity to them, but the further they go in their walk, the more they are held accountable. (Luk.12:48) to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required, so when people become accountable and they do not walk in their accountability, then they will be out of there. They will not have a position in that house.)
As I watch these locks turn, as if of their own accord, I realize that when the final lock has been turned, no one else will be allowed to enter. (That’s the way it is with spiritual Zion, folks. Many years ago, I saw in a vision our ministry starting in Pensacola as a Zion, the Tower of the Flock, the Bride. I know that this is going on around the world with people who are desiring earnestly to be obedient to the Scriptures, live the crucified life before their Lord, and walk in the grace of God. (Mic.4:8) And thou, O tower of the flock, the hill of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, yea, the former dominion shall come … When David took Jebus and it became the stronghold of Zion, the City of David, that was their stronghold. That was where the dominion started, right there. It said the former dominion was going to return to Zion, the Tower of the Flock, the Kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem. Note that the former dominion is not going to return to Jerusalem, but it’s going to return to the daughter of Jerusalem or, in other words, to New Jerusalem. God is once again, in our day, going to raise up a David who will raise up Zion once more as the stronghold, the Bride.)
(In this New Jerusalem Zion, the wicked were not allowed, as Scripture says. (Isa.52:1) Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion (So it is coming to its former dominion.); put on thy beautiful garments (These garments are righteousness, purity and holiness.), O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. A New Jerusalem is started that does not allow any of the wicked. You can only do that with a spiritual city. In any physical city, you’re going to have all kinds of people there, some of them good, some of them bad. But in this spiritual city, there will not be anybody unclean. That’s what these locks are all about; they’re to find out who is walking in purity and to keep out the rest. As I said, with knowledge comes responsibility, so the further you go, the more that’s expected of you. When David first became king as a type of the Man-child, he taught his overcomers how to take the stronghold of Jebus from the Jebusites, representing the old man. Then Jebus became Zion, the City of David, a type of the Bride following the Man-child at the beginning of the Tribulation.)
(Father is cleaning house and will keep the evil ones out of His safe-house. Praise the Lord! As John said, He that hath the bride is the bridegroom (Joh.3:29). Soon, many, by their own evil nature, will not want to associate with the righteous for fear of alienating their Beast associations. God is separating here, and He is going to make His heavenly Zion a place where only the righteous will want to go. They will have had to conquer the lame and the blind to get there. They will have had to overcome. David’s mighty men were sent by David to take Zion, and they took it. Jesus did the same thing with the disciples He raised up, who were His mighty men. Praise God!)
Speaking of entering this safe-house, people are entering. (The righteous are entering because they are the only ones who can come into this safe-house, the New Jerusalem.) Others are trying to enter, but the “bad guys” don’t seem to make it past the door. (Praise the Lord! That is awesome. This is just like Ananias and Sapphira; they tried to enter, but God took them out.) And each bad guy gets done-in by the next bad guy. The bad guys get progressively worse, too. (2 Timothy 3 speaks about how bad the Church is going to get in our day. Verses 1 through 6 are pretty rough, and then it says, But evil men and impostors (KJV: “seducers”) shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived (2Ti.3:13). This is true in the Church today because that’s what he was referring to. He wasn’t talking about the world.) The second-to-last bad guy is sort of a handicapped or perverted or dwarflike individual with short little legs like tree trunks. (Here is a perverted dwarf. I see one thing here, spiritually speaking: those who do not measure up to the stature of the fruit of Christ are not going to be permitted in Zion.)
This is where it gets awful. The final bad guy (the Beast) begins to compress, squeeze, or fold this dwarf-like individual until he murders him. (Spiritually speaking, those who have not yet experienced the crucified life will have help from the Beast to go to their cross and to manifest death-to-self. Those who do not measure up will need crucifixion in the world. How do we grow up into Christ? Jesus said, He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it (Mat.10:39). You do not gain your life unless you lose your life, so growing up is a matter of the crucified life. If we do not accept it, we cannot grow up. If we do not accept it, we cannot put away the blindness and the lameness and cannot expect to go into Zion. Remember, we are told, for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean (Isa.52:1).) The evil nature of this final bad guy was beyond description. (That is the Beast.) I can only say that I could almost feel this individual’s sick joy and satisfaction in pressing the life out of the other poor sucker. (She is talking about the apostate Christians, I believe. Many of the apostate Christians are going to be saved because of the crucifixion that the Lord puts them in. His fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing-floor; and … the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire (Mat.3:12), but He will have something in the midst of that which will be holy and precious.)
(Not everyone will be sanctified. Some people just get worse in tribulation. One thing that helps people to be able to come to Zion in the midst of tribulation is to know what God is doing. He is doing something for them. He is putting to death their old flesh, which cannot enter the Kingdom. By the Word of God, you learn how to cooperate with God, and then you see that this is a victory, not a failure. If the Church receives a lot of this prosperity doctrine and they do not believe that they are ever going to go through anything, any trouble, any tribulation, then these things come upon them as a shock, and they think that God has forsaken them. They are tempted to fall, and many do. So there has to be knowledge for the people to understand that God is doing a good thing with them and that they need to go through this, that they’re privileged to go through this, and that they can have eternal life in the Kingdom. That’s what the Man-child is coming to do; that’s what Jesus came to do. Spiritually speaking, that’s what David was doing. He was teaching men how to overcome the blind and the lame, teaching them how to take Jebus.) Even though I was horrified and sickened at the depravity, I was still safe in the (UBM) house. (Praise the Lord! Because God has a safe-house. He really does! I know that many people think that this is heresy, but that’s not true. God has His safe-house.)
This same story is in 1 Chronicles. (1Ch.11:4) And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem (the same is Jebus); and the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, were there. (5) And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come in hither. Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion; the same is the city of David. (6) And David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and was made chief. (7) And David dwelt in the stronghold; therefore they called it the city of David. (8) And he built the city round about, from Millo even round about; and Joab repaired the rest of the city. (9) And David waxed greater and greater; for the Lord of hosts was with him.
Yes, and what was the next thing David did? He brought the Ark of the Covenant. (1Ch.13:3) And let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we sought not unto it in the days of Saul. The Israelites had been following after the flesh of Saul. That’s why they got destroyed, and that’s why Saul died. But David said, “No, we have to follow the Ark of the Covenant.” (1Ch.15:1) And [David] made him houses in the city of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent. The word for “tent” is the same word for “tabernacle.” (2) Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites … Absolutely! Who else can carry the presence of God but the priests of God who have offered their bodies as living sacrifices? They are the ones who are holy; they are the ones who are the temple of God.
If you read further, it says, And they brought in the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it (1Ch.16:1). We know that God said He was going to raise up again this tabernacle. (Act.15:14) Symeon hath rehearsed how first God visited the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. (15) And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, (16) After these things I will return, And I will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen; And I will build again the ruins thereof, And I will set it up: (17) That the residue of men may seek after the Lord, And all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called. So now we’re talking about raising up a tabernacle of David, which represents the portable temple, for the wilderness, but also the portable temple of the Church. Once again, we see that there is a David coming for the Church, and that’s the Lord Jesus Himself, Who is the Son of David, Who was sitting upon His throne.
But the Bible also says, David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel (Jer.33:17). There is a body in whom the Lord Jesus comes. The Son of Man came in the son of David 2000 years ago, and the Son of Man is coming in a spiritual Son of David today, a corporate Body called the Man-child ministry. Jesus is going to minister to His people, to raise up, once again, the Bride, the New Jerusalem. “He that hath the bride is the bridegroom,” as John said when he pointed at Jesus. He will raise up the Bride, the New Jerusalem, which is protected from the Assyrian Beast. When the Beast tried to conquer Jerusalem, God killed 185,000 of them and they left it alone (2 Kings 19:35). Folks, I tell you, the same thing is going to happen again. God is going to protect His Bride.
For instance, in the Book of Esther, there was the Bride, and there were also the people who were threatened by the Beast. Haman, the Beast, had been given authority to destroy the people of God (Esther 2:10-11), but Mordecai and Esther had been given authority to save the people of God (Esther 8:8). There were two contrary commands given, but they have their purpose and that is to make us decide whom we are going to serve, the Lord or the Beast.
Rachel’s children fell into captivity of the Beast, and they were counted as dead, like the parable in Matthew 2:18, of the children of Bethlehem. It physically happened, but it was also a parable of things to come. In our day, many people are going to follow the Beast. They will take the mark of the Beast, which is a sign of his ownership, and these people will die. They will not bear the fruit of the Man-child, as Jesus did. Once again, we see that God is just going to repeat history, and Matthew 2 is going to be fulfilled, as well as Matthew 3. All the types of the Man-child are running in perfect parallel. Joseph was 30 years old, Jesus was 30 years old and David was 30 years old when they started their ministries, and they basically had the same job to do. It was shown in a slightly different parable each time, but it was the same job to be done.
Now the Man-child ministry is spiritually going to be 30 and it’s going to start by building the New Jerusalem. Praise be to God! First, however, the Jebusites have to lose their grip and be conquered. And we need to know how to conquer this old man so that we can scale the heights of the City of God, the mountain of His holiness, and enter into His Presence. That is what the Word will do, and that is what the new anointed leadership is going to do for us. They are to teach us how to cooperate with God’s work in our lives and be happy about it. Let’s face it: if you don’t know what God is doing, you’re not happy about it. As soon as you get revelation, you can enjoy going through tribulation because you know that the Lord is getting you ready for His Kingdom, the manifestation of eternal life. Praise God!
Father, we thank You, in Jesus’ name. Please open our eyes and make us joyful in cooperating with You in this process of sanctification, in becoming that holy, spotless, and blemishless Bride that You always wanted. Thank You, Father, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Sunday Mar 30, 2025
Sunday Mar 30, 2025
Jesus Is The Way -
Humility To Glory (5)
David Eells – 3/30/25
I’m going to continue with our study on Jesus is the Way – Humility to Glory and talk with you today about who and what is blessed of God and what it truly means to be blessed.
Father, in the Name of Jesus, we ask that You open our understanding. Help us, Lord, to retain the things that You say to us. We need the Holy Spirit to bring to our remembrance everything, Lord, to protect us, to guide us, and to give us wisdom in the days to come. We hold fast to that promise because we need so much, Lord, that Your Spirit will bring these things to our remembrance again. Thank You, Lord, for blessing our minds. We know that our minds were created to be much more useful than they have been under the curse. We also know that according to Galatians 3:13, Jesus bore the curse for us and, therefore, Lord, we know that You’re working to restore our minds today. We thank You for that, Lord. Father, we want to understand what Jesus did for us. We want to be able to exercise faith in Your Will. And in order to know Your Will, we need to have knowledge, Lord, so we ask You to open our knowledge and give us understanding, in Jesus’ Name. Thank You, Father! Praise You, God!
Now some people may be wondering, “David, what does that word ‘blessed’ actually mean? What is it to be ‘blessed?’” So let’s go first to Deuteronomy 28 because the first 14 verses speak of that, and we can translate these into what they mean for us in our day.
(Deu.28:1) And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God (“Hearken” there is the Hebrew shama meaning “to hear and obey.” Not just be hearers of the Word but be doers of the Word {James 1:22}.), to observe to do all his commandments which I command thee this day (We know that the Lord has given us commandments in our Covenant, too. We need to be diligent to study them and obey them, and we know that by faith, God’s Grace gives us power to do just that.), that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth. This not talking about our physical nation where we live; this is talking about our spiritual nation. We are the nation of Israel. We who have been born again and believe in the sacrifice of Christ, according to Romans 11, have been grafted into the olive tree called “all Israel.” So we are Israel, not physical Israel, but spiritual Israel.
(Deu.28:2) And all these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. (3) Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. (4) Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy beasts, the increase of thy cattle, and the young of thy flock. (5) Blessed shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough. That was very important to them in those days, and this could translate into a few different things for us today, but basically, this was their livelihood and their food.
(Deu.28:6) Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. (So whether you’re coming or whether you’re going, meaning just about everywhere you are, you’re going to be blessed.) (7) The Lord will cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thee… Now, we know that our enemies are both natural and spiritual, and Paul tells us this in (Eph.6:12) For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places]. The Lord has promised us victory if we will “hearken” diligently unto His Voice, meaning if we will keep His commandments.
(Deu.28:7) The Lord will cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thee: they shall come out against thee one way, and shall flee before thee seven ways. In the midst of the trial, “hearken” unto the Word. Accept the good report, and the devil won’t know what to do with you, and neither will your physical enemies (Numbers 13:30). Our physical enemies come against us as persecutions and a matter of crucifixion, so the best thing to do is lay down your life. Stop trying to save yourself by man’s methods. Put your trust in the Lord and “hearken diligently” unto His Word.
(Deu.28:8) The Lord will command the blessing upon thee in thy barns, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto; and he will bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. (9) The Lord will establish thee for a holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee; if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. (10) And all the peoples of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee. Wow! That certainly doesn’t sound anything like Psalm 2, where we are told all the nations are going to come against God and against His people. Let’s look at that.
(Psa.2:1) Why do the nations rage, And the peoples meditate a vain thing? (2) The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord, and against his anointed, [saying,] (3) Let us break their bonds asunder, And cast away their cords from us. And it’s a far cry from what Jesus said in (Mat.24:9) Then shall they deliver you up unto tribulation, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all the nations for my name's sake. Instead, the Lord says the nations will fear you if you hearken unto His Voice.
(Deu.28:11) And the Lord will make thee plenteous for good, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee. (12) The Lord will open unto thee his good treasure the heavens, to give the rain of thy land in its season, and to bless all the work of thy hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. That’s certainly contrary to what a majority of people believe about the Will of the Lord nowadays: “thou shalt not borrow.” The Lord says you’ll lend, but you won’t borrow, and that’s part of the blessing, saints. If you hearken unto His Voice and believe what He says, He will provide your needs.
(Deu.28:13) And the Lord will make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou shalt hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do [them,] (14) and shalt not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. “Other gods” there is the word elohim, and many, many people today choose to follow another “Jesus” of their own making.
Paul complained about that even back in his day, didn’t he? (2Co.11:3) But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ. (4) For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we did not preach, [or] if ye receive a different spirit, which ye did not receive, or a different gospel, which ye did not accept, ye do well to bear with [him]. And if we follow after something other than the commands of God, He’s not making any promises about blessing here. The blessing comes from our finding the Will of God in the Word and then walking in it through faith.
So who is it that receives the blessing of God? Let me remind you of the text we were studying last time in Matthew 5. (Mat.5:1) And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain: and when he had sat down, his disciples came unto him: (2) and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying … (4) Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Evidently, the people who are obedient “to the Lord thy God,” who do His Will, and seek to be submissive to His commandments, are a people that mourn. Now how could that be? In what way is mourning righteous and just? The thought that comes to my mind is that the first thing we need to mourn about is our own life. As David said, “I will not be satisfied until I awake in thy likeness” (Psalm 17:15). The first thing we have to mourn about is not manifesting the Life of Christ.
James also speaks about this. (Jas.4:6) But he giveth more grace. Wherefore [the scripture] saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble. Grace is all we need to walk with the Lord. We’ve learned that grace is His favor in our life; His favor makes us able. He’s putting in us the desires that we need and giving us the power that we need. Grace is all we need, and God says He gives it to the humble.
(Jas.4:7) Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (8) Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. (9) Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. (10) Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall exalt you. In whatever ways the Lord reveals to us that we’re walking contrary to His commandments, that we’re not hearkening unto His Voice, that we’re not representing Jesus Christ to the world as true Christians, we have something to mourn about. And it should be grievous to us to not walk in His Steps because that’s what it is to “abide in Christ” (1 John 2:27- 28; 2 John 1:9; etc.). It should be grievous to us to be anything contrary to the Will of God.
Of course, repentance always precedes faith. Faith alone won’t overcome our own lack of repentance, and repentance is what mourning is all about. However, after we mourn what the Lord shows us about ourselves, we need to be careful not to spend too much time in condemnation. We confess our sin to the Lord, He forgives us, and then He cleanses us from it. (1 John 1:9) We need to go from there to faith. We need to reckon ourselves to be dead unto sin but alive unto God (Romans 6:11). So you repent and you mourn because of what the Lord shows you in your life, but He doesn’t reveal everything all at once, or He would overwhelm us with grief. Thank God, it’s “line upon line; here a little, there a little” (Isaiah 28:10). Otherwise, we probably would never come to faith because we would be overcome with condemnation. So He’s very merciful. He leads us through our promised land to conquer one enemy at a time.
This reminds me of a vision my wife received in which she and her sister were standing underneath an apple tree, and worms were hanging out of the apples, just eating away at them. So my sister-in-law got a can of pesticide spray and started broadcasting it over the whole tree, but my wife said, “No, that won’t work.” She took the can from her sister and told her, “This is how you do it.” She sprayed each one of those worms in the mouth, and as she did that, she realized that they were all little serpents, not worms. And, of course, that’s what we have to do. We attack these things one at a time as the Lord shows them to us, and the first thing we have to change is our mouth as we’re told in (Rom.10:10) for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. We have to put that wickedness to death. We have to use the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17).
And what does God promise us if we humble ourselves in His sight, if we cleanse our hands and are afflicted and mourn concerning this problem, and turn our laughter into mourning? He says that He will exalt you. Humbling ourselves is the first step. Yes, we can be grieved over other people’s sins, and there’s a place for that, but first, we need to get the board out of our own eye, so we can see clearly to get the mote out of our brother’s eye (Matthew 7:3-5; Luke 6:41-42). Certainly, we can cry out to the Lord to give us the grace to humble ourselves, because working in us to will and to do of His good pleasure is something that comes from Him, too (Philippians 2:13). It’s not a case of picking ourselves up by our bootstraps. We’re not deceiving God by mourning over something that we don’t feel. He knows if our repentance is sincere or not. The Lord wants to give us a conviction of sin. He wants to put that mourning in our hearts concerning sin. He wants us to hate sin as He hates sin (Psalms 1:5,5:5-6; Romans 1:29- 32; etc.)
Needless to say, there is a place of mourning because of the persecutions and the tribulations that come upon us through the wicked people around us. Jesus told us in (Luk.6:21) Blessed [are] ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed [are] ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. (22) Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you [from their company,] and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. We don’t see that as a blessing, but it’s listed here as one of God’s blessings because when we’re hated of the world, that means we’re loved of God. If we weep because of what we’re giving up in the natural, because of persecutions that we’re suffering and enduring for Christ’s sake, persecutions that we endure because of the crucified life, this is good. The Lord is going to bless us for this.
Going on, He says (Luk.6:23) Rejoice in that day, and leap [for joy]: for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the same manner did their fathers unto the prophets. (Luk.6:24) But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. (25) Woe unto you, ye that are full now! for ye shall hunger. Woe [unto you,] ye that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. It’s better to weep and mourn now, while the world is rejoicing, while the world’s been given the high hand, so to speak.
We’re heading into a time when, other than the judgments that are falling upon them, the world is going to think they have everything going their way. They will be given authority over the saints to bring them to their crosses. You and I are going to be hated; we’re going to be ostracized. They will cast out our names as evil, and God says we can certainly mourn over that, but He also says to rejoice because your names are written in the Lamb’s book of life (Luke 10:20; Revelation 20:12,15; etc.) and your reward is great in the Kingdom of Heaven. Hallelujah!
(Luk.6:26) Woe [unto you,] when all men shall speak well of you! for in the same manner did their fathers to the false prophets. There is a time coming of much weeping and mourning, but He also commanded us in the midst of that to rejoice and leap for joy because, when the world hates you, that means God loves you. You’re on His side, and you’re on your way to His Kingdom. When we’re loved of the world, and we love the world, then we’re departing from God.
Let’s look at another good example of what God considers to be righteous mourning. (2Pe.2:6) And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, having made them an example unto those that should live ungodly (God’s judgment is coming upon the wicked, but, at the same time, He will save those who are His.); (7) and delivered righteous Lot, sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked… If we’re not grieved by and mourning over the wicked life of the people around us, it’s because we don’t have the conviction of God in our hearts. The Lord Jesus wept over Jerusalem. (Luk.19:41) And when he drew nigh, he saw the city and wept over it, (42) saying, If thou hadst known in this day, even thou, the things which belong unto peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. He was grieved at the hardness of heart in the people to not receive His Words from the Father.
It’s right for us to be grieved because of the people around us who won’t listen, won’t submit to God, and who won’t be convicted of sin, just as Lot was “sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked.” “Lasciviousness” is their license to “unbridled sensuality and excess.” Basically, it’s their license to do what they want to do, and even among Christians, this is common. Their doctrines that promote lasciviousness and permit a person to live any way they want to live while still thinking that they are a disciple of Christ and are going to heaven are common. This is a strong delusion among major portions of Christianity, and it’s just not the Truth. It’s a deception that comes to people who are living after their own lusts and being bribed by self-will to please their flesh. Lot was sore distressed seeing this in the people around him, and we should be grieved today over people who call themselves “Christians” yet who walk in this way with the Lord.
(2Pe.2:7) And delivered righteous Lot, sore distressed by the lascivious life of the wicked (8) (for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed [his] righteous soul from day to day with [their] lawless deeds): (9) the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment… That is so true! People wonder why they’re living under a curse, and it’s because they have turned the grace of God into lasciviousness (Jude 1:4).
They’re living the way they want to live, and they’re paying the penalty for their unrighteousness because the blessings come upon the people that “hearken to,” that “hear and obey,” the “voice of the Lord thy God.” The blessings come upon the people who are diligent to keep His commandments. This should be highly motivating for us to get into the Word to find out what the Will of God is and come out from under the curse. Yet, sadly, multitudes of people have insulated themselves with lascivious doctrines that permit them to live the way they want.
We know that Jesus wasn’t talking about what we loosely call “Christians”; He was talking about “disciples,” which means “learners and followers.” We need to lead people into discipleship, but if they desire to live in the lusts of their flesh, they will believe and promote these flesh-pleasing doctrines. And I tell you, the “Lots” in this world will be grieved. They will mourn. They will be distressed over these kinds of things. The text says that it “vexed [his] righteous soul,” but the Greek basanizó translated as “vexed” is actually “tormented, tortured.” It tormented Lot’s soul to see the “lascivious life of the wicked.”
The lasciviousness being spoken about here is not referring to the wicked because we know that’s how the wicked live. It’s talking about those who are promoting the lifestyle among Christians, and the rest of the text agrees with that. (2Pe.2:9) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment; (10) but chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise dominion… The Numeric Bible states the word here for “dominion” is “lordship.” These people “that walk after the flesh” despise anybody ruling over their lives. They just want to do what they want to do, which is why they despise dominion, whether it be the dominion of those whom God has sent to be leaders or the dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. They would rather make up their own mind about what the Scripture says and their own “Jesus” that smiles upon their lifestyle.
(2Pe.2:10) But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of defilement, and despise dominion. Daring, self-willed, they tremble not to rail at dignities: (11) whereas angels, though greater in might and power, bring not a railing judgment against them before the Lord. These self-righteous people, here, are the ones that are going to persecute the saints. They’re self-righteous in their religion, and they rail at people who are dignities. The Greek word dóksa, translated there as “dignities,” actually means “glories; majesties; brightness.”
And who are the glories being spoken of here? (2Co.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. As we manifest Christ to a greater and greater degree, we grow from glory to glory: from star glory to moon glory, to sun glory. Paul pointed out the three different bodies that are given to the people who manifest the different glories (1 Corinthians 15:35-49). We grow into these glories, and the closer you get to Christ and manifest His life, the more that religious people will rail at you and come against you. But remember this: the fact that some people hate you is a good sign, and the Lord says to “leap for joy.”
(2Pe.2:12) But these, as creatures without reason, born mere animals to be taken and destroyed, railing in matters whereof they are ignorant, shall in their destroying surely be destroyed, (13) suffering wrong as the hire of wrong-doing; [men] that count it pleasure to revel in the day-time, spots and blemishes, revelling in their deceivings while they feast with you… Some people are actually trying to deceive us. They’re “pretend Christians.” They live in the world because they love the world, but they like to “talk the talk” when they’re among Christians. They’re sons of perdition hidden in the midst (John 17:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:3) whom the Lord is going to reveal for what they truly are.
And they love the hire of wrong-doing because they’ve been bribed by their flesh, which they love to please. (2Pe.2:13) Suffering wrong as the hire of wrong-doing; [men] that count it pleasure to revel in the day-time, spots and blemishes, revelling in their deceivings while they feast with you; (14) having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; enticing unstedfast souls; having a heart exercised in covetousness; children of cursing; (15) forsaking the right way (We can see here that he’s talking about people who profess Christianity.), they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the [son] of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing… Yes, just as Balaam did, these people love the pay, love the advantage gained by wrong-doing.
So, whom did Jesus cry over? It was God’s people because they wouldn’t come to Him (Luke 19:41). He grieved over them, saying, (Luk.13:34) O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen [gathereth] her own brood under her wings, and ye would not! Much of our grief, too, is for Christians. It’s for lost loved ones that we’ve prayed for to come into the Kingdom. It’s like the grief that Lot felt about the people being led astray around him. If we have a holy heart and we are seeking to be pleasing unto the Lord, then we will be convicted by the Word of God, and we will feel the same thing.
(2Pe.2:15) Forsaking the right way they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the [son] of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing; (16) but he was rebuked for his own transgression: a dumb ass spake with man's voice and stayed the madness of the prophet. (17) These are springs without water, and mists driven by a storm; for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved. (18) For, uttering great swelling [words] of vanity, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by lasciviousness, those who are just escaping from them that live in error… That’s very true. Many so-called “pastors” preach wonderful words, but they’re enticing people with lascivious doctrines. They’re full of greed for tithes and offerings, but they’re just filling churches with tares, as Peter says. (2Pe.2:3) And in covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose sentence now from of old lingereth not, and their destruction slumbereth not.
We’ve studied and taught a lot about sanctification. We’ve been given warnings that there is a great falling away coming for those who are enticed away by lasciviousness (2 Thessalonians 2:3; 1 Timothy 4:1). Nothing will be able to stand above the water in the flood that’s coming except for those that are righteous. They are walking with the Lord, and they have grace and faith. Nothing else is going to preserve God’s people in the days to come.
(2Pe.2:18) For, uttering great swelling [words] of vanity, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by lasciviousness, those who are just escaping from them that live in error; (19) promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he also brought into bondage. Multitudes of Christians are in bondage in Babylon! They may think that, through their knowledge of Christ, they’ve come out of the world and they’ve escaped the corruption in the world, but in reality, they’ve just been brought into bondage again with something that is not Christianity.
(2Pe.2:20) For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first. When people come back into bondage and they stay there, they become worse than the people in the world. They still walk in wickedness, yet they justify themselves because now they’re self-righteous. They have knowledge but they’re rejecting that knowledge. They’re worse in God’s eyes than the people in the world, and they’re going to suffer greatly.
(2Pe.2:21) For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it (So these people have knowledge.), to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them. When somebody has knowledge and yet they continue to do the things that are contrary to that knowledge, they’re a deceiver. We just read, “their deceivings while they feast with you” (2 Peter 2:12). These people are deceivers, and the Bible says, (Jas.4:17) To him therefore that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
(2Pe.2:22) It has happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog turning to his own vomit again, and the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire. This is heartbreaking! Great judgments are coming to the nations soon, and it’s going to take away multitudes of people who consider themselves to be Christian. And because they don’t have the mark of God, multitudes of Christians are going to take the mark of the beast.
(Rev.13:16) And he causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead; (17) and that no man should be able to buy or to sell, save he that hath the mark, [even] the name of the beast or the number of his name. (18) Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man: and his number is Six hundred and sixty and six. However, we also see the people that have the mark of God in (Rev.14:1) And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads.
Ezekiel also talks about God judging who is righteous and who is not righteous, based on whether they mourned and were grieved over the ungodliness that they saw around them. Let’s look at that text first. (Eze.9:4) And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof. Again, we see this is not talking about the sin in the world, but the sin in the church. And the people that are marked in the forehead because they “sigh and cry over all the abominations,” are the people that are going to escape the wrath of God, the judgment of God, that’s coming.
Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8 repeatedly mention the “abomination” and the “desolation,” all leading up to chapter 9 and the mark of God. In chapter 8, we even see the image of the beast. And notice, when we read these chapters, how we don’t find the theology that we hear in Christianity nowadays. In every case, the “abomination of desolation” described is God’s people walking in the flesh in the Temple. They are the flesh man, and they are the beast ruling in the Temple of God. This is what God calls an “abomination.” And what does He give them for that? Desolation. The holy people of God grieve for them; they grieve for these people who walk abominably before the Lord.
(Eze.8:1) And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth [month]… Notice that these chapters are leading up to a time that’s identified with six-six, and in the next chapter, six men come with their slaughter weapons in hand. That’s six-six-six. And what does this identify? It identifies the end time, the time of the beast, the time of the abomination of desolation (Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14). Now remember, in the New Testament there is no temple made with hands that God is interested in or concerned about being holy (Job 4:19; Matthew 26:61; Mark 14:58; etc.) It’s the Temple “made without hands” that God requires and expects to be holy (Acts 7:48; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Hebrews 9:11; etc.), and this is the only temple that can have an abomination of desolation.
Only the Temple of the Body of Christ can have an abomination that “maketh desolate,” because every other temple out there is desolate. God has departed from them. He will never again dwell in temples made with hands, and so they are desolate (Acts 17:24). But we are the New Testament temple; we can become desolate, “twice dead, plucked up by the roots” (Jude 1:12). That’s the temple we need to be concerned about.
Paul told us, (Php.2:12) So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; (13) for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure. And Peter exhorted, (2Pe.1:10) Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble: (11) for thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It should be the Lord Jesus Christ Who lives in us and Who manifests His holy Life in us.
Returning to our text in Ezekiel, God asks him (Eze.8:6) … Son of man, seest thou what they do? (All throughout these texts, it’s always “what they do” and that’s the abomination.) even the great abominations that the house of Israel do commit here (So the “beast” in the Temple is the corporate body of these people that walk in the flesh and are in rebellion against God.), that I should go far off from my sanctuary? (Or, in other words, “leave it desolate.”) but thou shalt again see yet other great abominations. (7) And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall.
(8) Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold, a door. (9) And he said unto me, Go in, and see the wicked abominations that they do here. (10) So I went in and saw; and behold, every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts… This is just as Solomon said in (Ecc.3:18) … It is because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts.
Peter was given the same revelation. (Acts 10:11) And he (This is Peter.) beholdeth the heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending, as it were a great sheet, let down by four corners upon the earth: (12) wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts and creeping things of the earth and birds of the heaven. (13) And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill and eat. (14) But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common and unclean. (15) And a voice [came] unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, make not thou common. Then Peter was given the understanding that God was speaking to him of the Gentiles, because all lost people are beasts, and so he preached the Gospel to Cornelius and his family (Acts 10:34-48). So we can see clearly from these texts that the “abominable beasts” in the Temple of God are these people who walk in the flesh.
Back to (Eze.8:10) So I went in and saw; and behold, every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about. (11) And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel; and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, every man with his censer in his hand… Those 70 men are the Sanhedrin. They were the corporate body of the false prophet that ruled over the people of God in Jesus’ day, and God calls this the “abomination.” (12) Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his chambers of imagery? (There’s the image of the beast in the Temple.) for they say, the Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the land. (13) He said also unto me, Thou shalt again see yet other great abominations which they do. Again, notice there is no individual man.
There is a corporate body committing these abominations that make desolate, and that body is not only the priests; it’s also the people. (Eze.8:14) Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house which was toward the north; and behold, there sat the women weeping for Tammuz. (Tammuz was a false “Jesus” worshiped by Babylon. God is saying that in the midst of the Temple are those who worship “another Jesus” {2 Corinthians 11:4; Galatians 1:6}.) (15) Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen [this,] O son of man? thou shalt again see yet greater abominations than these. Well, this chapter goes on to speak of abomination after abomination, all committed by the people of God in rebellion against the worship of the true God. In their idolatry, they were creating gods after their own liking and in their own image.
(Eze.9:1) Then he cried in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause ye them that have charge over the city to draw near, every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. (2) And behold, six men… That’s the third six. This represents the beast, and all throughout history, the Lord has given the beast charge over God’s people when they were in rebellion. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome each had authority over God’s people in their day. Today we have a revival of Rome and, just as the Lord gave those earlier beasts authority over His people, He is going to do that again because the beast is in the Temple and there has to come a desolation.
In 70A.D. God brought the Roman armies into Jerusalem to slaughter those who hadn’t already slaughtered each other. Multitudes of the Jews were so full of the beast that they were killing each other off, and when the Romans came into Jerusalem, they just finished the job. [Editor’s Note: Referenced from The Works of Josephus, translated by William Whiston, Hendrickson Publishers, 1987.] But, once again, it was the corporate body of the wicked in the Temple that was an abomination to God, and so He destroyed both them and their Temple.
(Eze.9:2) And behold, six men came from the way of the upper gate, which lieth toward the north, every man with his slaughter weapon in his hand… The Hebrew word for “slaughter weapon” is also translated “battle-ax,” and who does God call His “battle-ax”? Let’s look at that. (Isa.10:5) Ho Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, the staff in whose hand is mine indignation! (6) I will send him against a profane nation (This is Israel.), and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. (7) Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations not a few… (Well, the Assyrian beast thought this was their great idea to plunder Israel, but God says, “No, no, I put it in their hearts,” and He called these people His “ax.”) (15) Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith?… The Assyrians thought it was by their own might, but God says, “No, I gave you the strength to do this, and I sent you against these vain, abominable people, to judge them and bring them to their cross and, hopefully, to repentance.”
Truly, we’re going to see a repetition of history come upon us in our day, although people with their lascivious doctrines teach that this is something which is only going to happen to little Israel far away from them. They refuse to understand that Christians are New Testament spiritual Israel. They are blind to the corporate beast body coming upon Christianity.
(Eze.9:2) And behold, six men; and one man in the midst of them clothed in linen… I believe this is Jesus in the Man-child. Revelation 12 tells us the man-child ministry is coming in the end times, and it’s coming again like Moses, like Jesus, to show God’s people the correct way. What the Man-child teaches is going to separate the sheep from the goats. It’s going to define who is going to be judged and who is not going to be judged.
(Eze.9:2) And behold, six men; and one man in the midst of them clothed in linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side. And they went in, and stood beside the brazen altar. (3) And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon it was, to the threshold of the house: and he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writer's inkhorn by his side. (4) And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem (So notice that He is not bringing judgment upon the world. He’s bringing judgment upon God’s house, upon those who profess to be His people.), and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry over all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof. Does it grieve you that God’s people have been so led astray, so deceived by their leadership, and so lured into sin by their own self-will? Now listen, nobody can be deceived by another man if they don’t first have a lust to live in that way and accept these false and lascivious doctrines.
People are going to be self-deluded and self-deceived because, just like Balaam, they love the hire of wrong-doing. They love to please their old flesh. And they’re being bribed by the flesh to accept a doctrine, a teaching, a lifestyle that is permitting the old man to live. Saints, we’re here to live the crucified life (Matthew 10:38; Mark 8:34; Luke 14:27; Hebrews 13:13), and if we don’t lose our life, we won’t gain our life (Matthew 16:26; Luke 9:25).
(Eze.9:5) And to the others he said in my hearing, Go ye through the city after him, and smite… He is speaking to the beast here, the six men. Six is the number of the beast, and six is the number of man. In fact, the sixth chapter of the sixth verse of the sixth book in the New Testament talks about the old man. (Rom.6:6) Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with [him,] that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin.
(Eze.9:5) And to the others he said in my hearing, Go ye through the city after him, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity; (6) slay utterly the old man, the young man and the virgin, and little children and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark … Now the mark being spoken of here is the mark of the Lord, and it identifies those who are members of the body of Christ, just as the mark of the Beast identifies those who are members of the body of the Beast. Jesus said there are only two men in the earth, Christ and anti-Christ (Matthew 24:40; Luke 17:36). The truth is that people love to identify themselves as “Christian”, but these marks will prove in the coming days who really are Christians and who are not.
(Eze.9:6) Slay utterly the old man, the young man and the virgin, and little children and women; but come not near any man upon whom is the mark: and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the old men that were before the house. (In other words, they’ve lived longer, and they know more, so they’re more guilty than anyone else.) (Eze.9:7) And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. Great destruction is coming against Christianity because it doesn’t reflect what was given to us through Jesus Christ. We are to (Jud.1:3) … contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints. The faith of our day won’t count because religion has turned people away, through their own lustful desires, from true discipleship. (1Jn.2:6) He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk even as he walked. “Discipleship” is walking in the Master’s Steps, and that means a disciple studies their Master to walk as He walked.
(Eze.9:7) And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and smote in the city. (Eze.9:8) And it came to pass, while they were smiting, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord God! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy wrath upon Jerusalem? Well, we know this is coming again because it says in (Ecc.1:9) That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. The Israelites were types and shadows of the end time, and a great falling away will happen just as the Bible says (2 Thessalonians 2). And notice this is old Jerusalem receiving judgment. This is the old city and the people that belonged to it. This is not born-again Jerusalem.
Then in (Eze.10:2) And he spake unto the man clothed in linen, and said, Go in between the whirling [wheels], even under the cherub, and fill both thy hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city… In other words, he brings judgment. The Man-child ministry is coming to bring judgment upon the city of God. These judgments are going to cleanse it of the goats and cleanse it of the tares. The Lord Jesus Himself spoke words that separated the goats from the sheep, separated the wheat from the tares. His Words brought judgment in His day, and the ministry of the Manchild will do the same in these days, but the people that will escape are the people who have been, and are going to mourn. They are the ones that are blessed, according to Jesus. While the world is rejoicing, they will mourn because of the great wrath and the judgment of God upon the people that call themselves “Christians.” They will mourn because of the great falling away of the people who had no faith.
We need to see and understand that the judgment that’s coming is going to prove who has faith and who does not have faith. The judgment that’s coming is going to prove who is a believer and who is not a believer. The wilderness tribulation for Israel was to prove whether they had faith or not. And, of course, Joshua and Caleb, who had faith, went to the Promised Land (Numbers 32:12). They didn’t have to die in the wilderness because they had faith. They believed in the Lord. They spoke His Word, and they didn’t die like the men who spoke the bad report, they spoke against the Lord and died in the wilderness (Numbers 26:65). Once again, today we are coming to a “wilderness” that God is going to use to prove who is truly of Him and who is not. The Word of God is going to separate the sheep from the goats. We need to put the Word in our hearts so that we have the conviction of Jesus Christ, so that sin is sinful to us, so that the rebellion of rebellious people grieves us.
Father, in the Name of Jesus, we’re asking You, Lord, that You convict those “Christians” who have created a religion and a doctrine that pleases them because they don’t have to give up anything. They don’t believe they have to live a sacrificial life; they don’t have to deny themselves; they don’t have to take up their cross. Lord, we ask that You convict them mightily and that You bring them to You, Father, in the Name of Jesus. Thank You so much, Lord. Amen.
Now, I’d like to share some other scriptures about the blessings that will come from the Lord for those who have mourned, as we’ve been discussing. When the Man-child ministry begins, Jesus is coming with His reward!
Zion, the Bride, has gone through their time of mourning and warfare to get rid of their sins and their enemies within. To get rid of the leaven.
Jer.9:17 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for the skilful women, that they may come: 18 and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters. 19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we ruined! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the land, because they have cast down our dwellings. 20 Yet hear the word of Jehovah, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth; and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbor lamentation. 21 For death is come up into our windows, it is entered into our palaces; to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets. 22 Speak, Thus saith Jehovah, The dead bodies of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman; and none shall gather them.
23 Thus saith Jehovah, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; 24 but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he hath understanding, and knoweth me, that I am Jehovah who exerciseth lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith Jehovah. 25 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will punish all them that are circumcised in their uncircumcision: 26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, (All of the faction) and all that have the corners of their hair cut off, that dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.
Zec.12:10-11 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born. 11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
Psa.35:11-17 Unrighteous witnesses rise up; They ask me of things that I know not. 12 They reward me evil for good, To the bereaving of my soul. 13 But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I afflicted my soul with fasting; And my prayer returned into mine own bosom. 14 I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother: I bowed down mourning, as one that bewaileth his mother. 15 But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: The abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; They did tear me, and ceased not: 16 Like the profane mockers in feasts, They gnashed upon me with their teeth. 17 Lord, how long wilt thou look on? Rescue my soul from their destructions, My darling from the lions.
The sorrow of persecution and crucifixion is now turning into joy for those of the remnant Bride.
Est.4:1-3 Now when Mordecai knew all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; 2 and he came even before the king's gate: for none might enter within the king's gate clothed with sackcloth. 3 And in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
Est.9:20 And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far, 21 to enjoin them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly, 22 as the days wherein the Jews had rest from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor. (Down goes the DS and religious factions.)
Isa.40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem; and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she hath received of Jehovah's hand double for all her sins.
Psa 30:2 O Jehovah my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. 3 O Jehovah, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol; Thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. (Like Joseph, who came out of prison to the lies that were told about him by the harlot, to rule and preserve the people through the tribulation famine.)
4 Sing praise unto Jehovah, O ye saints of his, And give thanks to his holy memorial name. 5 For his anger is but for a moment; His favor is for a life-time: Weeping may tarry for the night, But joy cometh in the morning. (Here is the joyful saints again) 6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, I shall never be moved. (But through much tribulation shall we enter the Kingdom) 7 Thou, Jehovah, of thy favor hadst made my mountain to stand strong: Thou didst hide thy face (As in the crucifixion of Jesus the Man-child type.); I was troubled. 8 I cried to thee, O Jehovah; And unto Jehovah I made supplication: 9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? 10 Hear, O Jehovah, and have mercy upon me: Jehovah, be thou my helper. (Been there)
11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; Thou hast loosed my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; 12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Jehovah my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever. (Joy of the David’s and the Bride.)
Joh.16:20-24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament (Because Jesus was crucified), but the world shall rejoice: ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. (Because He is coming again in the Man-child reformers.) 21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow (This is the Woman Church in Revelation 12 in our day.), because her hour is come: but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world. 22 And ye therefore now have sorrow: but I will see you again (in the Man-child reformers of Rev.12), and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh away from you. 23 And in that day ye shall ask me no question. Verily, verily, I say unto you, if ye shall ask anything of the Father, he will give it you in my name. 24 Hitherto (Meaning until this time) have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be made full.
Psa.30:1-12 A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. (Representing the true house of God, not that of Babylonish captivity) A Psalm of David. I will extol thee, O Jehovah; for thou hast raised me up, And hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. (This is the David Man-child but also Joseph the Man-child was resurrected from prison, like Jesus the Man-child was, to rule those who lied about him.)
Isa.61:1 The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me; because Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of Jehovah's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that he may be glorified…
6 But ye shall be named the priests of Jehovah; men shall call you the ministers of our God: ye shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. 7 Instead of your shame ye shall have double; and instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be unto them. 8 For I, Jehovah, love justice, I hate robbery with iniquity; and I will give them their recompense in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 And their seed shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which Jehovah hath blessed.
10 I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with a garland, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth bringeth forth its bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord Jehovah will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
Isa.51:3 For Jehovah hath comforted Zion; he hath comforted all her waste places, and hath made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Jehovah; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
Isa 51:11 And the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 12 I, even I, am he that comforteth you: …
Isa.57:15-18 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite. 16 For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit would faint before me, and the souls that I have made. 17 For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him; I hid my face and was wroth; and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart. 18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.
Isa.66:10-14 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn over her; 11 that ye may suck and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. 12 For thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream: and ye shall suck thereof; ye shall be borne upon the side, and shall be dandled upon the knees. 13 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 14 And ye shall see it, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like the tender grass: and the hand of Jehovah shall be known toward his servants; and he will have indignation against his enemies.
Isa.12:1-6 And in that day thou shalt say, I will give thanks unto thee, O Jehovah; for though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away and thou comfortest me. 2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Jehovah, even Jehovah, is my strength and song; and he is become my salvation. 3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. 4 And in that day shall ye say, Give thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name, declare his doings among the peoples, make mention that his name is exalted. 5 Sing unto Jehovah; for he hath done excellent things: let this be known in all the earth. 6 Cry aloud and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great in the midst of thee is the Holy One of Israel.
Rev.21:2-4 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God: 4 and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away.
Wednesday Mar 26, 2025
Wednesday Mar 26, 2025
Return of the Man-Child (4)
David Eells – 3/26/25
Dear Father, we thank You so much for being our Savior. Thank You for guiding us with Your Word. Thank You for encouraging us and for showing us wonders and revelations concerning the times to come. We want to be in agreement with You and You said, “How shall two walk together, except they be agreed?” We thank You for revealing to us Your Word so that we can cooperate with You in the principles that You abide by and we thank You for drawing us, giving us wisdom and opening our understanding. We thank You for giving us eyes to see and ears to hear that this may be possible. Thank You so much, Lord. Amen.
We’ve been studying out of Matthew some things that show us the truth, That which hath been is that which shall be (Ecc.1:9). We have been looking at the principles of what we know to be not only literally true, but a parable of things to come; and we’ve been reading in Matthew 2, where we discovered that the Messiah appears as a type and shadow of the coming Man-child Ministry, in whom He will live as the first-fruits.
The Messiah showed up and Herod and all of the people in Jerusalem were troubled concerning this, which is amazing unless you understand that people who are walking in the flesh and enjoying this world really do not want to be disturbed by a Messiah, or by a coming Kingdom, and they don’t want their sins to be revealed. God’s people have no business being troubled about the coming of the Lord. It should be a joyous thing and it is for all disciples of Jesus Christ.
We left off here in (Mat.2:7) Then Herod privily called the Wise-men, and learned of them exactly what time the star appeared. (8) And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Goand search out exactly concerning the young child; and when ye have found [him,] bring me word, that I also may come and worship him. (9) And they, having heard the king, went their way; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.Notice that He wasn’t a baby anymore; at this point Jesus was a “young child.” (Mat.2:10) And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
(11) And they came into the house (He was not in the cave. He was in a house at this time.) and saw the young child with Maryhis mother; and they fell down and worshipped him; and opening their treasures they offered unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. (12) And being warned [of God] in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. (13) Now when they were departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I tell thee: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. Sounds very much like what we know from the Scriptures in Revelation 12, where the dragon was awaiting the birth of the Man-child to devour him, but the Man-child escaped and was caught up to the throne.
In the same circumstance here, we see that Jesus is about to escape the clutches of Herod. (Mat.2:14) And he arose and took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt; (15) and was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt did I call my son. The Lord has called His Son, and all of His sons, to come out of Egypt, and if we don’t come out of Egypt, we cannot be useful in bringing other people out of Egypt.
Herod was seeking to destroy the Messiah. The Bible says that Joseph took the young child and His mother and departed into Egypt. Going into Egypt from where they were in Bethlehem would have entailed them going into the wilderness and God said that they were to stay there until the death of Herod. Then He called His Son out of Egypt to come through the wildernessand go to the Promised Land. This fits very well with all of the histories of the Man-child back through the Bible. Moses went into his personal wilderness when fleeing from Pharaoh, only to return after the death of Pharaoh and become a leader of God’s people. Now we see the same thing of Jesus going into His own personal wilderness in fleeing from Herod until the death of Herod.
Then, when Jesus came out from His wilderness, He started His ministry very quickly. We’re not speaking physically, but you’ll see as we continue this study that there is a seeming jump in time and suddenly the child grew up. The Man-child ministry is the same. Many people have had visions and dreams of what occurred here, that the Man-child was born and immediately started walking, talking, and acting in the Kingdom. He grew up very quickly, as we will see. The narrative jumps from the time He was a young child until the time when His ministry started and that’s about to be fulfilled. But notice that all the Man-child types went into their own personal wilderness until the death of the king who ruled over God’s people and then they came out of the wilderness and started their ministries.
Now Herod wanted to make sure he killed this Messiah; he did not want any competition from any other kings. (Mat.2:16) Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the Wise-men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the male children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had exactly learned of the Wisemen. As we have learned, the word “Bethlehem” means “house of bread” or “house of food.” Notice that Herod slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem. That’s very interesting because Herod was seeking to destroy the Man-child by killing all the people who were in the “house of food.”
I know that some people think that this murder of all the children applies only to something like abortion, but I think it’s the other way around. Abortion is just a physical sign of what is really happening in the Spirit. Herod represents the Beast and Pharaoh represents the Beast kingdom. The beasts attempt, like the Dragon, to destroy the promised seed. How is that fulfilled in the earth today? How does the Beast destroy people in the first place? Well, the Beast represents all mankind that walks in the flesh because it is at enmity with God. If a person walks after the flesh, the Bible says he must die (Romans 8:13). If you walk after the flesh, the Beast has destroyed you. The Beast is making a war on the people who are receiving the Word of Life, the “house of bread.”
In these days, God is revealing His promise to raise up His first-fruits in His image. There are a lot of people who understand, who know, who want to be a part of this, and are seeking to be full of the food of God so they can grow into maturity. The fact that God uses a child does not mean that He is not seeking maturity. To be mature in the Kingdom is quite the opposite ofthe way it is in the world. (1Co.14:20) Brethren, be not children in mind: yet in malice be ye babes, but in mind be men. So, according to the ways of the world, we are children, but in mind and soul we are mature.
Jesus said, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven (Mat.18:3).We have to be a child in trusting our Father, in being submissive to Him, and that is what maturity is. The Man-child as a corporate body, is very small, so you could see him as a child in that way. We’re seeing that Jesus was what the Bible says in Isaiah 7:14. He was “a sign,” an uwth, a sign of something to come; and the Lord has shown us that, as history repeats, it repeats on a larger and larger scale, with larger and larger groups of people. The Man-child Jesus represents an end-time Man-child of a large number of people, but it’s still a relatively small corporate body.
Let me say, there are more people called to this first-fruits ministry than are attaining to it. One of the reasons is that some of them are being put to death by the flesh, the Beast. They’re being taken out and I’ve seen myself that people who desired to be in the first-fruits were tricked by their flesh into succumbing to the lusts of the world and so were removed from taking part in this first-fruits ministry. They’re slain by the Beast and carried away from the “food” to Babylon; they’re carried into bondage. I’ve seen people who started out with Christ but were taken out by the world. They were taken into bondage in Babylon, bondage to the Beast, and that’s what Herod wanted to do – he wanted to capture the Christ-child.
This fits with what follows in (Mat.2:17) Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying, (18) A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; And she would not be comforted, because they are not. This text quoted from Jeremiah 31:15 fits with what I just described, which is going into bondage to the Beast is death. The Bible says, for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die (Rom.8:13). Being in bondage to the flesh, to Babylon, to Pharaoh, is death. That’s when the old man is ruling over the spiritual man like it was in Egypt.
So who is Rachel? And what does she represent here? Rachel was the second bride of Jacob, the second, favored bride of Jacob, who was Israel, the father of the 12 patriarchs. Can you think of another father of 12 patriarchs? Yes, that would be Jesus. In this case, Jacob, or Israel, represents Jesus, the father of the 12 patriarchs. The second, favored bride represents the Church, and not only that, Rachel bore Joseph and Benjamin. Joseph represents the Man-child, as you know. He was the one who was taken to Egypt and was basically “crucified,” sent to prison (Genesis 39), where he preached to the butler and the baker about who was going up and who was going down (Genesis 40) and came out of prison to be the king over everything, second only to Pharaoh (Genesis 41:40). Jesus did the same thing as a type.
So Rachel was the one who brought forth the Man-child, but some of these people were being slain; people who lived in the same “house of bread” as Jesus did were being slain. Rachel was also the mother of Benjamin, who is the last fruit of the Church. You see, there is another fruit after Joseph, who is the first-fruits. The Bible says, But many shall be last [that are] first; and first [that are] last (Mat.19:30). We know that natural Israel is coming back into the Kingdom, but they are coming in last. When the brothers of Joseph came to meet him in Egypt, Benjamin was the last-fruits of Rachel, and I believe that this is referring to the fruits of natural Israel that are coming into the Kingdom at the end. Let’s pay attention to Joseph here. What does Rachel and the death of her children represent, and how can we avoid it?
Let’s look at the original text in Jeremiah that’s quoted in Matthew: (Jer.31:15) Thus saith the Lord: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; she refuseth to be comforted for her children, because they are not. They have in some way died and the rest of the text will reveal to us in what way they’ve died. In the text, Jeremiah speaks of Ephraim and he refers to the children of Rachel, but how is Ephraim of the children of Rachel? Well, Ephraim was the second-born son of Joseph, and the first-born was Manasseh. When Israel came to bless Joseph’s sons, who followed in Joseph’s steps, Israel took his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, then he took his left hand and put it on Manasseh’s head and he began to bless them (Genesis 48:14).
The right hand is always placed on the son of the double blessing, so Joseph was displeased when he saw his father doing this and he tried to move his father’s hands. But Israel refused, and said, I know [it,] my son, I know [it;] he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: howbeit his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations (Gen.48:19). It says “the fullness of nations” in the original text, so Ephraim represented the fullness of nations. Not only did Rachel represent the Church, in that she was the second and favored bride of Israel, who represents Jesus, the father of the 12 patriarchs, but also her son was the second-born son who received the first-born’s blessings. You remember that Jesus came first to give that blessing to the first-born son, Israel, and they refused it, so He turned to the Church, which was made up of both Jews and Gentiles, to receive this blessing. But, by and large, the first son did not receive the double blessing. Instead, the right hand was upon the second son. Joseph’s second son (or his born-again son) is God’s first-born.
How is that? Because Israel was not born-again. They should have entered into that blessing and they did not. They were not born-again, but the Church was and is born-again. So Joseph’s second son was God’s first-born. How do I know that? (Jer.31:9) They shall come with weeping; and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Why wasn’t Manasseh, who represented Israel, the first-born? Because he was the first-born son of Joseph, who represented Jesus. Everything that happened to Joseph happened to Jesus. So, once again, the doctrine that the Church has about the relationship of the Church to natural Israel is totally wrong. God has from the beginning planned to have a born-again people and the “letter people” were a type and shadow of the born-again people. If you don’t understand that, you’re going to go around worshipping Israel, which failed. If the Church doesn’t have any better sense, they will walk in the steps of those people and fail as well.
Now we can continue and find out what is meant for Rachel to lose her children. How did they die? What did it represent? (Jer.31:16) Thus saith the Lord: Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. Wow! What is it for them to be dead? It’s the same thing we were talking about; it means they were in bondage to the Beast, they were walking after the flesh and so they were dead in the eyes of God. I’ll prove it just a little further down. “They shall come again from the land of the enemy.” In other words, they were taken into captivity, serving the old man, like Israel was doing in Egypt or in Assyria when they were taken captive. They were no longer living in their Promised Land.
(Jer.31:17) And there is hope for thy latter end, saith the Lord (Israel must come out of captivity in the latter end and so will the Church.); and [thy] children shall come again to their own border. The Lord calls it “living” when we come back to live in the Promised Land, or live on the promises of God, or live in right relationship to the Presence of God, which was in Zion. That’s what He calls “living.” To be in bondage, walking after the flesh in the world, in bondage to your flesh, that’s what being “dead” is, according to the Lord. (1Ti.5:6) She that giveth herself to pleasure is dead while she liveth. God calls that “death” – spiritual death. For us to come out of this bondage is God’s plan.
Why did God raise up the Man-child? To bring His people from death into resurrection life. (Jer.31:18) I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself [thus,] (Notice, we’re seeing Rachel’s children here as Ephraim and he represents the “fullness of nations,” the Church, the second-born son.) Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a calf unaccustomed [to the yoke:] (You know how a calf is if it’s unaccustomed to the yoke – they buck and snort, trying to get loose, wanting to do their own thing.) turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God. This is grace. Ask the Lord to turn you, to grant you repentance. It’s His gift to give. (Jer.31:19) Surely after that I was turned, I repented (That shows grace, doesn’t it? If God turns you, you will be turned. Repentance means “turn and go the other way.”); and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.
(Jer.31:20) Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a darling child? for as often as I speak against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my heart yearneth for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord. The Lord has a heart to deliver His people out of bondage. Ephraim went into bondage before their enemies. They were taken captive by the Beast. They were reckoned as the dead by Rachel. So, we see this in Jeremiah chapters 30 and 31 where it speaks of this. The whole story is there of God delivering His people out of bondage. Why did Jesus come? He came to deliver His people out of Babylonish, or beastly, bondage so that they could serve God. You cannot serve God while you are serving the Egyptian, while you’re in bondage to the old man.
God started the story in Jeremiah the same way He did in Matthew. Looking at the previous chapter in Jeremiah, we find where He talks about the woman in travail with the Man-child. (Jer.30:6) Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child: wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Why? Because this is where the whole sequence of events is going to begin. (Jer.30:7) Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. So we’re told that it’s during the time of “Jacob’s trouble,” the Tribulation. Not only that, but He goes on to say of His people that during this time, strangers shall no more make him their bondman (Jer.30:8). In other words, they are going to come out of bondage for the last time. God says they will never again be in bondage. When? The end time.
Then He says, but they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them (Jer.30:9).There is the end-time David that’s being raised up because Jesus came to sit upon David’s throne (Luke 1:32). (Jer.30:10) Therefore fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease, and none shall make him afraid. That is being “saved,” not being in bondage to your flesh anymore, not being in bondage to the Beast anymore, not serving the world anymore. That is what the Lord has promised for us. So you’re either saved or you’re dead. The Bible calls it being “dead in your sins,” and “dead in your trespasses.” Rachel was weeping because her children had been taken away into bondage and were no longer free to serve God.
(Jer.30:21) And their prince shall be of themselves (We read that in Matthew 2; then it was Jesus coming and it’s also the Man-child coming in the end time.), and their ruler shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is he that hath had boldness to approach unto me? saith the Lord. (22) And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. The Lord is going to draw these first-fruits unto Himself and that will be the beginning because their job is like Moses’ job, which is to bring the people out of Egypt. Moses went through his own wilderness, as we have seen, and then his job was to go back and bring the people through the same wilderness to meet the Lord in the Mountain of God. (Jer.30:24) The fierce anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall understand it. So this is a latter-day revelation. God’s judgment is part of what brings God’s people out of bondage and into their Promised Land, which is the place of safety.
Jeremiah 31 tells us this story of Ephraim coming out of bondage and we saw that was because God raised up the Man-child to lead them out of bondage. We see here the same sequence of events. The prince will be raised up from the midst of the people. (Jer.31:1) At that time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel … “All Israel,” as we know from Romans 11, includes everybody who’s abiding in the olive tree. Natural Israel rejected Jesus, and were broken off of the olive tree and the Church was grafted into the olive tree through faith in Jesus Christ. Those true disciples who followed Jesus in the Gospels, who were natural Jews who came into the Kingdom, remained in their olive tree. But it says, “all the families of Israel,” referring to all Jews, Gentiles, and all those who through faith in Jesus Christ are members of the olive tree, which in Romans 11:26 is called “all Israel.”
(Jer.31:1) At that time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. This includes the remnant of natural Jews that is to come back in, which I am calling “Benjamin,” who was the last fruit of Rachel. (Jer.31:2) Thus saith the Lord, The people that were left of the sword found favor in the wilderness … There was a sword that came upon Egypt, representing the world, to motivate God’s people to be willing to leave the fleshpots of Egypt, to come out from among them and be separate and to worship God in the wilderness. Egypt had to suffer the plagues, while God’s people in Goshen were separated from Egypt and delivered from those judgments. Then He moved them out of Egypt and into the wilderness, where God could once again deal with them and teach them faith. (Jer.31:2) Thus saith the Lord, The people that were left of the sword found favor in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. God planned to bring Israel into His rest.
(Jer.31:3) The Lord appeared of old unto me, [saying,] Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. (4) Again will I build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel … You might think that He’s referring to the Bride here when He says the “virgin of Israel,” like the virgin Mary, who brought forth the Man-child and also went into the wilderness to be instructed of the Man-child. In Revelation 12, the Man-child was birthed and then he was caught up to the throne of David, which is God’s throne on Earth, where He rules over Israel, according to the Scripture. And from that place of authority, He led the woman, who brought forth the Man-child, through the wilderness.
(Jer.31:4) Again will I build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: again shalt thou be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.When God’s people are led out of bondage, it will be a time of rejoicing. (Jer.31:5) Again shalt thou plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant, and shall enjoy [the fruit thereof]. There is going to be freedom for people who have escaped the bondage of the Beast in the days to come. That’s what Moses came to do, that’s what Jesus came to do and that’s what the Man-child is coming to do: escape the bondage of the Beast and help the Church do the same. Not everyone is going to escape that bondage. (Luk.21:36) But watch ye at every season, making supplication, that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the son of man.
(Jer.31.6) For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the hills of Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God. In other words, the second son is coming out of bondage. (7) For thus saith the Lord, Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout for the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. That’s a good thing to cry today because here we are again. The Beast is about to bring God’s people into bondage and the overwhelming majority of God’s people have been in bondage all along. The bondage that we’re talking about is more severe persecution, death, and destruction.
(Jer.31:8) Behold, I will bring them from the north country … The “north country” is the place of bondage. That’s where Babylon brought them into captivity, that’s where Assyria brought them into captivity and that’s where the Medes and the Persians ruled over them. It represents the beast in the north. (Jer.31:8) Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth … This is because now God’s people are in bondage to the beast all over the world. We are not talking about only little Israel, who is God’s people, but worldwide spiritual Israel, who is circumcised in heart and not just in flesh. They’re in bondage to the nations in which they live and God is calling them out of those nations to be a part of “all Israel,” one holy nation.
(Jer.31:8) Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, [and] with them the blind and the lame (Yes, God’s people who are in bondage are quite often blind and lame, and God is calling them to be able to see and to be able to walk straight before the Lord.), the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together (In other words, those who have already borne fruit and those who will bear the fruit of Christ.): a great company shall they return hither. They’re going to come back to their “borders,” inside the borders of their Promised Land. The borders could represent the outline of the way you live and you want to stay within the boundaries of God’s Word, so to speak.
(Jer.31:9) They shall come with weeping; and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters … Amen! Rivers of living water, which Jesus spoke about in (Joh.7:38) He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water. (39) But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him were to receive … Out of your innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. Jesus Himself brought to His people rivers of living water. That’s where their life came from – the Word that came out of His mouth. (Joh.6:63) It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life.
(Jer.31:9) They shall come with weeping; and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born. (10) Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off … (We are one of those “isles afar off” here in America.); and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as shepherd doth his flock. In other words, the Lord, Who sent His people into bondage in Egypt or in bondage to the nations, is going to draw them out now. This is a time of rejoicing. People are so fearful of the Tribulation, but they don’t understand that the Tribulation is the judgment that’s coming upon Egypt so that God’s Israelites can come out and go into the wilderness to serve God. This is a good time.
(Jer.31:11) For the Lord hath ransomed Jacob, and redeemed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. Which is which? It’s the Beast entity “that was stronger than he.” We are not talking about a man when we say “the Beast.” We’re referring to the whole body of the Beast. You’re either a part of the Body of Christ or you’re a part of the body of anti-Christ. The anti-Christ is the Beast kingdom. (Jer.31:12) And they shall come and sing in the height of Zion … God is drawing His people to come into His very Presence on His holy hill. God told Moses, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be the token unto thee, that I have sent thee: when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain (Exo.3:12).
(Jer.31:12) And they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow unto the goodness of the Lord, to the grain, and to the new wine, and to the oil, and to the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden(Praise the Lord! This is talking about the Tribulation and God is going to raise up His people to bear fruit and they’re going to be blessed.); and they shall not sorrow any more at all. (13) Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old together; for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. (14) And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord.
Then it goes into the text we studied earlier, where Rachel was weeping for her children and God was comforting her by telling her not to worry, as they would return to their borders. They are coming back. Yes, they have been taken into bondage and are serving the flesh and are dead to the spiritual world, dead to the Kingdom of God, but He’s going to change all of that. That’s what God is saying in (Jer.31:21) Set thee up waymarks, make thee guide-posts; set thy heart toward the highway, (This refers to the highway of holiness that Isaiah 35:8 said leads to Zion.), even the way by which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities. (22) How long wilt thou go hither and thither, O thou backsliding daughter? In other words, while they’re out there wandering around in the world, this is where they are supposed to dwell. These promises are the ones they are supposed to live upon.
…for the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth: A woman shall encompass a man. God is bringing the virgin into the wilderness to be led by the Davidic Manchild. The woman encompassing a man is the Bride encompassing the Man-child. Zion was the Bride, according to Revelation. God told John, Come hither, I will show thee the bride (Rev.21:9). And He showed him the New Jerusalem coming down, being born from above (Revelation 21:10). The Man-child David ruled in the midst of Zion, but he also ruled in the midst of the rest of the Church outside of Zion. So there is the larger Church, there is the Bride and there is the Man-child. This is the new thing that God is going to do: “A woman shall encompass a man.” It’s not a new thing as far as history is concerned; it’s a new thing as far as we are concerned, in our lifetime, because this is an end-time prophecy.
(Jer.31:23) Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Yet again shall they use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity …It’s an old English way to say it because it sounds like just the opposite in our modern ears. If you would translate that today, you would say, “I will bring them again from the land of their captivity.” It’s a good thing to come out of captivity and into the Kingdom of God. There are only two places you can dwell in this world: you are either in Babylon or you are in Zion. We are coming out of Babylon, which is this world. All of the nations of the world were at Babel. They all came from Babel and they’re all part of Babylon, but Zion is separate.
Zion is that holy place that we’re all going to. God enjoins them to find this highway to Zion. (Jer.31:23) Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Yet again shall they use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity: The Lord bless thee, O habitation of righteousness, O mountain of holiness. Zion represents the place of holiness, the place of separation from the world. That’s what “holiness” or “sanctification” means. It’s the same word and it means giving up your sins in obedience to following the Lord. If you’re obeying the Lord, you’re walking in servitude to the Lord and you have matured in that obedience to the Lord. That is what Zion is.
(Jer.31:24) And Judah and all the cities thereof shall dwell therein together, the husbandmen, and they that go about with flocks. (25) For I have satiated the weary soul, and every sorrowful soul have I replenished. (26) Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me. (27) Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. (28) And it shall come to pass that, like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down and to overthrow and to destroy and to afflict, so will I watch over them to build and to plant, saith the Lord. While in Babylon, they were living under the curse. Zion is where the curse is done away. So, spiritually speaking, you cannot physically go to Zion because obviously there is no physical Zion. We are not physical Israelites; we are spiritual Israelites and we can spiritually go to Zion. It is the place of holiness, the place of God’s presence, and the place of His temple. When we come into the presence of God, that is that place of holiness. Those who were slain by the Beast, by Herod, by Pharaoh, by Nebuchadnezzar, by whatever Beast conquered them, they’re going to return to their Promised Land. And living in the Promised Land represents resurrection life, the resurrection of God.
This same story is found in Isaiah. (Isa.11:1) And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit. This is the Branch that in Jeremiah chapters 23 and 33 speak of an end-time David ministry that God is going to raise up. We’ve spoken about this already. This Branch represents the Man-child ministry in the end time, the one in whom Jesus lives, because Christ in you is the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).
I knew a brother years ago who had a dream and he called me about it. His name was Tubby and he said, “David, I had this dream and I was talking to you, and in the dream, I said, ‘David, you remind me of someone I read about in the Bible.’ You quoted those verses from Isaiah 11:1-5 and you said, ‘Yeah, I know that person.’ Then you quoted these verses.” He was saying that these are going to be an end-time people who are going to come into this image, walking in the Spirit of God as the Branch. (Isa.11:2) And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. (3) And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears;
(In other words, this is a people who are walking in the Spirit and not walking in the flesh, nor ruled by the fleshly senses. They have their senses exercised to discern good from evil, as in Hebrews 5:14.) (Isa.11:4) but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. (5) And righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins. (6) And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. A little child, the Man-child, is going to lead them.
Why these beasts? Well, if you remember Noah’s Ark and the people who were saved in the Ark, the beasts were also saved in the Ark and they represented the Gentiles. When Peter saw the sheet come down out of Heaven with all the unclean beasts on it, God told him, Rise, Peter; kill and eat (Act.11:7). And Peter said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath ever entered into my mouth (8). But the Lord answered, What God hath cleansed, make not thou common (9). This was when Cornelius had sent his servants to Peter to get him to come and preach to them the Gospel (Acts 10:1-8) and Peter got the revelation of, “Oh, God has cleansed the Gentiles (Acts 10:46,47),” who became the Church. These were people who were members of the body of the Beast – different beasts around the world, as a matter of fact. They had come out of this beast and out of that beast. They were members of those bodies, but now they had come into the Kingdom and they were at peace with one another.
There is nothing that can bring the world together in peace except God’s Kingdom. So here you see that God is going to raise up the Man-child. He’s going to draw His people out of all nations, out of all beast kingdoms. By the way, they were all called beast kingdoms by Daniel, just as they are in Revelation 7. God was going to draw His people out of bondage and out of all these beast kingdoms to come and dwell in their land, which He called the land of rest, the land of milk and honey, the land of blessings, provision, and everything. Is a little child really going to lead all these beasts to be at peace and go back to the Promised Land? Yes, that’s what He’s talking about.
(Isa.11:7) And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. At the end of 2007, I saw a vision of this happening. In the vision, the Lord was giving me a piece of property and there were all these beasts that were fleeing onto this property from the judgments that were happening outside the boundaries of this property. I saw it. They were all in total peace with one another, all these creatures that normally bite and devour one another, like the nations do. They were at peace and God’s Kingdom was there; His peace was there. The Lord gave me a house and money to prepare and provide for these beasts that were coming to this refuge. (Isa.11:8) And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. (In complete safety!) (9) They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain …
So where are these beasts? They are at God’s holy mountain and a little child, the Man-child, shall lead them. When all the beastly people of the world get saved, when they come out from under the bondage of the Beast and come into God’s holy mountain, then what this refers to will be fulfilled. These are Rachel’s children about whom she did not have to worry anymore. They are going to be restored. (Isa.11:9) They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. (10) And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek (Of course, this is the Lord.); and his resting-place shall be glorious. Amen! That’s where they’re going – to this holy mountain, His resting place.
(Isa.1:11) And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people (Praise the Lord!), that shall remain, from Assyria … That’s one of the “beasts” that conquered God’s people and brought them into bondage. God is saying, “Come back out of bondage! Come back out of the north! Come back to your Promised Land!” God is telling us to come and dwell in Zion in the Presence of God on His holy mountain. You cannot dwell on His holy mountain without being holy because the highway that goes there is also called the “Highway of Holiness.” (Isa.11:11) And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, that shall remain, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam(These were all the nations that were round about Israel.), and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. (12) And he will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
The Lord will gather them out of all the beast kingdoms to come back and dwell in their Promised Land. God is going to do this in the Spirit in the days to come. There is going to be a people who will dwell in safety and be blessed of the Lord. All their provision is going to be sure because they are a holy people. They are not under the curse. Those who walk in rebellion to God are under the curse because the curse was pronounced on the people who walked in their stubborn ways. (Isa.11:13) The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and they that vex Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. (14) And they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines on the west; together shall they despoil the children of the east: they shall put forth their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.
Judgments are going to fall all over this earth where God’s people are being persecuted. When they were in bondage in Egypt, the judgments that we see in the Book of Revelation fell upon Egypt, to deliver God’s people out of Egypt and into their Promised Land. (Isa.11:15) And the Lord will utterly destroythe tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind will he wave his hand over the River, and will smite it into seven streams, and cause men to march over dryshod. (16) And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, that shall remain, from Assyria; like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
Praise God!
Sunday Mar 23, 2025
Sunday Mar 23, 2025
Jesus Is The Way –
Humility To Glory (4)
David Eells – 3/23/25
I’d like to start today with the Beatitudes because they speak to a great extent about who it is that God blesses. (Mat.5:1) And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain: and when he had sat down, his disciples came unto him: (2) and he opened his mouth and taught them… Well, no man is our Example. Our Example is the Lord Jesus Christ, and it doesn’t take very much study to discover that Christianity has put more emphasis upon its traditions than upon the Example that’s given us in the Scriptures.
When I started to look in the Scriptures for the examples I was seeing in Christianity, what the preachers and the religions were following, I discovered very quickly that I just couldn’t find them. For instance, we read, “When he had sat down, his disciples came unto him, and he opened his mouth and he taught them.” Jesus never spoke from a pulpit, yet that’s become an institution in Christian churches these days. So after the Lord showed me this and I was invited to a church to speak, I just pulled up a chair in front of the congregation, sat down, and began to share with them. Well, that shocked some of them and they looked at me as if they’d never seen such a thing, but others seemed to enjoy the freedom of less formality, possibly because they thought it was more Biblical.
The truth is that nowhere in the Scriptures do we see an example of the mourner’s bench, the altar, or the taking up of collections at every meeting (Oh, I’m probably getting in trouble with some of you now!) or even wearing suits. Many people think you’re just not holy unless you wear a suit, but Jesus didn’t have one. I thank God I broke that tradition. I hate suits with a passion, though I have been weak to the weak and worn a suit to preach, but I don’t like it. So we have to be free to do this too.
Jesus commonly, all through the Gospels, just sat down and taught. He didn’t get red in the face and unnecessarily loud and prance up and down to emulate the “anointing” like some “Hollywood” preacher. And woe be unto you if you are in the front row: they can spray spittle all over you. Jesus was just a quiet teacher with no theatrics. But the anointing isn’t in any of that; the anointing is on the Truth, and here it says Jesus sat down and He gave the Sermon on the Mount. All through the Scriptures He sat down and taught them (Matthew 5:1, 24:3, 26:55; etc.)
When the chief priests, scribes, and leaders of the people came to take Jesus in the middle of the night, (Mat.26:55) In that hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a robber with swords and staves to seize me? I sat daily in the temple teaching, and ye took me not. And He never used a pulpit, and He never wore a “suit.” So how did these things come to be so important? It reminds me of when Jesus said in (Mat.23:23) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone. (24) Ye blind guides, that strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel! Things that really aren’t important seem to be very important to religious people just as it was in Jesus’ time. We need freedom from all that law of traditions to just follow the Lord as He also showed. We need to get back to the Example Jesus gave us.
(Mat.5:3) Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. When I read this, I asked, “Lord, now what does ‘the poor in spirit’ mean? I need You to explain this to me.” Of course, one thing we know it means, follow the example Jesus gave us. He is the Example of someone Who is poor in spirit. He is our Pattern to copy (1 Corinthians 11:1; Philippians 2:5,3:17; etc.) because there is something about the spirit of the poor that God wants in all of His people. Let’s examine a few scriptures and see what this “something” is.
(Php.2:5) Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (6) who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped (That’s the Greek word harpagmós (Meaning to hold on to His original position.), (7) but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. Now Jesus said the Gentiles love to lord it over one another (Matthew 20:25; Luke 22:25; etc.). However, it shouldn’t be so in the Church, as said in (Mat.20:26) Not so shall it be among you: but whosoever would become great among you shall be your minister;
(27) and whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant: (28) even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. So the greatest “among you shall be your servant,” but men love positions of authority, places of esteem, and the respect of the multitudes. And when they come into the Kingdom, they think they need to climb the corporate ladder just like they do in the world and seize the prize of a prestigious church role. Well, a prestigious church role is the very opposite of what the worldly mind thinks it is.
My good friend, Bolivar, once shared a dream with me in which he was searching everywhere for the Lord, like the Shulamite searching for where the Lord taught His sheep in (Song of Solomon 1:7,3:1-3,5:6). And so Bolivar went into this skyscraper, thinking, “Surely Jesus is on the top floor and teaching His disciples in the penthouse” because, of course, that would be a suitable location for royalty according to the way a lot of church people think. They believe that it takes a fancy building to really honor God, but buildings never impressed Jesus, did they (Luke 21:5-6)?
Anyway, Bolivar got in the elevator, went up to the penthouse, and opened the door, but when he went inside and looked all around, he didn’t see Jesus anywhere. Well, the penthouse window was open and suddenly a dragon came flying in through the window. It was the devil, and Bolivar quickly jumped back into the elevator. He went down to the basement and there was Jesus, sitting in those very humble surroundings and teaching His disciples, just as He always did throughout the Scriptures.
Jesus preferred humble surroundings, and He preferred the company of those who were poor in spirit. As Jesus told us in (Mat.23:10) Neither be ye called masters: for one is your master, [even] the Christ. (11) But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. (12) And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted. The Lord loves a humble people who are not exalting themselves, not putting themselves before God, not putting themselves over and above God.
Mark speaks about that in (Mar.9:35) And he sat down (There it is again.), and called the twelve; and he saith unto them, If any man would be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all. (36) And he took a little child, and set him in the midst of them: and taking him in his arms, he said unto them, (37) Whosoever shall receive one of such little children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever receiveth me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.
A child is humble, and someone who is willing to be the least important and very comfortable to just be a child in the midst of people who are larger and more mature. Jesus said, “That’s what I’m like,” and it should be that way among us, too. When Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, He was very comfortable about it but Peter thought, “No, this is beneath Jesus,” and he said, “Lord, not so! You’re not going to wash my feet.” And Jesus answered, “If I don’t wash your feet, I don’t have any part in you,” obviously meaning sanctification by cleaning up our walk in this world (John 13:8).
Jesus became a Servant, and He commanded us to have that same mind. (Php.2:5) Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (6) who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped (Meaning to hold on to His original position.), (7) but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; (8) and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient [even] unto death, yea, the death of the cross. (As He also said we are to do.) (9) Wherefore also God highly exalted him. Praise God! If we have this same mind, then we are here to be a servant to God’s people, not a ruler over them. For people who are running after the Lord with all their heart, God may open the door and give them a position, but we don’t first the positions in the church. Those people who lust after a position are not qualified.
The promises in the Word are made to the poor, who are used as a type and shadow all through the Scriptures. The Old Testament speaks much of the poor, especially in the Psalms, and if we see the spiritual revelation as a parable of those who are poor in spirit in the Church, then we can better understand what that means. (Mat.5:3) Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The poor in spirit are always dependent on God, and in need of God’s provisions but feel it important to serve others. The poor are always humble. They consider others to be more important than themselves.
As we saw, Jesus wasn’t trying to cling to His omnipotence and kingly position in heaven. (2Co.8:9) For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor… He laid all of that aside for our sakes. He came down to become a servant and He tells us this is what our mindset must be. Each of us has to become a servant. We have to be willing to be the lowest, the very least, because the servant of all is the greatest among you, as Jesus said (Matthew 20:26;23:11; Mark 9:35; etc.)
(2Co.8:9) For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might become rich. (The Bible calls it “poverty,” although some people say Jesus was rich because of His seamless garment. What silliness can you get out of that? The Bible says He was poor.) (10) And herein I give [my] judgment: for this is expedient for you, who were the first to make a beginning a year ago, not only to do, but also to will. In other words, He is commanding us here to walk in His Steps in (1 John 2:6). You can’t abide in Christ unless you walk in His Steps.
I once had a pastor ask me, “David, would you say that poverty is a curse?” And I said to him, “Well, it’s definitely listed there among the curses in Deuteronomy 28. But here’s the way I see it: forced poverty is a curse because you’re brought under its dominion. You don’t have any choice. However, we see in the example of Jesus and the example of His disciples, that they willingly took up a position of poverty because they didn’t want to be distracted by the world, the things of the world, nor the love of the world.” As you know, in times of prosperity is when the Church goes through its greatest trials. If you can’t destroy the Church by temptation, all you need to do is bring them into prosperity and peace and, pretty soon, they’re just as lukewarm as they can be. History has proven this. Bring them into trouble, the true Church grows up, the tares are separated, and you have a holy body. Bring them into peace and prosperity, and that’s the best way to corrupt them. The devil knows that.
Jesus wasn’t tempted with all those things that tempt most people. (1Ti.6:9) But they that are minded to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition. … (11) But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Jesus didn’t have to “flee these things” because He never wanted them in the first place, nor did His disciples love the world or have any use for the things of the world. They wanted to be servants of God, and they were because they served the people of God everywhere they went. They didn’t rule over them; they served them, and the Lord Jesus says that that’s exactly what He did so that we, through His poverty, might become rich. No, not rich in the things of the world but rich in the things of the Kingdom, rich in the fruit of God, rich in the righteousness that the Lord gives.
He tells us very plainly there that He wants us to walk in that same fruit and become servants to God’s people. If we will do that, God will promote us to positions in His Kingdom, although they won’t look like the positions of the worldly church or the leadership of the worldly church. He will promote us in His Kingdom. He will give us authority. The Lord said in (Rev.2:26) And he that overcometh, and he that keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations. Authority doesn’t come from a certificate and it doesn’t come from going to a Bible school. Authority comes from overcoming, and that means we have to be tried and proven to hold God, the Word and the Kingdom first. We all have to be tried, and one way that we’re being tried is, “Are we going to walk in the Steps of Jesus?” Are we going to be humble servants, as He was a Servant? Are we going to be poor in spirit, as He was poor in spirit?
(Mat.8:20) And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven [have] nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. Sounds like Jesus was really poor! He didn’t even have His own donkey (Matthew 21:2-3; Mark 11:1-7; etc.) but, although Jesus wasn’t rich in the things of the world, He wasn’t poor in the blessings of the Kingdom. Everywhere He went His needs were always met because He was a man of faith, but He didn’t need what He didn’t need. He wasn’t competitive. He took all of His pleasure in serving God’s people and had no greed for material things that would only distract Him from doing that. He was poor in spirit, and He’s called us to be poor in spirit. “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
Let’s look at a parable about Jesus and His poverty that’s hidden in Ecclesiastes. (Ecc.4:13) Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king, who knoweth not how to receive admonition any more. Jesus lived as a poor and wise youth and yet He was and is truly the King of this world. He was truly a king and He was truly anointed to be King, just like David was anointed to be king. Before Jesus started His ministry, He was anointed, like the kings in the Old Testament were anointed in a type (1 Samuel 16:13; 1 Chronicles 14:8; Psalm 89:20; etc.).
Jesus was the real King of this world, yet look at how He lived His Life. The King of kings was Someone Who sought to serve people. But look at King Herod, who was much older, a very foolish king, with all the accouterments of a prosperous life. He had anything he wanted. He had total authority, which is very dangerous to put in anybody’s hands because they’ll just bring themselves straight to hell with it. You can’t give authority to a carnal man, even in the Church, because ultimately, they’ll bring judgment upon themselves and others.
And we read, “Better is a poor and wise youth.” The Sanhedrin and those Pharisees, the leaders of the people, most of them were older than Jesus and considered to be wise men according to their religion. But Jesus was a very young man, only 30 years old, when He started His ministry, and the Bible says He was poor, according to what the world considers “poor,” yet He was very, very rich according to Kingdom thinking.
(Ecc.4:14) For out of prison he came forth to be king… In other words, Jesus manifested full Kingdom authority in Heaven after He came out of prison where He was “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40). Here He preached to the spirits in prison. (1Pe 3:19) in which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison…, who were the righteous dead in Sheol. Sheol, the place of the dead, was divided into Abraham’s bosom and Hades, or hell as in Jesus’ parable of Lazarus and the rich man. He then led those captive in Abraham’s bosom. (Psa 68:18) Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led away captives. (Act 2:24) whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. (Eph 4:8) Wherefore he saith, When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, And gave gifts unto men. It was here that He was fully manifested again as omnipotent King over all creation.
Of course, we can also see Joseph here as a type of Jesus, because Joseph also came out of prison and became king (Genesis 41:14,38-44), which is also Jesus in the Man-child’s ministry in the end time. [I want to note here; that history always repeats on a larger scale, as it says in Ecclesiastes. (Ecc.1:9) That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. (10) Is there a thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been long ago, in the ages which were before us. For example, Jesus first came in an individual body, but in the New Testament He is coming in a corporate body of believers called the Body of Christ, (Col.1:29) … Christ in you the hope of glory. The Man-child of Revelation 12 is a body of first-fruits apostolic reformers in whom Jesus lives by His Word and Spirit, that will be worldwide in raising up the Church as Jesus did, but beyond its former glory.
All of the entities in Revelation are bodies of people who cover the earth: the Woman, the Harlot, the Dragon, the Beast, the Witnesses, and the False Prophet. In the Old Testament, Israel was the first Church, meaning the “called-out ones.” They were a tiny nation but in the New Testament Church, the circumcised in heart are worldwide and will be brought to their spiritual cross to manifest Jesus. In our book, Hidden Manna for the End Times, all of this is proven with scripture. This book is available on our site in PDF at ubm1.org/book.]
Continuing in (Ecc.4:14) For out of prison he came forth to be king; yea, even in his kingdom he was born poor. Why didn’t God choose better than what Jesus received when He came into this world? Joseph and Mary had to lay Him in a manger because there was no room for them at the inn (Luke 2:7). You would think God would have provided better for Jesus if He were a prosperity-minded God, but, no. The Lord wanted Him to be a Servant. He wanted to liken Him to humble people. He wanted Him to be an Example of the kind of King He was sending.
Naturally, the prosperity folks of that day didn’t expect a humble servant. They expected a king to come and rule over the Romans. They wanted a king like that “old and foolish king,” King Herod, somebody who would give them authority over the Romans, and the Pharisees of today are still looking for somebody who has that kind of authority. They attempt this through politics. They try to find positions there that give them authority over the world, and they exercise worldly authority in their organizations like the Pharisees did. However, Jesus’ authority came because people willingly submitted to Him for their own good. That’s the kind of authority He had, which was quite contrary to that of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Continuing in (Ecc.4:15) I saw all the living that walk under the sun (That’s both a play on words and a parable because all the living do walk under the Son.), that they were with the youth (Jesus), the second, that stood up in his stead (Jesus in the world wide Man-child reformers that are standing up in this day.). They are going to be born of the woman in travail in our day. Joh 16:16 A little while, and ye behold me no more (Jesus) ; and again a little while, and ye shall see me (In the Man-child reformers) . …19 Jesus perceived that they were desirous to ask him, and he said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves concerning this, that I said, A little while, and ye behold me not, and again a little while, and ye shall see me? 20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament (At the loss of Jesus), but the world shall rejoice: ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. 21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but when she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for the joy that a man is born into the world. Notice that after the death of Jesus, He will be seen again as a man-child born to a woman Church. Then He confirms this.
22 And ye therefore now have sorrow (At His death): but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh away from you. This is the repeat of history that must come as we showed.
Rev 12:1 And a great sign was seen in heaven: a woman arrayed with the sun… 2 and she was with child; and she crieth out, travailing in birth, and in pain to be delivered. …5 And she was delivered of a son, a man child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne. This throne is the throne of David, which is authority over the house of New Testament Israel, the grafted in Church.
We will be able to recognize these people because their ministry in our day will be in the likeness of Jesus’ ministry and greater works shall they do as He said. They’re going to be greatly used of God but it’s the King of kings Who’s inside them that does the work. It’s not the flesh that He lives in; it’s (Col.1:27) … Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is the One Who is coming to rule. This will confirm what I have said to you.
Continuing in (Ecc.4:16) There was no end of all the people, even of all them over whom he was: yet they that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind. Isn’t it true? Many of the so-called “people of God” are not celebrating and rejoicing in the real Jesus, the true Jesus. They have quite a different “Jesus,” one that’s in agreement with the lifestyle they desire to live. These people are not humble and poor servants who are willing to give up their lives in order to serve God. They’re too busy competing with the world and striving after material possessions, unlike Jesus Who willingly gave up the blessings that He had and could have had.
As eloquent a speaker as He was and able to reach out and touch people, Jesus could have done what many other “kings” have done and are doing in our day. He could have built an awesome kingdom. He could have had the nicest church in town. Of course, none of those unbelieving Pharisees or Sadducees would have set foot in there, but the multitudes liked to listen to Him. He spoke as one that had authority (Matthew 7:29; Mark 1:22; Luke 2:47). If He got down on their level so they could understand the teachings (Matthew 13:34-35; Mark 4:34; John 10:6; etc.), He could have filled churches and He could have accepted what the devil offered Him. The devil offered Him authority over all the kingdoms of the world and He turned it all down (Matthew 4:8-11; Luke 4:1-8)
Not only did Jesus come as a humble Servant, but those are the only people He really came to talk to. (Luk.4:18) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me (There’s His anointing.), Because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor… If we want to be blessed, then we need to be among those who are poor in spirit. The poor in spirit can receive Jesus’ Words. They’re not offended by the kind of Jesus that offended the Pharisees and Sadducees. He was quite a different Jesus, and He is quite a different Jesus than is being preached nowadays. He is going to have a people who recognize Him and walk in His Steps (1 John 2:6). They are going to manifest His Life. He is going to live in them. Oh, glory be to God! This is the really Good News!
Let’s look at an example of how the Lord describes those who are poor in spirit. (Isa.41:8) But thou, Israel, my servant (The poor in spirit are servants of the Lord and He will bless them.), Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend, … (10) Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. He’s giving all these blessings to the poor in spirit. He’s assuring and comforting those people who are His servants, but are we really His servants? Are we really poor in spirit so that we will hear and obey His Words?
(Isa.41:14) Fear not, thou worm Jacob … Now He’s likening the poor in spirit to worms, and we know a worm is about as low as you can get, but remember Jesus said the very least among you will be the greatest (Matthew 20:26,23:11; etc.) A worm is also a very weak creature but, as Paul said, God’s power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9) and we shouldn’t make any bones about it. “Lord, we’re weak. We’re lowly. We know we can’t do it, but You can do it through us as we believe You.”
(Isa.41:14) Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel (A type of the Church); I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. (15) Behold, I have made thee [to be] a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth; thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. (16) Thou shalt winnow them (The only way a “worm” can do all this is by the grace of God.), and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them; and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, thou shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.
(17) The poor and needy seek water (This is still talking about these “worms” here, who are being blessed by the Lord.), and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst; I, the Lord, will answer them, I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. (18) I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. (19) I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, and the myrtle, and the oil-tree… Everybody is a “worm” in the wilderness because it is a place of need and weakness where only God can supply through our faith in Him. And whom is He blessing in this wilderness but these “worms,” these very lowly people, the poor and the needy?
Are you poor? Are you needy? David said in (Psa.17:15) As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with [beholding] thy form. In other words, “Lord, I won’t be satisfied until I awake in Your likeness.” He always felt that he didn’t have enough of God, and for those who are hungering and thirsting after righteousness, they feel poor in the things of the Kingdom. They cry out to God and God is there for them; He is a faithful Savior in the things of the Kingdom. However, far too many people are quite satisfied with mere religion. They’re just sitting in a pew and waiting for the rapture to happen, thinking they’re going to fly away. Other than that, seeking God is the farthest thing from their mind and it’s almost a chore for them to fellowship the righteous.
God promises His blessings upon the poor in spirit, for those who are of like mind with Jesus. They have chosen to be servants who serve God with everything that they have. They’ve put their lives in the Hands of the Lord and God said that He would deliver these people. He said that He would provide for them, richly, everything that they need (Isaiah 41). And apostle Paul repeated that promise to the servants of God in (Php.4:19) … my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
(Psa.35:10) All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee, Who deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him (These “worms” are not strong creatures, are they?), Yea, the poor and the needy from him that robbeth him? The Lord is a Deliverer to the poor. He takes the side of the underdog and God’s people, in many cases, are in that position, because all those who forsake the world to run after Jesus and be servants are putting themselves in that position. Even if they don’t put themselves in that position, God has a way of putting those, who are truly His, into that position. Now, we’re headed towards a tribulation in which God’s people will be put in a place of weakness, a place of worldly weakness. But God says that He is going to be their Savior and deliver them. With that in mind, who would you rather be? Would you rather be the rich that are crying out for the rocks to fall on them (Revelation 6:16)? Or would you rather be the poor who know they need God?
Now I don’t mean “materially” poor here, because I know that many people who come into the Kingdom and are financially well-off and use their money to make sure that the needs are met in the Kingdom. They’re faithful servants of God
Paul said, (1Ti.6:17) Charge them that are rich in this present world, that they be not highminded, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; (18) that they do good, that they be rich in good works, that they be ready to distribute (This is eumetádotos meaning “give from a generous attitude”), willing to communicate (The Greek is koinōnikós meaning “ready to impart; beneficent; willing to share.” (19) laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on the life which is [life] indeed.
I’m talking here about the poor in spirit. God is going to be their Savior for the very reason that they are weak and their trust is in God. (Psa.12:5) Because of the oppression of the poor, because of the sighing of the needy, Now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in the safety he panteth for. God is going to protect the poor in spirit. In other words, they are blessed in God’s deliverance, they are blessed in God’s safety in the days to come. (Psa.12:6) The words of the Lord are pure words; As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, Purified seven times. (7) Thou wilt keep them, O Lord, Thou wilt preserve them from this generation for ever. (He’s going to preserve those that are poor in spirit from this wicked generation.) (8) The wicked walk on every side, When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.
Oh, aren’t we seeing that today? There’s corruption and wickedness everywhere. The wicked are taking advantage of others and when they can, if they’re in a position to get away with it, they’ll persecute and kill them. And it’s only going to get worse, but as we see, having that spirit of the poor is a place of safety. After all, who did Jesus say He was going to preach the Gospel to? It was the poor because they could understand much more about the Kingdom. They’re much more humble concerning that. When I was young in the Lord, I used to go door-to-door and talk to people about the Lord, and I found that I was much happier going into the poor parts of town because people would listen. In the rich part of town, people didn’t want to hear it. I wanted to talk to them about Jesus, but they just wanted to tell me what religion they were. In the poor parts of town, it didn’t matter what religion they were; many times they wanted to talk with me. And so, when a group of us divided up to go to different parts of town, I’d pick the poorest part because it was much more fruitful.
Let’s look at another Psalm. (Psa.107:40) He poureth contempt upon princes, And causeth them to wander in the waste, where there is no way. (41) Yet setteth he the needy on high from affliction (In other words, they are “above affliction,” so whose shoes would you like to be in?), And maketh [him] families like a flock. (42) The upright shall see it, and be glad (Notice the upright respect and favor the poor.); And all iniquity shall stop her mouth. (43) Whoso is wise will give heed to these things; And they will consider the loving kindnesses of the Lord. Those who are wise will think carefully about these things. Don’t worry about not being rich in the eyes of the world. Don’t worry about not being respected by the world because the world is not supposed to respect you. We need the respect of God, and we’re looking here at whom He favors. Wouldn’t you rather have the favor of God?
(1Sa.2:8) He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, He lifteth up the needy from the dunghill, To make them sit with princes, And inherit the throne of glory: For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, And he hath set the world upon them. (9) He will keep the feet of his holy ones (Oh, glory be to God! He is going to enable them to walk a holy and sanctified walk in the Kingdom.); But the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness… God is going to lift up, He is going to exalt the needy. Praise be to God! He provides for His people! The Lord is going to cause them to inherit the throne of His Kingdom. That’s a wonderful blessing!
(Psa.68:7) O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, When thou didst march through the wilderness; [Selah] (8) The earth trembled, The heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God: Yon Sinai [trembled] at the presence of God, the God of Israel. (9) Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, Thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary. (10) Thy congregation dwelt therein: Thou, O God, didst prepare of thy goodness for the poor.
We see so many promises concerning the poor, and if we bring them over as a type and shadow into the New Testament, we can see exactly what Jesus is talking about. Again, we’re not speaking against the rich who serve the Lord, we’re just saying that the spirit the poor have is the one that Jesus is after. He wants all of His people to have such a spirit as that.
The Bible says in (Jas.2:5) Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world [to be] rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him? (6) But ye have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you, and themselves drag you before the judgment-seats? (7) Do not they blaspheme the honorable name by which ye are called? The poor need to trust in God and walk by faith in God because they have no other choice. They don’t have any worldly ability to provide for themselves, so they cry out to the Lord and the Lord always answers them.
Next, I want to share a testimony with you from Sister B.H. that exemplifies this.
In the fall of 1988, after a tragic and unforeseen event, I found myself alone and responsible to raise my two daughters, ages 2 and 12. I turned to the Lord and He drew closer to me than any human could ever have. In those days of great despair, the Lord became my best friend, husband, a father to my kids, confidant, defender, provider, and comforter.
(Isaiah 54:5,6) For thy Maker is thy husband; the Lord of hosts is his name: and the Holy One of Israel is thy Redeemer; the God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the Lord hath called thee as a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even a wife of youth, when she is cast off, saith thy God.
With the constant care and direction from the Lord also came many miracles during this time of my life. As finances were very slim, I had to trust God for many of the very basic needs of life and He never failed me.
One of the miracles was how God returned my stolen car to me. During this time, my sister-in-law and her two children had moved in with us to help share expenses as she too had found herself alone. We had gone to the grocery store that evening and bought milk, diapers, and a few other necessities. We then went to another store to see if we could find an inexpensive telephone as mine had quit working. We only had $10 left between us, and even though I had never seen a phone sold for that little amount before, I had a feeling we would be able to find one that we could afford. I knew that God said he would supply all our needs and this was a need. My oldest daughter had to babysit the younger children for a little while each day and needed a telephone in case of an emergency. As it happened, the store we went into was no longer going to carry telephones and had them at close-out prices. We were able to get a $50 telephone for $7. (Keep in mind this was in 1988.)
While we were leaving the store and praising the Lord for supplying our need again, we looked into the parking lot and could not find my car. It was gone. When the realization hit me that someone had stolen the car, a miracle happened within me that is hard to explain. (Well, didn’t God choose them that are poor to the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom?) The best way I can describe it is an unbelievable joy and confidence rose up within me, coming up from out of my belly. Like John 7:38 says: He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
With excited expectation, I knew that I was about to see a miracle. God was going to either bring my car back to me, or He would provide us with another car with milk and food in it. It really didn't matter to me how He did it, we needed a car and we needed the groceries that were in the car. Praise God, we knew it was coming our way.
When the police came, they put the description of the car over the police radio and so officers in the area were looking for the car. The officer that responded to our call allowed us to ride around with him and look for the car for a while. He said he had never met anyone like us before in his life. He had responded to many calls like ours before, stolen vehicles and such, but never had anyone acted the way we were acting. He could see that we were very happy and excited; we told him that we were going to see a miracle. We told him that the car was coming back or God would send us another one with the groceries already in it. He was being very nice and patient with us. He also did not want to discourage us, but he said the chances were very slim we would be able to recover the car. I told him not to worry, that God had it under control.
I asked the officer what thieves did with the stolen cars. He said a lot of times they would break them down and sell them out as parts; they also could be used in a robbery before they are torn down. My sister-in-law and I immediately agreed together in prayer that the car belonged to the Lord and could not be used in any crime. I am sure the officer was thinking we were crazy by this time, but he seemed to be enjoying the change from the norm. By this time the car had been missing for over an hour. The store where the car was taken was at the edge of town and at a fork in the road between two highways leading out of town, so the car could have been in the next county and in another town by this time.
Then a call came in over the radio saying the car had been found and pulled over just a mile from the store. It was on one of the highways headed back towards the grocery store. It turns out it was a professional car thief with a long record of such crimes. When they were caught, they told the police officer that when they saw the baby car seat in the back seat, they had an overwhelming feeling that they HAD to return the car. Praise God, the car was in perfect shape and the groceries were fine. The milk was as cold as if it just came out of the refrigerator and the police officer knew that he had just witnessed a miracle. Yes, God WILL supply ALL our needs!
Well, glory to God! Everything on this earth serves Him, and you can’t get anywhere where God can’t save you, but He loves to save the poor. He loves to save those who can’t fend for themselves and can’t take care of themselves. They’re at His mercy but they trust in Him. God can, and does, cause faith that He can save them in every situation to rise up in the heart of His people. (Jas.2:5) Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world [to be] rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him? The Lord is our Savior in all things. He will never fail us. He will never forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8; Joshua 1:5; Acts 17:27; etc.) He is there all the time (Jeremiah 23:23- 24) and, according to these many Scriptures we’ve looked at, He is a blessing to the poor.
Considering the days that we’re coming to, I don’t know why you would want to be anything but poor. Put your life in the Hands of the Lord. He brought His people into so many very hard places in the wilderness when He brought them out of Egypt, and each one of those places was a revelation of their weakness and His Strength. Believe it or not, where we’re headed, folks, almost everybody is going to be poor in the material resources of the world, but some people are going to be poor in spirit and those people are going to have the help of the Lord. They’re going to have the provision of the Lord. He’s going to be their Protector. He’s going to be their Deliverer and He’s going to exalt them. He’s going to provide for them and give them faith. If you’re poor in spirit, this is what it is to be blessed of the Lord.
If you are weak, know that you’re in the place of miracles. If you are poor, know that you’re in the place of miracles. If you are a servant of God, one who desires to serve only Him and puts that above everything else, know that you’re in a place of miracles. God is going to bless you. He’s going to provide for you abundantly. Put your trust in Him and worship Him. God bless you, saints!
Now I’d like to share some more miraculous testimonies with you of God meeting the needs of the poor in spirit.
The Lord, Our Provider
Greg & Anne Kohls - 12/03/2010
I hope this testimony is as much of an encouragement to those of UBM as it has been to our family. I am very grateful for God leading us to this ministry, for my faith has taken root and I am learning the full truth of the Gospel for the first time in my life! Although I must say that God was already at work in my life before coming to UBM, for this was merely the confirmation I needed of what He was showing me. This ministry took me to an even deeper level.
I remember one day while I was driving, I began thinking over our finances and wondering how we were going to make ends meet with our oldest son now in his first year of college. Our van was over 10 years old and, although it ran well, it was getting close to needing to be replaced. Right then I just said, “Lord, we are going to need a new van soon and I do not know how we be able to afford it. Could you please provide a van for us; I don't know, maybe through Greg's dad or something?” Well, about two weeks later, I saw my father-in-law and he said to me, “Oh, I happened to be talking to a friend of mine, and he mentioned in conversation that he wanted to trade his van in for a new car but he wasn't going to get much for it. I saw what a great van it was and decided to offer him a little more than the trade-in price and he took it! Have Greg go down and pick it up!” When my husband drove into the driveway with this new-looking van with only 50,000 miles on it, I was in awe! This was more than a van; it was a gift from God Himself!
Later on, I started hearing more and more about the economy and began wondering, 'Lord, we need to pay off our house. Could you help us be really disciplined and work really hard to do it within a few years?' ... knowing that would be a miracle in itself. Well, that was in October. At Christmas time (of which I am not really a fan), my mom, stepdad, and brother's family came for a visit and my parents asked just the adults to come for a meeting in the living room. They began to unfold the story of how my sister-in-law had been watching the French news (they were living in France) and saw that the French could be entitled to funds if they had been victims of atomic fallout. She wondered if this would be the case in the States as well and asked my mom to check it out. Yes, she found it to be true. (My dad had been exposed to atomic bomb testing in Nevada and later died of leukemia.) She then handed us a check that covered most of our house payment!
About three months after that, I asked the Lord to help us get out of our family stock club, which I did not like since we were unequally yoked with unbelievers. Due to family circumstances, everyone unanimously voted to cancel the stock club and cash in on our earnings. This was the exact amount we needed to not only pay off the house but also pay cash for my daughter's braces! It didn't take years to pay it off; it was a matter of months! All the while during this year, we somehow had enough to cover the college tuition! It seems to me that God is providing His children for what is to come and for us to not lose heart but to trust in His sovereignty and to be strengthened in spirit.
I know we have many challenges yet up ahead but God is faithful to meet our every need as we continually surrender our lives unto His. It was also during this time that we had left the local church and God miraculously led our family home to worship together under the teaching of David and the Unleavened Bread Ministries. I can see the transformation taking place in our household. Again, I am so very grateful for all of you. May this be an encouragement to you to “lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight”.
It is important to mention that none of these needs had been spoken of to anyone beforehand so it was purely a blessing from God and my father-in-law is definitely not in the habit of buying cars for people, nor did our family or extended family ever think we would receive retroactive pay for something that happened so long ago! “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in Glory!” It makes it a great object lesson for the times ahead to, 'Trust in Thee'.
God Understood My Needs
Michael Doty - April 2011
This is my testimony about God giving simple and understandable answers to my questions about things I need and need to know, such as how He answered my living situation question. God required me to humble myself, to stop blaming my problems on others, and to realize that it was my “self”, my old self. And I also asked for forgiveness. After that, things changed, and God granted me favor from people who did not even know me -- Alan and Jill Kennedy. As young and immature as I am in my walk with the Lord, I still don't know anyone who has been given favor like I have received:
1) The Kennedys lowered the rent so that I could pay my share on my old rental until the lease was over.
2) The Kennedys did not require me to sign a lease agreement.
3) They also did not require a deposit.
4) The utilities are still in the Kennedys' name and they have not asked me to change it in any way, just to pay it. (Deposit for utilities is high here.)
5) It was also completely furnished and has a beautiful back porch deck which is also furnished.
6) My dog is also at peace after moving to the hill, but she has put in the request box the need for her own bed in her own bedroom if I want peace in my bed and room.
Word for Mike: 1 Corinthians 12:18-23 on April 6, 2011
(1Co.12:18) But now hath God set the members each one of them in the body, even as it pleased him. (19) And if they were all one member, where were the body? (20) But now they are many members, but one body. (21) And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee: or again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. (22) Nay, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary: (23) and those [parts] of the body, which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely [parts] have more abundant comeliness ...
Can't Afford NOT to Give
A sister in Christ - 09/24/2007
Hello, brothers and sisters! The Lord put it in my heart to bless a Christian family in need. I don't have much money but am very, very rich in the Lord and have my needs met abundantly. I was given a certain sum for my day and was looking forward to using it to bless a Christian family in need because I almost never have the opportunity to give money, as I am a stay-at-home mom and do not handle the finances. Giving is such a joy in the Lord.
A few days later I received a check as a gift. Then today my family received a large gift of money that was 20x larger than I had given away. I have also been given clothes, many brand new, for my newborn. God's provision for our family is so evident and I praise Him for it. My husband is not yet walking in obedience to the Word, but God still honors my faith and provides miraculously for our family. Last year our tax return for a family of five was under $20,000 and we lived in an area where the median income was $90,000. He certainly has been multiplying for us.
He is faithful, true and a GOOD Father.
God Supplied and Fixed Everything
Doris Zambrano
I am so happy to say that I am seeing miracles in my life, living here in the wilderness! I praise You, Lord!
Anyway, due to limited income right now, I ran out of propane and just decided to let God show me what to do until I had the resources to get more. I did, however, have electricity, so I was able to have heat from a small heater and the fireplace. Bless God! I went without propane for almost a week and then I was blessed with some money to get more.
The company that had been delivering propane to me since May did not return messages regarding my situation, so I was led to another company in another town. The propane delivery man came and since I had run out, he had to check all the connections and equipment before filling my tank. He discovered many leaks and a regulator that was outlawed some 10 years ago. Well, he was so wonderful, he replaced the regulator and did not charge me yet (he just said that he made note of it and would bill me when I could pay, praise God) and worked to fix the leaks and then filled the tank.
Since he has been here my propane usage has gone down tremendously! I know that God has a reason for everything He does, although we do not always understand, He knows what He is doing. I know that if I had not run out of propane, I never would have gotten a new regulator or had the opportunity to fix any leaks. How awesome is our God! Lord, bless Mr. Riley, bless this oil company for their kindness and thank You for Your protection and provision! \o/ Bless David, UBM, and all those You call Yours. Thank you, Father! In Jesus' name, I pray.
Thanking God and Being Blessed
Keith McIlroy - 08/17/2009
I am thanking God for my trials. It is a new concept for me.
My earthly father comes to visit me almost every year in July to pick raspberries and black currants. We have a few hundred acres where the raspberries grow wild. There is also about a five-acre plot of black currants planted near here where we go and get the black currants from. The first nation's band (politically correct way of saying Indians) had a government grant to plant them about six years ago. The money was wasted before they were picked, so no one has ever picked or maintained them since they were planted there.
One morning, we went down there and started picking. My dad was complaining about how few berries there were, compared to the previous year. I had just read a really good book called Prison to Praise and was learning to thank God for all things good and bad. So I started praising God and thanking him for the berries and for the bugs that were living up to their name: bug.
Then God brought it to my mind that I was plundering the world system of my day to have these berries. I never planted or worked in any way for these berries; God had especially planted them for me. No one else goes there to pick them. I was awestruck. So I praised Him! It really reminded me of the Israelites going into the Promised Land -- it was all planted and ready for them. I could just rest; in the meantime, I had just stayed in one area and the more I thanked God for this blessing, the thicker the berries were. The other family members who were also picking there were walking all over, not finding many berries, but the plants I was picking from were just loaded! I don't think I went 20 feet and picked six pails of berries in a few hours. Every time I thanked Him for creating the mosquito biting me, there seemed to be less of them bothering me. It was an awesome experience for me.
Prayer and Patience Produce Provision
Melody - 09/18/2012
It has been on my heart since yesterday to write this praise report.
Exactly one year ago yesterday, my son Nathan and his friends Sean and Austin moved two provinces away, which is about 1800 miles from us. They didn't have much money, and their vehicle broke down upon reaching their destination. It was starting to get cold and they were just wandering. (They all know the Lord but I sometimes wondered how well.)
Anyhow, I put in a prayer request to UBM for them. After exhausting all their funds at a motel, they had no place to live. Here are the answers the Lord provided, right after I sent the prayer request.
A family took them in, in exchange for some chores and babysitting. So, even though they were not a Christian family, the Lord used that situation to meet their needs and also help them to meet others' needs and to really open their eyes.
Shortly after that, Austin and Sean each got jobs as cooks in a hotel restaurant. Then Nathan got a job with a large company and was hired to weld various equipment as needed (he always liked welding but was not ticketed).
Not long after, the mother of a friend he worked with wanted to move into a facility for seniors. So the boys helped her move a couple of hours away. They had purchased an older truck by then and she didn't want to leave her house empty, so she rented it to the boys for $250 a month; which is unheard of. Rent for a three-bedroom home with a double car garage would normally go for $1100-$1200 a month. In exchange, the boys look after some of her belongings which she stores in the basement, and bring her anything she needs when she asks. They've also built shelves for her at her new place and look after the flower gardens.
Last July, my husband, Shawn, and I went to visit our son and his friends while they were at work. We started working in the flower gardens at the boys' “greatly subsidized home from the Lord.” An elderly neighbor lady came out to talk to us. She said she would love to help but she was feeling very ill. Shawn asked her if we could pray for her and she said yes. After we finished, she started to tear up and said she felt better almost immediately! She is a retired nurse. I imagine how she had tended to others' hurts for years. Our Jesus wanted to minister to her. It is just amazing how far the prayers reached and probably reach even further than we know!
Sean exchanged his job for a better one a few months ago with better pay and working hours. Yesterday, our son called to say that he just started working his first day at a new place, the same place Sean is working. They really needed a welder and couldn't find a ticketed one, so because he passed their welding test on the interview the previous week, they are putting him in at millwright wages, which he told us was $27 an hour. These are just amazing answers to the prayer I asked for these boys one year ago.
Because of the great feeling of the need for prayer I had at that moment for these wandering boys, I then became a prayer partner, as well. It's so exciting to know our prayers make a difference and our God is so wonderful. I know that sometimes people expect instant or quick answers, but His answers and timing are important, not only for our needs but the character He wants to develop in us. I can surely see His hand in all of this and I wanted to share this praise report and to encourage you in all your prayers.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart and may God richly bless you all.
The scripture on my heart is: (Eph.3:20) Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us...
Your Debt Has Been Paid!
Jay & Niki Nara – 1/4/23
I want to share something that just happened to me this morning.
In a few short weeks my car registration should be renewed, so in order to do that you have to do a safety check. Yesterday I went to the nearest mechanic, and he gave me the bad news. He listed things that should be fixed on the car, up to $ 4,000 plus, which is an amount that I am not able to afford since I am a single dad and a pensioner.
After that, I saw a little insignificant mechanical shop nearby and I booked another appointment for this morning. I was a bit worried after that, and through the night thinking of the outcome, because I really need a car to drive and to pick up my teenage son from school after the holidays, which finish in a few weeks. I was even thinking not to go this morning, doubting the outcome.
Still, I got up and decided to try once more. On the way to the mechanic, I was listening to the last UBM post on 1/04/23. Then, I came to the part where you were talking about the debt and debtors, how they are trying to make us feel guilty for the debt that has already been paid by our Lord, and I got inspired by that to put it on my Facebook page (photo). I briefly prayed to God to help me in this very important situation for me.
So I left my car in the shop and went home for a short time. When I went back, feeling anxious about the outcome, the mechanic (a sweet little old man) asked me how I wanted to pay, and when I asked how much I owed, he said: $47, which was just the price for the labor! I was overwhelmed and so relieved since it meant so much to me, and I went on my way praising and thanking our good God for everything. Hallelujah!!
Wednesday Mar 19, 2025
Wednesday Mar 19, 2025
Return of the Man-Child (3)
David Eells – 3/19/25
Taking up where we left off, we read, And thou Bethlehem, land of Judah, Art in no wise least among the princes of Judah: For out of thee shall come forth a governor, Who shall be shepherd of my people Israel (Mat.2:6). We know that Jesus is always going to be the Shepherd; He’s always going to be the King David over Israel. God is never going to change that, but there are some things that He might change, as we’ll see. Previously, we learned that the Lord said, A body didst thou prepare for me (Heb.10:5). The Lord, Son of God, came in a body that was prepared for Him through Mary, a body of the Son of Man. We know that God’s plan was for Jesus to leave an individual body and return in a corporate body so that He could minister all over the world. Today we are going to see the first-fruits of those who have fully entered into this by the grace of God. In other words, the first-fruits will be a body like the body of His temple that He spoke about when He said, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up (Joh.2:19). (21) But he spake of the temple of his body. And we’ve discovered that’s referring to His corporate body.
We know that the Lord comes in every one of us. For instance, He says, Try your own selves, whether ye are in the faith; prove your own selves. Or know ye not as to your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you? unless indeed ye be reprobate (2Co.13:5). (Col.1:27) … Christ in you, the hope of glory. Jesus Christ is in you! All through the Old Testament, Jesus was coming in vessels of honor through whom He ministered. For example, it says this: (1Pe.1:10) Concerning which salvation the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that [should come] unto you: (11) searching what [time] or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them. The Spirit of Christ was in great men of the Old Testament and that’s what made them great men. He is the Shepherd; He is the Ruler; He is the King David and always will be, but He’s going to repeat history because That which hath been is that which shall be (Ecc.1:9).
I’m reminded of a very famous text that speaks of Who Jesus is: (Isa.9:6) For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father (or “Father of eternity,” literally), Prince of Peace. (7) Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. God called Jesus to repeat history Himself. He was a King David in His day, Who was given, once again, the reins of government, which is in total agreement with what the Bible says about Him.
(Luk.1:31) And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. (32) He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: (33) and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. So He would receive the throne of David forever, just as the Bible speaks about when it states, David shall never want (“lack”) a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel (Jer.33:17).
For example, the Bible says this: (Jer.33:14) Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah. (15) In those days, and at that time, will I cause a Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David (now, this was a long time after David); and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. (16) In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; and this is [the name] whereby she shall be called … That’s a very strange text, but if nobody had changed what word was actually there in the Hebrew, that’s what they would have had to translate; the word is “she.” It’s strange because in Chapter 23 the word is “he,” but here it is “she.” Some people think, “Well, he made a mistake and they replaced it with ‘he.’” They didn’t translate what was really there.
The word, “she” is used quite often in the Bible when referring to a corporate body of people and that’s what this is. This is a corporate body, which God calls the “branch,” that is raised up as the seed of David. We know that Jesus Christ is our David on His throne all the way up through eternity, but as we saw earlier, the Spirit of Christ comes into many men and we have seen many from the beginning of Scripture to the end who are types of the Man-child. The Spirit of Christ comes into them and uses them, like a body of the son of David. (Jer.33:16) In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; and this is [the name] whereby she shall be called: the Lord our righteousness. Notice that this is a corporate body of people, “our righteousness.” (Jer.33:17) For thus saith the Lord: David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel.
Now we know that Jesus the Son of God has been given the authority of David’s throne for eternity, but the question is, what is the “man” that He abides in who does this work? This is what the branch is; it’s a corporate body of men in whom the Spirit of Christ rules and reigns. (Jer.33:18) Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt-offerings, and to burn meal-offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. (19) And the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, saying, (20) Thus saith the Lord: If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, so that there shall not be day and night in their season; (21) then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he shall not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. In other words, this is from the time of David up until the time of Christ and until our time; so it appears that He never broke His covenant with David. There was always a David upon the throne. Isn’t that amazing?
I would suspect that you could not recognize this corporate body according to the flesh. (Luk.17:20) … The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. We’re talking about a spiritual Israel, a spiritual Jerusalem, and a spiritual David. Many people recognize, that Jesus was the Son of David and that He was born of the seed of David according to the flesh (Rom.1:3), but He was declared [to be] the Son of God with power, according to the spirit (4). What body could the Lord be choosing in our day to fulfill this covenant of a man in whom Jesus Christ lives to occupy the throne? Well, it’s the body of the Man-child (Revelation 12:5), which we’ve spoken of. (Jer.33:22) As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured; so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.
I am sure you could look at that in a certain way, meaning multiplied throughout history, but I suspect it also means (and the Lord likes to hide things like that) that in these days there will be a great number of Davids and that this, “the Lord our righteousness,” is a very large group of people. (Jer.33:25) Thus saith the Lord: If my covenant of day and night [stand] not (Is it still in effect? I would say so.), if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; (26) then will I also cast away the seed of Jacob, and of David my servant, so that I will not take of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (The seed of David is to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.): for I will cause their captivity to return, and will have mercy on them. In these days, we know that even with the natural seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, a remnant of them is once again going to turn to the Lord God of Israel.
We read in the last study that in Revelation 12, the son of David, this Man-child is caught up to the throne of God. And here we see the Bible says, Blessed be the Lord thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on his throne, to be king for the Lord thy God (2Ch.9:8). Many people see the Man-child caught up to the throne of God in heaven, but the Lord God is calling David’s throne on Earth His throne. This is the throne of God. In fact, it says here, At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord (Jer.3:17). Jeremiah is talking about the New Jerusalem on Earth. There is still a throne of David. Not in natural Israel, but you can find it in spiritual Israel because we know that Jesus Christ is the Son of David, the eternal Lord of His Kingdom. And He’s also coming in a body, A body didst thou prepare for me (Heb.10:5).
You may say, “That was referring to the body of the individual Jesus.” That’s true, but everything repeats and it always repeats on a larger scale. We have the Word of God for that, which cannot be broken (Joh.10:35). So we have to believe that it will be the same thing once again. The Lord told me many years ago, “Everything that has happened in the Gospels and in the Book of Acts will happen again, except the cast of characters will be multiplied many times over.” The Lord thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on his throne, to be king for the Lord thy God (2Ch.9:8) is true of Jesus. It’s true of the body of Jesus and we’ve already spoken of the manifestation of the body of Christ, that we all claim to be by faith, and rightly so. But we’ve discovered that there is also a manifestation of the body of Christ, that is, those in whom Christ lives. If Christ lives in you, then you manifestly are the body of Christ. We’ve taught that we grow into this wonderful position 30-, 60- and 100-fold, according to Jesus Himself, so God is fulfilling it in that way.
Let me share something else with you. Remember that the Lord told me that the Gospels were a type of the first 3½ years of the Tribulation period and the Book of Acts was a type of the second 3½ years. Now we know that other types of the end-time Man-child show different similarities. For instance, Joseph brought God’s people through the seven years of famine, which is a type of the seven-year Tribulation. We also know that Moses took God’s people geographically halfway through the wilderness and we know that Revelation chapters 12 and 17 speak of the first and second 3½ years, respectively, and call the “wilderness” the “Tribulation.” Moses went halfway through the wilderness and then was glorified. When I say halfway, I’m not talking about time-wise, but in geographical distance. Some people, myself included, believe that the Lord brought His people across what we now call the Gulf of Suez, high up near where Succoth was, where the Gulf narrowed down quite a bit. Then He carried them across the Sinai Peninsula, where they crossed the Gulf of Aqaba, which they called the “Red Sea.”
Apostle Paul said, Mount Sinai in Arabia (Gal.4:25), not in Sinai. Arabia is east of the Gulf of Aqaba. I had heard years ago that the explorer Ron Wyatt had come across the pillar that the Israelites had erected to identify the place where the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea and it was on the eastern shore of Aqaba. They also discovered out there the mountain that Exodus 19 speaks of being burnt and charred on the top because God’s presence came down on it, which was Mt. Sinai, and found it as a place called Jabal al-Lawz, which means “the Mount of the Law.” That’s interesting because that’s where Moses received the Law. If you look, which I have, on several maps, you can see where the Israelites left Egypt and crossed the Gulf of Suez. And if you follow that on down to Jabal al-Lawz and then follow that point and return back up to where they crossed into the Promised Land, you find that it is like an isosceles triangle (where the two legs are approximately even).
I thought the Lord was pointing out to me at that time that Moses went halfway through the wilderness (meaning 3½ years) and at that point he was glorified. Like Moses, Jesus went 3½ years through His ministry before He was glorified. I believe that Mount Sinai is Jabal al-Lawz in Arabia. Many signs seem to confirm that, even though the Saudi Arabians have fenced the mount off. They do not want Christians going in there.
By the way, at the foot of Jabal al-Lawz is the altar where the golden calf was set. Of course, the golden calf isn’t there anymore, but the altar is. There are quite a few other artifacts there, including several hieroglyphics depicting the golden calf scratched into the rocks in the area of the altar. These finds make it very plain that this is the correct spot and I believe Ron Wyatt even took pictures of chariot wheels submerged in the Gulf of Aqaba, which further makes the case that it was the real Red Sea, not the Gulf of Suez. It would have taken the Israelites three months to travel from Egypt to Jabal al-Lawz. It took them a lot longer to get to the Promised Land because they were disobedient by worshipping the golden calf, but it was geographically halfway. I believe the Lord was showing me the two 3½-year periods of the wilderness Tribulation.
At any rate, we have a pretty good confirmation right here: (Exo.34:29) And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of the testimony in Moses’ hand … The two tables of the Testimony are the same thing as the Tables of Witness, the Two Witnesses. The Man-child is going to give to God’s people the Two Witnesses, upon whose heart the Word of God is written, not upon tables of stone. There’s a fulfillment here of that. (Exo.34:29) And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of the testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses knew not that the skin of his face shone by reason of his speaking with him. In other words, Moses had come face-to-face with God. We know that we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory (2Co.3:18). This is the type and the shadow here of God’s people, at least the first-fruits, coming into the Image of God. It even says, The first of the first-fruits of thy ground thou shalt bring unto the house of the Lord thy God (Exo.34:26). There is a type of the first-fruits here and it is Moses. It would have been Jesus in His time, but here it’s Moses.
So after Moses came face-to-face with God, Moses manifested His glory. I believe what’s being said here is that this is a glorified soul, not a glorified body. The Man-child goes through three stages of perfection. I believe that when Jesus started His ministry, He was perfected in Spirit by the Holy Spirit because He was anointed with the Holy Spirit. And when He was crucified, that’s a parable about our being crucified, too, in a crucifixion of self 3½ years into the Tribulation. When a parable is first shown (and the Bible does say that Jesus was a sign (Isaiah 7:14), or in Hebrew, an uwth of something to come), it’s literal, and the next time it’s spiritual.
So we see that the first-fruits, who are only spiritually the Man-child and not physically, as Jesus was, are the spiritual fulfillment of this parable. In the midst of the Tribulation period, the Man-child is going to be glorified in soul because “self” has been crucified. At the end of the Tribulation period, he will be glorified in body. The progression is first spirit, then soul in the middle, and then body. These are the three stages of perfection that God is bringing Himself to in His people. In fact, When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believed (because our testimony unto you was believed) in that day (2Th.1:10). And also, But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, for that God chose you from the beginning unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth (2Th.2:13).
Let’s continue in Exodus. (Exo.34:30) And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. (31) And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses spake to them. They must have run on down the road because they had to turn around and return to him. (Exo.34:32) And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in mount Sinai. (33) And when Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. (34) But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the veil off (because he wanted to see the Lord clearly, face-to-face), until he came out; and he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. So, Moses was in communication with God face-to-face, but with the children of Israel behind a veil.
This will also be so with the ministry of the Man-child. Jesus said, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing: for what things soever he doeth, these the Son also doeth in like manner (Joh.5:19). Jesus was in close fellowship with the Father; He walked in the Spirit; He saw the Father and He saw the people. Yet Jesus walked also behind a veil, as the Scripture clearly shows us, and we’ll see that shortly. (Exo.34:35) And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone; and Moses put the veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him. We’re told the same thing about the first-fruits. (Heb.10:19) Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, (20) by the way which He dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh.
So we enter into the presence of God through the veil, which is to say, through His flesh. Jesus’ flesh was a veil. The people did not see the real Jesus. They didn’t see the glorified man underneath that veil of flesh; they saw the veil. However, when the Lord went into the presence of God, He was in Spirit where there was no veil, speaking with the Father. This is the same thing we see here with Moses. Moses was a type of Jesus and a type of the Man-child. We’re getting a description here of the kind of ministry that the Man-child is going to have and it’s just like Jesus’ ministry.
Seeing God face-to-face makes us capable of manifesting God before His people. (2Co.3:18) But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. From behind that body of flesh, called a veil, there was a glorified soul, ready to walk through the other half of the wilderness.
Now we know that Moses went all the way through the wilderness, but that’s only part of the picture. If we look at other different types of the Man-child, they’ll show other parts of the whole picture. For example, we can also see Jesus in Acts where it says, And when they were come over against Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia; and the Spirit of Jesus suffered them not (Act.16:7). So Jesus was a type of the second 3½ years of the Man-child during the Tribulation. We know that because the second part of the Tribulation started at the end of Jesus’ ministry when He was crucified and it ended with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, which was the destruction of the Harlot by the Beast. We see that the second 3½ years starts at the end of the first 3½ years and extends to the point of destruction of the Harlot by the Beast. The Book of Acts represents the 40 years between Jesus’ ministry and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Forty is the number of tribulation.
We’re seeing here a perfect parallel between Moses and Jesus. Some have thought that Jesus did not have a ministry after His 3½ years, but He did have a ministry of guiding His people for 3½ years, just like Moses went the other half of the distance through the wilderness to the Promised Land. Moses brought the people all the way and, in type, Jesus did that, too. His glorification in the second 3½ years represents what Moses was when “his face shone.” What we’re really referring to in the end times is a glorified soul underneath a body, with the body being the veil that permitted men to look upon that which is glorified and have fellowship without being frightened. We would call it bearing fruit “100-fold.” When the Lord sows the seed of the Word in our hearts, it’s to bring forth Himself in us, 30-, 60- and 100-fold (Matthew 13). That’s not referring to the body; that’s referring to the fruit of Christ in the soul, or in the heart, and that is what we are here for. What makes the first-fruits the first-fruits, is that they have come into this glorified soul and they have come into the crucifixion of self, which is the type that Jesus showed us.
If we look at the timing of Exodus 34, we find that it falls in the middle of the Tribulation period. How do we know that? Well, for instance, in Chapter 32, we see what happened there was, they made the image of the beast and worshipped it. That’s a pretty clear sign of being the middle of the Tribulation period. What came along with worshiping the image of the Beast, according to Revelation 14, was the mark of the Beast. So we see them there in Chapter 32 bowing down to this image of the beast and we see God’s rebuke of them, and we see the Tables of the Testimony were cast down and broken.
(Exo.32:19) And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. We know the two Tables of the Testimony represent the Two Witnesses corporate body because “witness” and “testimony” are the same word. So Moses the Man-child, as a type of Jesus Christ, brings the two witnesses with the Word of God written upon their heart to the people of God, which is what Jesus did with His disciples when He sent them out two-by-two. They were a corporate body of two witnesses to go to God’s people and bring the Law, that was written upon their hearts, to them. It’s an exact type and shadow of what we see here.
However, it says here, he saw the calf and the dancing (in other words, the people were worshiping the image of the beast): and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount (Exo.32:19). So not only did Jesus bring the Two Witnesses, but the people in their sins “broke” them. I believe that the Apostle John was the only one who died a natural death of old age. The rest of the apostles were all killed. The apostates “broke” their Two Witnesses. We see what God says about this situation a few verses later: (Exo.32:26) Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoso is on the Lord’s side, [let him come] unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. These are the only people who did not worship the image of the beast from among the camp of God’s people.
We’re told that God has chosen us to be a kingdom of priests. (Exo.19:5) Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be mine own possession from among all peoples: for all the earth is mine: (6) and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation … In other words, all of God’s people were called to be priests because we all offer sacrifices unto God and we especially offer up this body as a living sacrifice unto the Lord. On the altar of the fiery trial, the old flesh is burned up, which is what our sacrificial life is supposed to be.
The people who did sacrifice, the Levites, did not join in with the rest in worshiping the image of the beast. The true Levites, the tribe that followed God, were God’s inheritance. It was the firstborn from among all of Israel who were His inheritance and then God changed that to be the Levites. Those priests were His inheritance, He said, and God was their inheritance. Those Levites were the ones who were on the Lord’s side. (Exo.32:27) And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Put ye every man his sword upon his thigh, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. Well, as you know, those who worship the image of the Beast are slain because they no longer belong to the body of Christ; they belong to the Beast. The mark of the Beast is the sign of his ownership and those on whom have the mark, belong to him. They are dead; they’re no longer living.
The Levites will have the authority to bring great judgment on the earth and, again, we’re talking about the middle of the Tribulation period because we’re referring to the mark and image of the Beast being manifested. This was the time that Moses was glorified; this was the time when the Two Witnesses were beginning to be killed. (Rev.11:8) And their dead bodies [lie] in the street of the great city (that’s Babylon, not Jerusalem), which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. (9) And from among the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations do [men] look upon their dead bodies three days and a half, and suffer not their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. “Three days and a half” is half of the seven “days” of the 70th week of Daniel 9, which makes it 3½ years that the Two Witnesses will be killed. From the time of the middle of the Tribulation to the end of the Tribulation, they are being killed.
When they finish their testimony, this great group of witnesses (prophets) will be allowed by God to be killed and they’re resurrected in the last trump of Revelation 11:15. But in response it is Moses, it is the Manchild, who sends the Levites forth to slay the members of the body of the Beast. (Exo.32:28) And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. (29) And Moses said, Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, yea, every man against his son, and against his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day. (30) And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the Lord; peradventure I shall make atonement for your sin. (31) And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. (32) Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
Moses wanted to take the place of the people, which is also what Jesus did, but how many of you know that Jesus’ sacrifice will not apply to everybody in the end? (Heb.10:26) For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins, (27) but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries. People who live a life of willful sin and indulgence in the world will die. As the Bible says, If ye live after the flesh, ye must die (Rom.8:13). Walking after the flesh is to take the mark of the Beast because the mind of the flesh and the works of the flesh is to take the mark. Those people who are walking in sin willfully and do so up until death will have no sacrifice.
(Exo.32:33) And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. In other words, God would not take the sacrifice of Moses for those people who worshipped the image of the Beast and took the mark. In fact, in Revelation 14:9-11, He says that there is no sacrifice for them. This is a way of separating those people who are Christian in name only from those who are Levites, the kingdom of priests that God said would come. “Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.” That sounds like reprobation to me.
(Exo.32:34) And now go, lead the people unto [the place] of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine angel shall go before thee; nevertheless in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them. (35) And the Lord smote the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made. This is clearly referring to the time of the middle of the Tribulation period, when Moses in type as the Man-child is glorified, at least in soul underneath that body of flesh, in order to carry them all the way to the Promised Land, which in one parable we would call the “Kingdom of Heaven.” At the end of the seven years, that’s exactly where God’s people go. Just like Noah, they’ll be in the Ark; it lifts off and they’re in the Kingdom of Heaven.
I think it would make a very good study to do an Internet search for “Jabal al-Lawz” and learn about some of the things that have been discovered about this particular mountain. Again, it’s not located in the middle of the wilderness by time; it’s only the middle of the wilderness by geography, by distance. But that’s where the altar of the golden calf was and that’s where the fire burned the top of the mountain and where Moses was given the Law to give to the people. It’s very interesting. Actually, the first time Moses was on the mountain was way back in Exodus 19 and this is the second time he’s on the mountain because this had to fulfill the type. So we have Joseph going, as a type of the Man-child, seven years, and we have Moses, as a type of the Man-child, going through the first and the second half of the Tribulation, which were both called “the wilderness.” Now we have Jesus also going through the two halves, in the Gospels and the Book of Acts, as well.
As we said earlier, the Spirit of Jesus was surely in those disciples. Jesus said, It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life (Joh.6:63). His words went into those disciples and recreated Himself in them. The spirit in them was the Spirit of Christ. He had taken on a new body, but it was still the Spirit of Christ. When the first-fruits show up, I believe very shortly, in our day, this is what we’re going to find. They are the body of the Son of David which sits upon God’s throne. It’s not a throne somewhere up there in the sky, but it’s the throne here on the earth that spiritually is the leadership of God’s people. The throne is the place of leadership.
I had quoted Jeremiah earlier, but only a part of it. It says, At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it (So you know it’s not natural Jerusalem because the Gentiles are coming to it.), to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart (Jer.3:17). This is the end time, obviously, because this has not been true at any time in history. It has to be the “latter days” because, truly, when these people come to the throne, God has perfected them, matured them, and made them ready for the Kingdom of Heaven.
(Jer.3:18) In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north (which was captivity) to the land that I gave for an inheritance unto your fathers. Our early church fathers were given all of the land for an inheritance, but for 2000 years we have not entered into it. It was the same with Israel. In the beginning, God gave them the whole land, which represented the Land of Promise, but I don’t think they ever set foot on any more than about a third of it and actually take possession of it.
Well, in these last days, we are going to take possession of all of the land that was given to our fathers; we’re going to take possession of all of the Land of Promise, representing all of the promises of God that we’re going to walk in. We are going to enter into the land of rest. (Heb.4:3) For we who have believed do enter into that rest … We’re actually going to keep the real Sabbath, not the shadow, and it is to walk in all of the Land of Promise that the Lord gave unto us. Once again, God’s people will be walking as the early disciples walked. They’ll be walking in the power of God, in the anointing of God and in the knowledge of the truth, only this time it will be the latter rain.
When he began to walk with God, Moses was the one who had the former rain (or the latter rain, in type) because God took of the anointing that was upon Moses and put it upon the 70 elders. If you remember, that’s the same thing that happened to Jesus. Jesus was the One Who came with the former rain and He was the only One Who had it, but the people whom He raised up as disciples were later given this anointing. When Jesus first sent His disciples out during the first 3½ years, they didn’t have that anointing. What they had was authority given by the Lord. He said, “You go and do this,” and they went out and healed the sick and cast out devils and raised the dead (Matthew 10). Jesus was their authority. But then He said that God was also going to send “another Comforter” (John 14:16) and we know that was the Holy Spirit Who came in the middle of the Tribulation, on Pentecost, in the middle of the seven years and at the end of the 3½ years of Jesus’ ministry. The disciples received the former rain and went out with that anointing to do the works of Jesus.
Jesus said the Spirit of God shall take of mine, and shall declare [it] unto you (Joh.16:14). One of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to recreate in us, through the anointing (because “Christ” means “anointed”), the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. It is impossible to do that without the anointing, which breaks the yoke (Isaiah 10:27). It is Not by might, nor by power (meaning man’s might and power), but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts (Zec.4:6). The Lord is about to make this possible. The anointing that was upon Moses, the Lord later took and put upon those 70 elders. Jesus also had 70 whom He sent out and the anointing came upon them.
I especially like what it says a little further down in the text. (Jer.3:19) But I said, How I will put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of the nations! and I said, Ye shall call me My Father, and shall not turn away from following me. He had already said, “Neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart.” Wow! This is awesome! I dare say, that most of the people of God do not know Him as Father. They know Him as “God,” a very distant name. But know Him as Father? This is the relationship the Lord is going to establish by bringing us into the manifestation of the sons of God (Romans 8:19). Jesus was the Son of God and always called Him “Father.” Get out your concordance and look it up. He did not call Him all the names that the Jewish Christians or the Judaized Christians wanted to call Him. Jesus called Him “Father” and this is what He says we will call Him. This is what we’ll know Him as – as “Father,” like Jesus knew Him. He used the term over and over, all the way through the Gospels.
These people are going to be coming back out of the land of the north (as we see from Jeremiah 3:14 on down), out of bondage, back to Zion. Zion is the place where King David ruled and Zion is the place where Jesus ruled, not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. Jesus was ruling in a new city of Jerusalem and the Apostle Paul told the disciples that they are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb.12:22) while they were on the earth. So, once again, God is restoring the Kingdom.
As Jesus came to restore the Kingdom, the Man-child is coming to restore, to rebuild spiritual, heavenly Jerusalem on this earth and to sit as the body in whom the King Jesus Christ lives. God has said, David shall never want (“lack”) a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel (Jer.33:17). Inside that “man” is going to be the King of kings and He is going to get all the credit. The King of kings is coming inside the body of the Son of David. Glory be to God! Isn’t it neat the way God has put this parable together over and over, so we would understand sooner or later?
Father, in the Name of Jesus, we thank You so much, Lord, for helping us to see these wondrous things and we enjoy seeing the New Testament in our time, Lord, the Gospel time period. You are going to repeat this again. Oh, what a wondrous time we are coming to! A time of great glory, a time when the Lord Himself is coming to fellowship with us and live in our midst, as He lived in the midst of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, Lord. He came in the midst of His people. Jesus is Immanuel, “God with us,” and we thank You, Lord. We want so much for You to live in our midst. Those people who bowed to the golden calf, You were angered with and said You would no longer go in the midst of those people because they were a stiff-necked people. Lord, we know that’s true of those who worship the image of the Beast, but it’s not true of Your true people, who are Your true Levites, Your chosen ministers. Lord, we praise You and we thank You for the privilege of having You walking in our midst. We ask You, Lord, to finish the promise that You gave us, the promise that You gave to the fathers. Cause us to walk on all of the land that You gave to them, Lord, which our forefathers lost out on during the Dark Ages all the way up until the time we are in now. Thank You for being our Father and our Savior, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Sunday Mar 16, 2025
Sunday Mar 16, 2025
Jesus Is The Way -
Humility To Glory (3)
David Eells – 3/16/25
We’ve noticed that Jesus taught a lot on humility, although He didn’t necessarily always use that term, so today, I’d like for us to look at humility as the demand of discipleship because humility is the process of crucifixion, the process of taking up our cross and following Jesus (Matthew 10:38; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23). So how do we take up our cross? The main way that we take up our cross is through obedience to God’s commands, because His commands are humbling to the flesh, which is crucifying to the flesh. We have to lose our life to gain our Life (Matthew 10:39; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:25; etc.), and Jesus’ commands were designed to cause us to lose our life; they were designed to humble the old man and bring him to naught. Let me share with you a few places where I think Jesus particularly pointed out this humble walk to us.
(Mat.5:1) And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain: and when he had sat down, his disciples came unto him: (2) and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, (3) Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. What does that mean, “the poor in spirit”? Well, we’re warned by Scripture to beware of the rich because they usually exercise their authority and their power to take advantage of the poor (James 2:6-7; 5:1-6; etc.) And so the poor in spirit is a people that have been humbled because they don’t have the authority, they don’t have the means by which to take full advantage of the world, or to be peers with the rich of the world. For God’s people to be poor in spirit is obviously to be a humbled people.
(Mat.5:4) Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Obviously, we mourn. The world is full of laughter and enjoying everything that’s going on around them but, like Lot (2 Peter 2:7-8), we’re grieved in our hearts. When we put the Word of God in our heart, the Jesus Who is in us is grieved at the things that go on around us, is grieved at the advantage that the wicked take of us, is grieved at the persecution that they bring against us. Losing your life can be painful, of course, but if we obey Jesus’ commands, He will make it as quick as possible. Thank You, Lord!
(Mat.5:5) Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. There’s something about the meek that the Lord loves, and the ones whom He picked to be His disciples that weren’t meek, He humbled. He doesn’t want people to be bold and demanding their own will, their own way, using their own strength to negotiate with the world. That’s not the way of the Lord. That’s not the way of His people.
(Mat.5:6) Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. That’s a good promise, although obviously the great majority of God’s people don’t “hunger and thirst after righteousness.” No, they’re quite satisfied with what they have. They believe they’ve been told the Truth, so they think they have it all summed up, but God doesn’t want us ever to be satisfied. I like what David said, “I’ll never be satisfied till I wake in thy likeness” (Psalm 17:15). That’s the kind of thinking that God wants us to have. He wants this desire to be in us, this hunger and thirst to be full of His righteousness.
(Mat.5:7) Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. The Lord is teaching us that if we show mercy, forgiveness, and grace towards others, He’s going to multiply it back to us. (Luk.6:37) And judge not, and ye shall not be judged: and condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: release, and ye shall be released: (38) give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give into your bosom. For with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again.
(Mat.5:8) Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Who are “the pure in heart”? It’s the people who have a heart that has been renewed by the Word of God, who have hungered and thirsted after righteousness, who are convicted by the Word, who read it for the advantage of gaining Christ (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23; etc.)
(Mat.5:9) Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God. So many people are picking sides nowadays! And sadly, many of God’s people choose a worldly side; they want to fight with the world against the world. They’re confused about where the Kingdom of God stops and the kingdom of the world starts, and that’s why we need discernment from the Lord, a discernment that only the Word can give to us. We’re here to make peace. We’re here not to choose between the lesser of two evils, but to choose God’s Kingdom in the midst of all evil because it’s all evil. All the nations of the world are evil; they’re all fallen.
(Mat.5:10) Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Another Scripture tells us, (2Ti.3:12) Yea, and all that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. If you’re going to live Godly, as Jesus walked, you are going to suffer persecution, and it’s for the purpose of crucifying that old man. But notice He said, “Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake” because if we suffer for doing evil, we don’t receive glory or gain any advantage for that (1 Peter 2:20,3:17). And many of us do suffer God’s chastening for doing things that are contrary to His Will, but that’s because He loves us and wants us to turn and go the other way.
(Mat.5:11) Blessed are ye when [men] shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. We don’t like to suffer persecution, or people speaking lies against us, and so on, but God said, “Blessed are you.” This is more of God’s humbling process, that we should accept what’s being spoken against us. Jesus told His apostles, (Joh.15:20) Remember the word that I said unto you, A servant is not greater than his lord. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. If they did it to our Lord, they’ll do it to us and so we should be rejoicing in our persecution. In fact, look at what the very next verse says.
(Mat.5:12) Rejoice, and be exceeding glad (Notice that’s our command from the Lord.): for great is your reward in heaven… We’re going to receive a reward because of all the things that the wicked, and wicked Christians, and wicked worldly people, say against us. We’re going to get a reward for that and so He tells us to rejoice and give thanks to God. I don’t believe when we’re on the other side of our trial looking back, brethren, that we’re going to think, “Boy, I’m sorry I went through that!” It says in (Heb.12:11) All chastening seemeth for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yieldeth peaceable fruit unto them that have been exercised thereby, even the fruit of righteousness. Obviously, we’re going to see the results of God’s blessings and the things that He’s provided for us because we have gone through that, and because of the peaceable fruit that God is working in our heart by our going through this. No, I believe we’re going to thank God.
(Mat.5:23) If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, (24) leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. God doesn’t want to accept anything from our hand as priests of the Lord, until we make things right with anybody that we have offended. Now we know there are ways we offend people that are perfectly legal and right. Jesus offended people quite a bit, but He offended them by speaking the Word of the Lord. He didn’t offend them by foolishness and sin, which is what this is talking about. We will offend people, but Jesus didn’t ask forgiveness for speaking the Word of the Lord and speaking the Truth, even if it hurt.
However, some people are a little overbalanced in speaking what they call the “truth.” They don’t have grace in what they say, and they don’t build people up in what they’re doing, which is wrong. And when we outgrow that, we should go back and tell those people we’re sorry that we did such things, because our youthful exuberance sometimes causes trouble, and hurts people more than it helps. (Mat.5:25) Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art with him in the way; lest haply the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
Yes, if we have offended someone, we need to quickly go and make it right. If not, God may make us pay because of the damage that we’ve done to somebody else. Also notice that if someone doesn’t make things right, they’ll be “cast into prison.” Do you know who serves as God’s “officers” in prison? It’s the tormenting spirits that people labor under, and are chastened under, and so forth. (Mat.5:26) Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the last farthing. We have to pay for some sins. We need to repent quickly before God calls in our debt.
The same thing is seen in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, where the servant was forgiven by his master, but afterward wouldn’t go on to forgive his fellow servant. Let’s read that in (Mat.18:32) Then his lord called him unto him, and saith to him, Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou besoughtest me: (33) shouldest not thou also have had mercy on thy fellow-servant, even as I had mercy on thee? (34) And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due. “Tormentors” is the word basanistḗs; the “place of torments” is básanos. These tormentors are the demons that God permits to torment people because of their evil works until they repent and humble themselves under the mighty Hand of God.
(Mat.18:35) So shall also my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye forgive not every one his brother from your hearts. There is no choice; we have to forgive. We may feel that these people are not worthy of our forgiveness. They did us wrong, and they were evil, they really hurt and abused us, and so on, and all those things could be true, but it doesn’t make any difference. We did all those things to God. We were wrong; we were evil; we deserved what we got and yet, He forgave us. And Jesus came and bore the penalty for our sins, thank God! We’d all be destroyed otherwise. God is humbling us, and He gives us help with this humbling process. When we’re not willing to do it ourselves, He causes us to count the cost for our low living until we realize, “Well, it’s not worth it, so I need to turn to the Lord.”
(Mat.5:38) Ye have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: (39) but I say unto you, resist not him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. We often need to be reminded of this because it doesn’t come naturally to us and it really irks the old man to “resist not…evil.” We think that we self-righteously deserve God’s goodness since, in our eyes, we’ve been good, but God sees otherwise. He sees that down inside of us, there is something that would rise up to defend self and, of course, self cannot be defended in any way, legally. In the Name of Jesus, self cannot be defended because self is the enemy of God and must be crucified. And our Lord Jesus, Who went to the Cross, didn’t deserve what He got but He bore it for us. Praise the Lord!
Now, “resist not him that is evil” doesn’t mean to “resist not the devil,” because the Bible says, “resist the devil” (James 4:7). Nor does it mean that we don’t resist false prophets who come in to teach lies and take advantage of the people, because we see that Peter, Paul, John, and Jesus Himself spoke against false prophets to defend the disciples from the faith (Matthew 17:15, 24:5,24; John 5:43; etc.) What it does mean is resist not the evil that comes against you personally, because these are the times when “self” rises up and really wants to fight back. And we’re going to reap what we sow if we do that (Galatians 6:7) since the people of the world don’t have any restraint upon them to fight, nor do the wicked so-called “Christians.” And you’re going to always keep reaping from these people what you sow. They’ll just continue to fight, and continue to fight. You’re the only one that can stop it, and as you deny the old man the right to defend himself, he dies a little bit more each time and it becomes easier and easier.
(Mat.5:40) And if any man would go to law with thee, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. Years ago, a good brother I knew was plundered by some people who were working with him. They stole all his machinery and other equipment, then they lied to the police and said that he owed it to them. So he came to tell me what happened and asked, “What am I going to do?” I replied, “Well, I can only tell you what Jesus told us. It’s one of those ‘bitter pills’ that doesn’t go down easy, but it’s what Jesus said.” Just as when the wicked came and robbed Job, and Job said, (Job.1:21) … Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.
Again, in (Mat.5:40) And if any man would go to law with thee, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. (41) And whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him two. These things are all very humbling, are they not? These commands put us in the place of weakness; they put us in the place of crucifixion when we obey them.
(Mat.5:42) Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. That’s another command, but sometimes we wonder, “Should I or should I not?” Well, sometimes we become judges instead of just obedient servants, and the Lord doesn’t want that of us. He says, “Give to them that ask of thee.”
(Mat.5:43) Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy: (44) but I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you… Of course, this is another one of those bitter pills that goes down hard, but I tell you, the best thing to do for your own heart, and for theirs, is to pray for them. And another text that’s very similar is, (Rom.12:38) Bless them that persecute you; bless, and curse not. Notice, it’s those that persecute you. Now there are places in the Scriptures where what people would consider to be curses were spoken, even by disciples of God. Were they disobeying this command? No.
When Paul turned a man over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, it was so that the man’s spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord (1 Corinthians 5:5). Paul didn’t have any personal thing to gain by doing this; he did it because it was good for this man. So you see, there are some curses that are not curses at all. They’re blessings. A chastening from the Lord is a blessing. If you don’t chasten your child, he gets worse and worse (Proverbs 13:24), therefore it’s not a curse when it’s a blessing, even though it may function in effect as a curse. So “Bless them that persecute you; bless, and curse not,” is saying, “Don’t resist personal affronts against you. Bless and curse not.”
Here’s another example of a curse, which is actually being a blessing. (Act.13:6) And when they had gone through the whole island unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus; (7) who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of understanding. The same called unto him Barnabas and Saul, and sought to hear the word of God. (8) But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn aside the proconsul from the faith.
(9) But Saul, who is also [called] Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fastened his eyes on him, (10) and said, O full of all guile and all villany, thou son of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? (11) And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. (12) Then the proconsul, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
Certainly, most people would consider that a curse, but Paul didn’t speak that because someone was persecuting him personally; it was to defend a man from another, wicked, man. God Himself delivers us over to the curse, and He can use vessels like the apostle Paul, or like us, in the Spirit, but He’s never going to do it if we’re retaliating or fighting against people whom God has sent to crucify us. We see Jesus didn’t resist crucifixion. He could have called down a curse on all those people that were being used to crucify Him, but He didn’t. He said, (Luk.23:34) … Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do…
(Rom.12:15) Rejoice with them that rejoice; weep with them that weep. (16) Be of the same mind one toward another. Set not your mind on high things, but condescend to things that are lowly. Be not wise in your own conceits. (These are all good attributes of humility.) (17) Render to no man evil for evil. (In other words, anybody that brings evil to you, render not evil back to them. Trust in God. Let God retaliate if He wants to.) Take thought for things honorable in the sight of all men. (Make sure you’re representing Christ before others; make sure that you are being a revelation of God to them.)
(18) If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men. (19) Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath (Give-in to whatever wrath man brings against you, because it goes on to say,): for it is written, Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord. (20) But if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. (21) Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
All of this brings us into the place of humility, the place of crucifixion, and it’s a work of God in our heart. He wants to put “self” to death. Now it’s not necessarily what we have done; it’s who we are. God is dealing with the man down on the inside of you that is called “self.” The old man, the carnal man, has to be put to death. Even if you have never let him live through you, it doesn’t make any difference. God wants to kill him, and we need to give God His way, because this is what yields that peaceable fruit, that humility in our hearts. People don’t know what a selfless man is; people need to be able to see that in us. They need to see Jesus in us.
Returning to Matthew 5 again, Jesus says, (Mat.5:43) Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy: (44) but I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you; (45) that ye may be sons of your Father (This is what a son of God is.) who is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. (46) For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? (47) And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more [than others]? do not even the Gentiles the same? (48) Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. What would bring us to perfection? Undoubtedly, it’s this crucifying of the old man by loving your enemies, turning the other cheek, and resisting not the evil. All of these are the most powerful tools that God uses to crucify the old man.
The next chapter is also very good concerning humility, because we love to take the glory or the credit for doing things, but God constantly tells us to deny that in ourselves. Jesus said, (Mat.6:1) Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them… Now God wants righteousness to be manifested through us and He wants it to be seen. If we go back to chapter 5, we read, (Mat.5:16) Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. These two verses may seem contradictory; however, God does want us to show forth good works so that men would give glory to God but not glory to self. Chapter 6 is speaking here about doing good works so that we may receive glory.
(Mat.6:1) Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them (Just like the Pharisees, who always wanted to be seen for the good things that they did.): else ye have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. (Whenever we glory in what we’re able to do by God’s grace, we’ll lose our glory because we’re robbing God.) (2) When therefore thou doest alms, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. (If you receive the glory of men, then you have the only reward you’re ever going to get.) Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward. (3) But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: (4) that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee.
Do you want a reward from the Father? Then do your best to find the shadows, kind of like the Lone Ranger. He would always do good works and help people out by saving them from the villain, but when people would turn to give him credit for it, he was gone. He had already slipped out the back door or whatever, and we have to be that way, too. The only thing phony about the Lone Ranger was he was the only one who got to wear the white hat, and so everybody knew he was the good guy all the time but, be that as it may, he tried to avoid the limelight, avoid the credit, and slip out. [Editor’s Note: Wikipedia says: “The Lone Ranger is an American Western drama television series that aired on the ABC Television network from 1949 to 1957.”]
(Mat.6:5) And when ye pray, ye shall not be as the hypocrites: for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. (Oh, yes, there’s a lot of that nowadays, too, “official prayers” that you know are only skin deep and not really coming from the heart.) Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward. (6) But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee.
(7) And in praying use not vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. God makes it clear that He doesn’t want us to take credit for praying, or brag about praying, or brag about fasting, or any such thing as those. He wants us to keep all that between us and Him. Anything that would build up the flesh and give it reason to be proud or give it reason to claim credit is the opposite of humility, is it not? God wants us to be humble. (8) Be not therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. Amen, He does.
We all have to be very careful that what we think justifies us before God. We need to be careful of our attitude. We should make sure we’re being humble before God and not taking any credit or robbing Him of any of His glory. The Law does that; it robs the glory of God. That’s why God found fault with the Law and He brought us under grace, where we can receive no credit; everything comes from the Lord. (Luk.18:9) And he spake also this parable unto certain who trusted in themselves that they were righteous…
Now I don’t know if you’ve ever been there, but I have. The first full-Gospel religion I was in taught me to trust in myself that I was righteous because I had done certain things, all of which were good things, but the things that we’ve done are not our justification. Our justification is because we’ve received the Lord’s mercy and He’s done it all at the Cross. If we take any credit for anything that we’ve done, what we’re saying is we’ve done it and He’s not done it.
(Luk.18:9) And he spake also this parable unto certain who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and set all others at nought… Isn’t that the way of religion? And we did that a lot in that first religion I was in over 40 years ago. We “set all others at naught.” We judged others just like those Pharisees did. But after getting out of that religion, I saw that their judgment was coming back upon them, and it was coming back upon me, too. God was showing me that I was a Pharisee and that I needed to repent.
Reading again, (Luk.18:9) And he spake also this parable unto certain who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and set all others at nought: (10) Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. (Publicans were traitors to the Jews.) (11) The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself (I underlined that in my Bible. He prayed “with himself,” in other words, God wasn’t there. God wasn’t hearing it. He was just all by himself since God was ignoring him.), God, I thank thee, that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. (12) I fast twice in the week… Did you ever fast twice a week? I usually leave it up to the Lord now, but I used to fast regularly twice a week. I did it to pray and get close to God, but then I felt like I was under the Law, so I decided I’d let the Lord tell me when to fast and I learned as I grew up a little bit in that.
(Luk.18:12) I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that I get. You’ve been lied to, people, from a lot of preachers who say you’re not going to have the favor of God unless you tithe. That is not the truth of the New Testament. Tithing is of the Law. Jesus told the Jews, not the Christians, not the people who were following Him, He told the Jews in (Mat.23:23) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done (Notice that’s past tense.), and not to have left the other undone. So Jesus said tithing was of the Law, and He never put the tithe on His people.
In fact, He also said in (Luk.14:33) So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. This humbles us even more because we’re not even owners of the 90%. Now we’re stewards of the 100% and we have to put it all in God’s Hand. He’s the One Who tells us what to do with it. Well, this Pharisee was seeking to be justified by works of the Law, something that we’re told over and over in the New Testament is impossible (Acts 13:39; Romans 4:2; Galatians 2:16; etc.) You cannot be justified, you cannot be accepted or favored by God, because you tithe. God wants you to get away from that and start listening to His Spirit and find out what He wants for you in the New Testament.
Back to our text in (Luk.18:13) But the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote his breast, saying, God, be thou merciful to me a sinner. See, he was not doing all the things that were considered correct “Christianity”, and he was failing God a lot, but he recognized himself as a sinner and he humbled himself to ask for mercy from God. (Luk.18:14) I say unto you, This man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be humbled (It doesn’t matter how many good things he’s doing.); but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. If we want to be exalted by God, the way is to choose to be humble, and to choose not to be proud that we’re being humble, either, but to choose to be humble because God loves that and God will lift us up and bless us, and we need that desperately.
Now you may have heard the saying that “with knowledge comes power,” but with knowledge also comes responsibility, as Scripture says. Let’s read that in (Luk.12:47) And that servant, who knew his lord's will, and made not ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many [stripes]; (48) but he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few [stripes]. And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required: and to whom they commit much, of him will they ask the more.
So I’d like for us to go back and look at this text in Matthew. (Mat.11:20) Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not. (21) Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. (22) But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. (23) And thou, Capernaum, shalt thou be exalted unto heaven? thou shalt go down unto Hades: for if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in thee, it would have remained until this day. (24) But I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
You see, God makes people responsible when they see the glory of God, when they see the works of God; He makes them more responsible than others. A so-called “Christian nation,” although I don’t believe there exists such a thing except for the spiritual nation that covers the earth, is more responsible to do something with the Word than a lost nation. It will receive more judgment than a so-called “wicked” nation. In fact, the so-called “Christian nation” that’s going about doing their own will and following their own agenda will receive more judgment.
And then people don’t connect this next text with the previous one. (Mat.11:25) At that season Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes. What are “these things”? All of God’s wondrous wisdom is hidden from those whom the world considers to be the “wise and prudent,” but in this particular case, He’s also talking about the text before it concerning “the day of judgment.”
Have you ever noticed how most apostates nowadays don’t believe that their nation can be judged? They’re more a part of their earthly, physical nation than they are a part of the nation that they’re supposed to belong to, which is New Testament spiritual Israel. The demon spirit of patriotism, that’s killed even more people than religion, creeps in and they take sides with their natural nation against their spiritual nation. They’re thinking according to the flesh. Far too many Christians in America are very prosperity-minded and they don’t know anything about the crucified life.
They teach against, they even rail against, the fact that, yes, God is judging and will judge this nation. It’s hidden from them, hidden from the proud “wise and prudent.” (Matt.11:26) Yea, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight. (27) All things have been delivered unto me of my Father: and no one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal [him]. And, of course, God will reveal Himself to the humble babes, those who just trust in their Father.
(Mat.11:28) Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (If you’re toiling under the heavy burdens of the curse of this world, if you’re being crushed by your sins, Jesus gives you the cure. He gives you rest. How?) He says, (29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (Our problem is we’re prideful and puffed-up. We’re strong to do our own will, and it brings a heavy curse upon us.): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. The Lord wants us to humble ourselves so He can show us the coming judgment, and cause us to avoid it, if we will humble ourselves.
Can God deliver His people from the coming beast if they will just humble themselves? Yes, and here’s a story that teaches exactly that. It’s something which I believe is happening even now. Let’s go to (2Ch.12:1) And it came to pass, when the kingdom of Rehoboam was established, and he was strong, that he forsook the law of the Lord (He wasn’t depending upon the strength of the Lord. He was strong, and he forsook being obedient to God’s Word.), and all Israel with him. (So as went the leadership, so went the people.) (2) And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had trespassed against the Lord… Notice it’s always for that reason. The enemies come up to conquer us and to bring us under and to bring us to our cross, because we have trespassed against the Lord.
Shishak represents the beast kingdom of that day, which was the Egyptian empire that conquered Israel of that day. Rehoboam represented the leadership of Israel and Jerusalem represented the leadership of God’s people in Israel. They were strong, but God brought the beast against them to bring them down and we have just such a thing happening in America today. The government is going after the greedy preachers who have kept a whole lot more than they should have kept as their own. They don’t believe in participating in equality among the brethren, which is commanded in 2 Corinthians, chapters 8 and 9. And the government, the beast kingdom, is coming against them to conquer them.
(2Ch.12:2) And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had trespassed against the Lord, (3) with twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen. And the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt: the Lubim, the Sukkiim, and the Ethiopians. (4) And he took the fortified cities which pertained to Judah, and came unto Jerusalem. The Lord told me years ago what Judah represents in the New Testament. “Judah” means “praise” and it represents the Spirit-filled people. Now I know “Spirit-filled” is a term that’s used very loosely, because we see in the Old Testament they sinned, too, and they brought the judgment of God upon themselves, too. However, they had less of an excuse because they were the people who worshipped at the true Temple and the Presence of God was in their midst, as the in-filling of the Spirit represents.
(2Ch.12:5) Now Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Ye have forsaken me, therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak. (We know God is raising up a beast kingdom right now that’s a worldwide kingdom, so notice that those who forsake the Word of the Lord, and those who are strong in themselves and think they can defend themselves, will be conquered by the beast kingdom.) (6) Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, the Lord is righteous.
(2Ch.12:7) And when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves: I will not destroy them; but I will grant them some deliverance… The phrase “some deliverance” could also be translated as “deliverance within a little time or a little while,” or “a few that shall escape.” But notice that the king, the man who was strong in himself, the king humbled himself along with the leaders, and God had mercy. He didn’t totally destroy them. He wanted to crucify them; He wanted to chasten them because of their evil.
Saints, nobody ever gets away with anything. The Bible says clearly in (Heb.10:26) For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins, (27) but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries. But if you humble yourself, it won’t be total destruction, either. And that’s what we need to do, because there’s a great beast kingdom on the horizon and it’s rising up against God’s people even now.
(2Ch.12:7) And when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves: I will not destroy them; but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. (8) Nevertheless they shall be his servants, that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries. In other words, “Who would you rather serve? Would you rather serve the Lord by humbling yourself, or would you rather have to serve the nations?” Many times God’s people ended up under the thumb of the nations, under the thumb of the beast kingdoms, because they didn’t take the easy way of humbling themselves and serving the Kingdom of God.
(2Ch.12:9) So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house… I’ve mentioned before, in this particular country, the beast kingdom is rising up against the greedy preachers because of their fleet of airplanes and their castles that they’re building all over the country. And notice here that the beast kingdom took away the “treasures of the house of the Lord.” Now listen, very soon they’re going to take away the tax exemption “and the treasures of the king’s house,” too. It’s all going to happen exactly the way the Bible says.
(2Ch.12:9) So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house: he took all away: he took away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made. (10) And king Rehoboam made in their stead shields of brass (He wanted something to possibly fool the people and save some face for himself.), and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, that kept the door of the king's house. (11) And it was so, that, as oft as the king entered into the house of the Lord, the guard came and bare them, and brought them back into the guard-chamber.
(12) And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the Lord turned from him… Now this was not a good king among the kings of Israel. If he could do this, then anybody who is truly the called and blessed of God can do this. Are you living under any kind of a curse, even though you’re walking by faith in the promises? One of the most important things you can do is to humble yourself.
(2Ch.12:12) And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the Lord turned from him, so as not to destroy him altogether: and moreover in Judah there were good things [found]. Again, this is talking about the Spirit-filled people. And it’s true that there are good things to be found among God’s Spirit-filled people, but there’s also a vast rebellion going on so there needs to be some humbling.
(2Ch.12:13) So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there: and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess. (14) And he did that which was evil, because he set not his heart to seek the Lord. Well, this was an evil king, yet he was capable of humbling himself because he knew what it would take for God not to let His full wrath come upon him. In other words, to him it was “fire insurance,” but still the Lord didn’t pour out His full wrath upon him because he humbled himself. And notice, “He did that which was evil, because he set not his heart to seek the Lord.” That’s evil in any of us, if we set not our heart to seek the Lord. You don’t have to necessarily go out and do many bad works or evil things, but if you just set not your heart to seek the Lord, that’s evil before Him.
(2Ch.12:15) Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the histories of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer, after the manner of genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. (Pay attention to that now. Here’s a person who was evil before the Lord and God never let him get out from under the curse of warfare; it was nothing but war, war, war, all the rest of his life.) (16) And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.
If we’re living under any kind of a curse, we can see 2 Chronicles 12 is a good advertisement for us to humble ourselves before the Lord. Of course, we should still continue to walk by faith and confess the promises, those things are all necessary, but also anything that we can do to put down this old flesh is pleasing to God because the mind of the flesh is the enemy of God. (Rom.8:6) For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace: (7) because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be: (8) and they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Our battle is to crucify that old man. Humbling ourselves is the process of crucifying that old man, and all of Jesus’ teachings demand that as disciples. We humble ourselves, we accept the crucifying Nature of Jesus Christ as our own.
Jesus and His disciples were a demonstration of humility to the people of their time. History must repeat so: The Man-child reformers and their disciples will be in our time. So, I will share a few revelations concerning this.
The Davids Send Disciples from Zion
Kendall Remmick - 10/08/2009 (David's notes in red)
In a dream, David and I were standing in a house of an old friend of mine (This is the old man; self) whom I hadn't seen in a very long time. He wasn't there, but David (representing the end-time body of Davids prophesied to lead God's people out of corruption, as Jesus did) David and I had met there to have dinner together (feasting on the Word with the Davids). I was a bit confused at how I got there with him. As I was looking around, I noticed large bugs were starting to surround us and the room was littered with trash and old leaves (This is corruption, the old house of the old man). I said, “I think we need to get out of here,” and in a flash we were in a very nice house. (We must leave the old house of corruption for the new house of “Christ in You”.)
This was a Frank Lloyd Wright-style house. David was sitting at the dinner table, just smiling, and hadn't said anything in this dream. I walked over to the table and sat down; right then my phone rang, and it was an emergency. I was frustrated and a bit embarrassed. I answered and said, “I told you I had to take care of this, and it would be just a moment”. (I feel this represents the world interrupting my Bible studies -- having to go to work or running errands, when I would rather be studying the Word coming from UBM; like the riches and cares of the world.) (There’s no time to waste; seek to be in God’s Word now.)
Then I raced back inside and I saw a butler standing by the table, but David was gone. The second I asked, “Where is David?” I was on top of a mountain and David was strapped into a red hang glider, getting ready to launch. (This represents being caught up to the throne of David ministries on Mount Zion by overcoming the world and its gravitational allure. Hang gliders are not man-powered but wind-powered and lifted. Wind and Spirit are the same original word in the Bible. From Zion, disciples, in whom Jesus lives, will launch out to the rest of the world with the Gospel. (Rom.11:26) ...There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer; He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. (Psa.53:6) Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Then shall Jacob rejoice, [and] Israel shall be glad.)
Now, back in the '80s, in my younger days, I had a hang glider and I used to launch off a mountain at the foot of Golden, Colorado. The locals called it Lookout Mountain, but the official name of the mountain is MOUNT ZION! (Representing the Bride, according to John in [Rev.21:9,10], who, under the Man-child, will save God's people, as in the prophecy of Esther and Song of Solomon.) This mountain is also the grave of Buffalo Bill, who is a cowboy famous for killing thousands of buffalo (killing our fleshly beasts).
So, here I am on Mount Zion (the Bride city where David, Jesus in the Man-child rules) looking at David strapped into a red hang glider ready to launch. I asked David if he needed some help launching and he just smiled at me and lifted the hang glider up and as he did, the wings started to get bigger, bigger and bigger! Then the color changed to a crimson (washed in the blood) and covered the top of the mountain. David then pointed to the left where there was an entrance into the hang glider made out of the red cloth. Some other people and I walked in. Here we sat down and rested (Resting is ceasing from man's works to keep the spiritual New Testament Sabbath) and we were all looking out over the valley and commenting on what a nice view it was from there (Meaning ready to launch out overcoming the world below and seeing this from heavenly places in Christ).
Disciples Going Forth with Miracles
Michael Duncan - 10/06/2009 - 3:16 AM (David's notes in red)
I dreamed I was with some clients in a different -city. (Michael was with UBM but others were listening to him.) I was asked to take them home. I told them I only have a little room in the car but they could squeeze in. We went into a house and they all fell asleep. (These people represent those who inspect our teachings and the city of God but are not interested and return to their spiritual sleep.) I never made it back to work.
I was then in a field (Jesus said, “The field is the world.) where there were lots of people milling about what looked like a catastrophe relief refuge, like at wartime. (The right and the left are at war now in 2025) I saw a woman named Eleanor Clayton (this is the receptionist at my job - her entire name means shining light in a clay settlement) who was there trying to load up a mail sack onto a mail pole at a train station so a passing train could pick it up. (This represents those who are a shining light, who will send out the Word to the world in the ancient fashion of the early disciples of Christ.)
I watched as the train was racing past, and it was almost at the end, and Eleanor barely got the mail loaded just as the caboose was passing by, but she successfully loaded it in the nick of time. (The end-time message gets out.) The people in the camp began to clear out and I saw the clients in my car waiting for me. (After judgment, the clients become interested. In the natural, America is becoming a nation of refugees after the many attacks of the DS. Looks like communications may be reduced to more simple methods in this refuge. The DS has already tried to take down the electrical grid.)
I was then at a gas station (a place where power is stored). I saw David Eells there with some people. (Representing the David ministries and their disciples of Christ.) There was a certain woman with no arm; she had a small nub of an arm on her left shoulder. (The worldly church will have no power to do the works of God for they lack the arm of the Lord Jesus.) She was explaining to everyone how something in the womb (perhaps a chemical reaction) prevented the arm from growing to completion. David asked the woman, “Have you believed God for healing?” (They never grow to maturity through trusting doctors, with their drugs or pharmakeia.) David and I walked over to the woman, and I grabbed the nub and we began to pray. I was praying in the Spirit and, as we prayed, a demon came out of her, causing us to let go of her. I made a motion of pulling the nub, as if I was pulling it out. As I did that, I watched as the arm grew out and was completely whole.
(Through the revelation of the Word, witnesses will raise up many from the apostate church and restore their power to do the works of Jesus. They will destroy the beast kingdom. Isa.51:9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of Jehovah; awake, as in the days of old, the generations of ancient times. Is it not thou that didst cut Rahab in pieces, that didst pierce the monster? Isa.53:1 Who hath believed our message? and to whom hath the arm of Jehovah been revealed? Once the “arm” of the Lord's strength is revealed to God's people, they will become the “hand” through whom it is manifested to the world. 53:10 Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see [his] seed, he shall prolong his days [in His seed], and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand [His seed].)
I was crying and thanking God and we were rejoicing. David looked at the arm and when he saw that it was whole his eyes opened wide and he smiled with great contentment and nodded his head, saying, “That's our God!” I began to tell everyone about this awesome miracle of God. It seemed like a beginning of many more to come. (Probably the latter rain will come after the earthquakes. Davids will train and send disciples to heal and cast out demons and do mighty miracles, just as it was under Jesus, the son of David.)
I was then on my old road, called Harper Road. (meaning “minstrel or harpist”; which is seducing the people through music) I was in my front yard with my daughter, when a whole parade of red convertible corvettes with seductive decals of women on the sides began to drive by. These cars were low to the ground and were very decorative. At a closer glance, I saw young kids doing sensual stuff in the cars. (The immature Christian organizations will become more and more worldly in attempts to seduce the worldly with their harlot ways.) I tried to protect my daughter from seeing it (Those groups born of true disciples will not want to be polluted with their sins.). I told my oldest daughter about the miracle healing of the woman at the gas station. It was as if I was trying to get her mind on heavenly things.
Next, I was driving, and I received a cell phone call to see if I wanted to do a concert, so I drove over to where the concert would be, and I saw thousands of people waiting around; it was a college campus atmosphere. (There will be great hunger for truth from those who discern it and an opportunity for discipleship.) I drove through the crowd and came to a group that would not move out of the way, and they were selecting new wheels and rims for their car. (There will be some who try to hinder the way because of their love for the ways of the world. We see now in 2025 people who are rioting and blocking highways.)
I saw my friend David Faulk (meaning “falcon”, a bird that preys on other birds) and we went into a room and I began to tell him about the miracle healing of the woman at the gas station as we were rejoicing. (Even some shepherds who have plundered the flock will turn to righteousness when they see the miracles, like Nicodemus.) I noticed there was a girl in the room who began to manifest demons as I spoke. She was stopping her ears and began to be in torment. (Many apostate assemblies will hate to hear the truth.) We began to rebuke the demons in Jesus' Name. She ran out of the room and then the evil spirit seemed to get stronger as it was trying to break down the door to get back in. (1Jn.2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us: but [they went out], that they might be made manifest that they all are not of us.)
We were holding the door shut and saying, “In the Name of Jesus!” (Without [speaking of the bride city] are the dogs Rev.22:15.) As we were attempting to say, “In the name of Jesus”, it seemed we could not get the name “Jesus” out. It was as if the air in our lungs was restrained. So it sounded like, “In the name of -----”. We eventually squeaked out the name, “Jesus” and the girl with the evil spirit became a small dog and I was slamming the dog around, saying, “In the name of Jesus”. It was a serious battle. (This reminds me of, I fought with beasts at Ephesus in (1Co.15:32). The demon-possessed religious systems try to stop our use of the name of Jesus in their political correctness, just as with the early disciples in [Acts 4:17-19].)
Then the scene changed and I was now in a vehicle with David Eells. It was a very large and high military vehicle with an open top (heavenly spiritual warfare). David was behind the wheel and we were leaving very swiftly from the previous place (departing from spiritual Babylon). We were proceeding down Maple Road (where sweetness was, the Sweet Waters) very fast on a curvy, steep hill downward (humbling ourselves). We almost lost control around a sharp curve, but then, suddenly, a lightning bolt struck the power lines above us and it also came into us, preventing us from going off the road. (The power of God in us will keep us on the path.)
This strike did not hurt us. David was explaining how the jolt went through us and that it was okay (This is the latter rain anointing of the Holy Spirit, Who will empower the man-child Davids and the two witnesses after them.). I felt a sensation in my head where the lightning bolt went through. We stopped in to a restroom (getting rid of the waste of Babylon, i.e. sanctification). I introduced myself to David as one who helps with the book covers for UBM (And he’s done a great job, too). I mentioned to him that it was neat that we have not ever met face to face before, and here we were out ministering together, and God was doing miracles. It seemed as if it was the days of the Book of Acts once again. (The latter rain disciples going forth to administer the benefits of the Kingdom.)
Thursday Mar 13, 2025
Thursday Mar 13, 2025
Return of the Man-Child (2)
David Eells – 3/12/25
I’m going to talk to you today about spearheading the Man-child ministry.
The Lord showed me many years ago that history repeats (Ecclesiastes 1:9) and the events in the Gospels and Book of Acts will be repeated in our day, except the cast of characters will be multiplied many times over, with corporate bodies replacing the individuals of Jesus’ day. As time goes on, there is a geometric effect from people passing on to people, and everybody walks in the steps of someone. These are the people about whom we read in the Gospels. The corporate bodies of people in our day have walked in the steps of those New Testament individuals, whether it be Jesus or Judas.
Nations have become empires in our day from the same geometric effect. We recently discussed the lineage of Jesus Christ, which, for some strange reason, was given as the lineage of Joseph, even though we know that Joseph had no physical or genetic connection to Jesus Christ. But he did have a spiritual connection, which was the most important one in the New Testament. Joseph had a gift from God to impart words, actions and examples for the child Jesus to imitate as He was growing up. (Luk.2:52) And Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. And He was filled with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32).
I’d like to point out a few more things from Matthew 1. We read, And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ (Mat.1:16). The lineage given is the family tree of Joseph, but the interesting thing is that “Jacob begat Joseph.” That sounds very familiar. This is referring to Joseph the husband of Mary, but we know that in the Old Testament Jacob also begat Joseph (Genesis 30:22-24). And Jacob was Israel (Genesis 32:28), now he is a corporate body of people. And it’s very interesting that Israel brought forth Joseph, who was a Man-child of the Old Testament.
Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph, was two things to Jesus: He was a “head” to Jesus, the head of his family, the father Jesus was to submit to while He grew up in that earthly body as a young child. But Joseph also represents the spiritual fathers of these days who are being used to raise up the Man-child. Again, it has nothing to do with bloodline; it has everything to do with the Word spoken and taught and the emphasis on walking the holy life, etc. Joseph also received the revelation from God of the coming Man-child.
He received that revelation from God when it was sent to him through an angel. (Mat.1:18) Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. (19) And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. (20) But when he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. (21) And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins.
Joseph of the New Testament got this revelation of the coming Man-child and the Joseph of the Old Testament was a part of the Man-child. In fact, you might even say he was the head of the Man-child. Joseph in the New Testament is also the head of the Man-child. In a way, he is the head of Jesus, but he is also a spearhead of the Man-child. (Mat.1:22) Now all this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, (23) Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, And they shall call his name Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us. Jesus was “God with them” in the Gospels and the Book of Acts, and He is “God with us” today as well because He left an individual body in order to come back in a corporate body, that He might be “God with us” and in us. He was also the reformer of the Church in His day and today we desperately need the same thing.
The prophet Joel spoke about two times in history when there would be a great reformation. Those are in the “former rain” and the “latter rain” (Joel 2:23), in which God would restore all things that had been stolen from His people (Joel 2:25). Over the last 2000 years, by fake teachers, fake leaders and the devil himself, God’s people have been robbed and plundered. So God is coming once again in a reformer ministry called the Man-child of Revelation 12.
(Mat.1:24) And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took unto him his wife; (25) and knew her not till she had brought forth a son: and he called his name JESUS. Jesus warned us what was going to happen when the events of Revelation 12 come to pass. He said that He would be again like a little baby born to a woman and that the “woman” was those disciples, His Church (John 16:21). Today the “woman” is His Church again. (Rev.12:1) And a great sign was seen in heaven: a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.
The Church doesn’t look much like this, but there is a body in the Church that we call the Bride. All through the Old Testament, the Bride was not the Church but was chosen from out of the Church. There were also the virgins, the friends of the Bridegroom and other attendees of the ceremony, and those who were invited to the ceremony, besides the Bride. She is not the whole Church, as you’ll understand if you read the Book of Esther, Psalm 45 or the Song of Solomon.
The point is that this “woman” to whom He’s referring is those who are manifesting the fruit of Christ, just like Mary represents in our Matthew text study. She was a virgin and a bride in the midst of a larger church. Joseph was the head of the Man-child, who was being raised up in the midst of the virgin bride, who was also in the midst of the larger church, and she will bring forth the Man-child. That’s similar to King David’s position in the midst of Jerusalem, which the Book of Revelation tells us is the Bride (Revelation 21:9-10), but Jerusalem was not all of Israel. It was just the part of Israel that was the leadership. So there’s a hierarchy consisting of the Man-child, the Bride, and the people of God. Here we see the woman “arrayed with the sun,” having been clothed with the Lord Jesus Christ and the moon under her feet.
This shows her authority is over the moon, and the moon represents a reflection of the light of the Son. The 12 stars around her head, I believe, is the doctrine of the 12 Apostles in her mind, the renewed Mind of Christ. (Rev.12:2) And she was with child; and she crieth out, travailing in birth, and in pain to be delivered. (3) And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems. (4) And his tail draweth the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon standeth before the woman that is about to be delivered, that when she is delivered he may devour her child.
(5) And she was delivered of a son, a man child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto his throne. (6) And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that there they (the Man-child) may nourish her a thousand two hundred and threescore days. This is the revelation that we’re looking at as the type and sign. The letter always comes first; the Spirit comes afterwards. There is more than one fulfillment of prophecy. In Jesus was the letter-fulfillment of prophecy. The Bible tells us in Isaiah 7 that His birth to the virgin Mary was a sign, or an owth, which means “a sign of something to come,” which is what we read about in Revelation 12 and in our end-time, the corporate body fulfillment of what we are reading about in this text.
I’d like to point out something else to you, so that you understand how this is an end-time revelation. Jesus came in the body of the Son of David, as we have seen. That was because He was the offspring of David, naturally speaking. God used the DNA of Mary to bring forth the Son of David and the Son of God dwelt in the Son of Man, the Son of God being the spiritual man and the Son of Man being the human part of Jesus. But the Son of David is coming once again in our day. First, I’d like to prove that to you and then I want to share a revelation with you.
(Jer.30:4) And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. (5) For thus saith the Lord: We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. (6) Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child: wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins (The Man-child Jesus is being birthed in a company of men today to do this.), as a woman in travail (This is the woman Church in travail with the Man-child.), and all faces are turned into paleness? (Jer.30:7) Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. Most of you recognize “the time of Jacob’s trouble” as an end-time revelation of Jacob entering into trouble in our day – Jacob being Israel and also representing, spiritually, the Church.
We remember Jacob’s trouble, when he was in travail coming into the Promised Land and was being threatened by his brother Esau, who had already said that he would kill him (Genesis 27:41), and who was leading a beast army out to meet him (Genesis 32:6). And we remember how God preserved Jacob through that time of trouble, showing him favor and deliverance.
That’s what is about to happen with the whole Church. (Jer.30:7) … It is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. (8) And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck (meaning the Beast), and will burst thy bonds; and strangers shall no more make him their bondman (The words “no more” tell us that its fulfillment is very close to the end-time.); (Jer.30:9) but they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them. This was a long time after David, so He’s not talking about David, physically. This was about 440 years after David had died, so it’s not referring to a past but to a future “David.” Nor is it talking about Jesus, Who was also a fulfillment of this as the Son of David; this is talking about David in the end-time, the “time of Jacob’s trouble.”
(Jer.30:10) Therefore fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity … (20) Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me (As it was before, the Lord is once again raising up the Israel of God, as it is called in the New Testament. That is the Church; it’s those who are circumcised in heart, not in flesh.); and I will punish all that oppress them. (Jer.30:21) And their prince shall be of themselves, and their ruler shall proceed from the midst of them (The Man-child is birthed out of the midst of the Bride.); and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is he that hath had boldness to approach unto me? saith the Lord. In other words, the Man-child is in the position of authority in the Church and over the enemies of the Church, like David was. David not only fought the battles of the Lord against the enemies of the Church, but he was the leadership of the Church. He was the leadership in the Bride, the Man-child in the midst of the Bride.
So we see that Mary had a Son. That Son was raised up to be her Head. He led her into the wilderness, where He multiplied the fishes and the loaves, and so it will be in the end times also, as we just read in Revelation 12. The Bride brought forth the Man-child, but the Man-child led her through the wilderness as a corporate body. (Jer.30:22) And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. (23) Behold, the tempest of the Lord, [even his] wrath, is gone forth, a sweeping tempest (Yes, and a great storm is about to be raised upon the earth. You will want to have true leadership and the true anointing of the Holy Spirit, even the Latter Rain of the Holy Spirit.): it shall burst upon the head of the wicked. (Jer.30:24) The fierce anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall understand it. This is an understanding that has been given to us for the latter days. (Jer.31:1) At that time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. That’s all the families, from the Old Testament to the New Testament.
Who is Israel in the New Testament? In the New Testament, if you are not born again, you are not Israel. You have been broken off the olive tree. The Church was grafted into the olive tree which, as God said in Romans 11:26, was all Israel. God will be the God of all the families of Israel, which can only be fulfilled in the end times. (Jer.31:2) Thus saith the Lord, The people that were left of the sword found favor in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. That’s what God has planned for in the wilderness, to cause His people to enter into His rest, trusting in His promises.
In the New Testament, this rest is called sabbatismos. (Heb.4:9) There remaineth therefore a sabbath (Greek: sabbatismos) rest for the people of God. That word means “a continual rest,” not one day a week. The only thing that remains in the New Testament of the Sabbath rest is that continual rest. The apostles went into the synagogues on the Sabbath as evangelists to teach the Jews what Jesus had brought in the New Testament. The New Testament Sabbath rest is every day of the week, all the time, because you believe the promises of God. You cease from your works; you enter into His rest. The Man-child is going to bring the revelation of the true Gospel and the true Sabbath rest of God to God’s people.
I said all that to say this: I want to share with you a revelation that was given to us. Now you don’t base anything on modern-day revelations, dreams, visions or prophecies; you base everything on what the Scripture says. But these things do come to confirm what is written in the Word and sometimes to explain so that you are able to put verses together to explain what is happening. There’s a revelation on our website called Spearheading the Manchild Ministry. I’m going to share part of it with you here because I feel that it’s very important concerning what we’ve discovered about a type in the Bible. You might call it a snapshot in the midst of a panoramic view, a snapshot of Joseph being the head of the Man-child as someone who spearheaded the Man-child’s ministry by raising-up Jesus and bringing Him into this position as an earthly guide to His humanity. Jesus also had the Father and the Holy Spirit, Who were guiding Him to receive wonderful revelations of Who He really was in this earth and Whom He manifested. He was growing both as the Son of God and the Son of Man.
The Man-child that we know is coming upon the scene now is also both son of man and son of God. The members of the Man-child have a body and therefore must be submissive to parents and authority, but they also each have a spiritual man who is taught of the Lord. We noticed that between the time of the conception of Jesus and His ministry in Matthew 1 and 2, many dreams came forth. I guarantee that’s a sign for our day that the same thing is going to happen. The dream and the prophecy I am sharing with you now is a fulfillment of that. It’s saying that the same thing is going to happen in our day between the time of the conception of the Man-child and when He starts His earthly ministry. There were five dreams in Matthew 1 and 2 that were to fulfill guidance and protection, and wisdom and provision to the Lord. We know that God is building the Man-child ministry to spread His truths to multitudes of babies about to come looking for answers when this nation is brought into severe chastening.
I share this revelation for your edification and preparation, not to give any credit to myself. The Lord did not choose the wise and the noble and the mighty (1 Corinthians 2:26) because He wanted His power to be made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). I have always told people that’s the reason I’m qualified, not because I’m a great speaker (I’m not) or very intelligent (I’m not), or that I went to Bible school (I didn’t) or anything, but only because God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong (1Co.2:27).
Some of these things appear to be glorifying me, but I tell you that God is only using me as a type and shadow of a larger body of people. He’s using me because my name is David, because I believe in the Man-child ministry and because I have faith that I will, by the grace of God, have a part in this ministry. There’s nothing to brag about; it’s not us, it is Christ in us (Colossians 1:27).
The Jesus about Whom Matthew speaks is coming again. (Hos.6:2) After two days will he revive us: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live before him. (3) And let us know, let us follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is sure as the morning; and he will come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth. Jesus is coming on the morning of the third day, as the latter rain anointing that comes, first of all, upon the Man-child, so that Jesus would live in this Man-child and do His works to be a reformer to the Church. The Lord is coming to shepherd His flock. Most people don’t know that. The following is a prophecy given to me by a prophet named Philip, who shared this vision with me. My comments are in parentheses.
The Phoenix Vision: I have prayed for three days now for the holy Father’s will in this matter of sharing the vision that I received during a meeting with David as the speaker in Phoenix. (I’ve often thought about why Phoenix was chosen for this vision. Well, the Phoenix bird as a legend, which I think was a very spiritual thing, aside from its pagan background, is a type of resurrection life. The Phoenix, after its life cycle, flies to Heliopolis, which means “city of the sun,” or to me, “city of the Son,” and creates a nest. Sitting on the nest, it bursts into flames and burns up, leaving nothing but ashes and an egg, which hatches a new bird out of the ashes as a type of resurrection life. So, Phoenix is the place of resurrection life and it was no accident that the prophecy he sent forth occurred in Phoenix.)
I am permitted to share the following: As I prayed with David at the start of the meeting (I led everyone in a prayer before the teaching and Philip was among the people there), I saw the room change into a stadium filled with people and David was at the podium shouting through a microphone that was in the shape of a shofar. He wore a silver yarmulke that glowed as he spoke and from above came a white-golden light pouring down from the sky as a beam of glory, growing brighter with each outpouring. From David’s clothing came the same glory, lights pouring through the tzit-tzit on his garment, flowing like fingers through the people. The lights touched the forehead and were grabbed by the right hand of people who became pregnant and began shouting as they were covered in glory. This is the vision that I had at the meeting. The holy Father says that David would know its meaning, if not now, very soon.
Months after that meeting, Philip contacted me again and after he received this: The Holy Father is forming this ministry into His image to spearhead the Man-child ministry birthing and delivery to the world. Amen! He has given this to me in a mighty vision that ran in succession for three nights, along with some other things that I can’t say just yet.
Here is the interpretation of the dream. What he’s describing here is the corporate body of the spearhead of the Man-child Ministry. It’s not just referring to me. He just used me because my name is David. It’s not to glorify me; it’s to tell you what is about to happen here, that God is raising up a spearhead like He did Joseph in bringing the Man-child ministry to fruition. The full interpretation is given on our website. I had already received a previous prophecy that I would be teaching in stadiums. I thought this might be spiritual because of the rows of people and how a stadium is built. The Word is passed on from person-to-person as each tier speaks to greater and greater circles of people in a geometric progression, like a stadium is built.
In other words, you speak from the middle, and it goes out and reaches the first circle, then the next circle in ever-increasing numbers, and this is how our ministry has been. I speak to a certain circle of people, and they go and speak to a certain circle of people, and I hear back from their children, their relatives, etc. It’s just radiating out. Praise God! I’ve been contacted by many who have told us that they are using our broadcasts, MP3 audios or videos for their home Bible study groups. Also, multitudes are copying our materials and passing them out, so it just enters a larger and larger circle. This has been happening for some time now, but not to the degree that it’s about to happen. It will soon happen in a much greater way, as the Lord has shown us.
My microphone resembling a shofar is significant because a shofar turns inaudible breath, which is the same Hebrew word for “spirit,” into the audible voice of the Spirit or the Word, which warns God’s people and destroys the enemy, as in Gideon’s battle. We are all called to this ministry of being a vessel through whom the pure Word of the Spirit will flow. The people being touched on the forehead by the light from Heaven are those who humbly receive the Word and so receive the renewed mind of Christ. These are grabbing the light with the right hand, which represents those who act on the Word and so have the renewed works of Christ.
The left hand represents the works of the flesh, and the mark of the beast in the forehead represents having the mind of the Beast, which is the opposite of those. So these people became pregnant with the seed of Christ through the Word, which is what recreates in us the life of Christ. Jesus was the Sower who sowed the seed and the seed that He sowed was the Word of God. It went into hearts and brought forth fruit 30-, 60- and 100-fold. Jesus told us, For whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother (Mat.12:50). When this seed bears fruit in the womb of the heart and mind, and is eventually birthed to the world, they will be seen as the image of Christ.
What about the tzitzit? We’re told, But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings (The “wings” are the same as the tzitzit, the fringe on our garment.); and ye shall go forth, and gambol as calves of the stall (Mal.4:2). (3) And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I make, saith the Lord of hosts. The Man-child Ministry is coming to bring not only judgment upon the wicked but resurrection life to the saved people of God. (Mal.4:4) Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, even statutes and ordinances. (5) Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. Notice, this speaks of Moses and Elijah, which the Man-child brings into fruition. The Man-child raises up the corporate body of the Two Witnesses.
The disciples were Jesus’ witnesses and they went forth two-by-two. They’re a type of the corporate body of Two Witnesses, as Moses and Elijah symbolize. Before the Day of the Lord, the Man-child will raise up the Two Witnesses. (Mal.4:6) And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. The Jews believed that the “sun of righteousness” would be the Messiah, Who would have the power to heal whoever touched the tzitzit, or fringes, of His garment. They did not know that this would be repeated in the end-time through Christ in the Man-child company. A light from Heaven poured through the tzitzit of Jesus’ tallit (prayer shawl) to heal the sick, just as it will spiritually through the end-time Man-child. Praise God!
The fulfillment of the Phoenix vision is the spearheading of the Man-child ministry. If we’re talking about the physical Man-child Jesus, He was born in a physical body of the virgin Mary. But I believe that the Man-child is going to be born over a period of time because we’re talking about a very large body of people being born out of the virgin Church. It could happen over a period of time, with the spearhead being born first. Just like Joseph was a type of the Man-child who was born to Israel, Jesus was a type of the end-time Man-child who was born to the virgin Mary of Israel.
Here's another confirmation. The following revelation I’m sharing with you concerning the Man-child’s “head” coming forth first is to bring the Word to the world. I’m convinced that in these days, there’s a Joseph, or a spearhead, of the Man-child that’s coming forth first to bring the revelation of the Man-child to the Man-child Company, and this whole body, including the head, will have this end-time ministry. That’s what I have been trying to explain to you through Matthew 1 and I hope we’ve been somewhat successful. This revelation was given through Leisa Miller in May of 2007. I will interpret (in parentheses) as we go along.
I dreamed that a lot of people and I were on top of a mountain. (I believe that the mountain represents the Kingdom of God, His people, His Church, worldwide.) I could see that some of us were looking at a small but active version of the mountain. Looking at this smaller version, I could see the whole shape of the mountain. (Why see a large mountain and then a smaller version of it? They were seeing a local microcosm, meaning in Greek, “small world.” In other words, we see the Church locally, but there is a Church that’s worldwide. She was only seeing in her experience a small part, a small representation or scaled-down version of the Kingdom of God worldwide, the portion of the body of Christ that she was familiar with as part of the worldwide body. Leisa is part of UBM, which will have a part in this movement.)
There was an image in the mountain. The whole of the mountain had the shape of a woman who was pregnant. I could see that she was birthing her child. The mountain would shake and we could feel it. On the smaller version, we could see rocks give way to form the new development of the child being born. It was very detailed. (She saw the microcosm as the woman Church in her fellowship experience began to bring forth the first-fruits Man-child company at the same time as it happened worldwide.) The head and shoulders were out but the water had only begun to break. (This is the head of the Man-child body being born. Could this have been happening for some time? I believe so. It won’t be finished until it is finished, but it could have been happening for some time. The head or spearhead of the Man-child ministry will be born first in the microcosm seen by Leisa, as well as in other microcosms.)
Suddenly there was a very hard shaking. (Who knows what this could be. But we have had this revelation given to us many times before, that when the Man-child begins His ministry, something catastrophic is going to happen in the world.) We could see on the little version, water began to flow out. (In the beginning of the coming time of judgment, the head will bring forth the water of the Word. We noticed that Joseph’s words were the only seed that brought forth Jesus, the Son of God, the spiritual man, the true Man-child. It had nothing to do with any physical seed because he was not Jesus’ physical father, but he did have something to do with that spiritual seed, which the Bible tells us is the Word of God. So Joseph raised Him up as a father would.) The detail of the child became more distinct, and we could hear the water rushing all around us, until it carried us away from the spot where we were standing. (Could this be akin to bringing the Church into the wilderness? It could be.) But each of us could still see one another and somehow we could also see that the whole world was flooding with this water. (Why? Because all she saw was the microcosm. The same thing was happening simultaneously all over the world. The head being born was breaking the water and the water was going forth.)
(What the Man-child lives on in the womb is the water, the Word of God. We have to be born of water and of Spirit, don’t we? The Bible tells us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. (Mat.2:5) And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written through the prophet, (6) And thou, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Art in no wise least among the princes of Judah, For out of thee shall come forth a governor, Who shall be shepherd of my people Israel. And “Bethlehem” means “House of bread,” or “House of food.” Jesus is born in, and is a product of, the Word of God. He is, as John said, the Word made flesh (John 1:14), and “Moses” means “drawn from the waters.” Moses was the man-child in his day. He was a product of the waters of the washing of the Word of God. So the head comes first and it teaches the body. With the breaking-forth of the head of the first-fruits in the microcosm, a great flood of the Word will go forth over the whole earth. This Word is being prepared by books, radio, television, video, Internet, etc. The Lord will use every available method to get this Word out.)
(This move of the Spirit will also carry disciples with the message all over the world. Notice that when the water broke, it carried them all away, just as it was in Jesus’ day when He was the Man-child. He sent disciples with the same Word, the same anointing, the same mantle that He had, and they went all over the world. They were called “Christians” because they walked in the power and the anointing of Jesus Christ. This is about to happen once again in our day. A great reformer movement will go forth, but not necessarily a popular one. It will be popular with the people who love God and know Him, but it won’t be popular with the status quo or the Pharisees and Sadducees, as we will see shortly.)
We were under the water, but we could breathe. (Abiding in the Word is natural for those who live by the Spirit, which in Hebrew is also the word “breath.”) We saw others caught in this water who could not breathe and were dying. (The Word brings death to the carnal man and his spirit, or breath.) But the water was so abundant that I could not tell which way was up unless I was near an object on the ground that could identify direction. (Beholding the reward of the wicked, as in Psalm 91:8, and the corruption of the earth lets us know what is under our feet and what is the way to Heaven. The earthly will swallow the flood going forth from the dragon’s mouth, as in Revelation 12:15, and the heavenly will swallow the flood that goes forth from the Man-child, as Revelation 12:14 says.)
Some of us found ourselves inside a large building under the water. It seemed to be a large farm building where tools, farm equipment, and seed were kept. (For we are God’s fellow-workers: ye are God’s husbandry (Greek: “tilled land”), God’s building (1Co.3:9). It’s interesting that this farm and building were under the water. It’s a part of God’s work, God’s building. You are God’s husbandry, His tilled land. (1Co.3:10) According to the grace of God which was given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder I laid a foundation; and another buildeth thereon. But let each man take heed how he buildeth thereon. (11) For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Jesus in the Man-child is about to lay the foundation of God’s building and once again plant the seed of the Word over the world. It’s a very spiritual revelation that Leisa had there.)
We knew that there were people who were now above the water and were angry at us and wanted to kill us. (The righteous lived beneath the waters. They were baptized in the Word of God which had put to death their flesh. They could no longer die because the spiritual man received life and sustenance from the water of the Word of God. It is a product of the Word of God. But to the carnal man the Word of God is death, so for those to whom the water is death, they will hate the righteous even more because of the increase of truth and fruit in them. Abiding in the water of the Word is a place of protection to them.)
Amen! I believe that both of these revelations have to do with what we’re looking at here in the Book of Matthew.
Let’s return to where we left off in (Mat.2:1) Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, Wise-men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, (2) Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we saw his star in the east, and are come to worship him. (3) And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Remember those from Leisa’s vision who were above the water, not dwelling in the water, not baptized in the water of the Word of God? They are troubled. We can see why Herod might be troubled, but “all Jerusalem with him”? Today, religious people are enjoying their life in the world, their leaders are enjoying their life in the world, and they really don’t want the Messiah to come and upset their apple cart.
If you don’t believe that, just read the Bible. What kind of a reception did Jesus get? The overwhelming majority of people were anti-Christ. Their leaders were anti-Christ. They had already set up their stage of playing church through their religion and didn’t need Jesus to come along and upset them. They were already set in their ways and wanted no reformation whatsoever. Jesus was a reformer and that’s what He came for, so we can understand why “all Jerusalem” was troubled. (Mat.2:4) And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born. (5) And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written through the prophet … Why would they tell Herod, whom they knew was anti-Christ, where Jesus would be born? It seems as if they were on the side of the Beast here and throughout the New Testament we see that.
The leadership of the natural people of God, the status quo, was always on the side of the Beast, all the way through the Scriptures. Herod, representing the Beast kingdom, had ambitions to be the king and did not want any competition from this new upstart King coming on the scene. However, Jesus’ Kingdom was not of this world (Joh.18:36). He came to be the King over the spiritual, born-again man and to lead God’s people to the ways of righteousness and restoration. But Herod and the priests did not want anything to change and so it will be in our day. We have a wonderful reformation ministry coming that will spread over the whole world, bringing the true Word of God and the true Gospel to the whole world, yet it will be fiercely resisted by these people and they will attempt to quash it.
Throughout history, it has been that when God raised up a Man-child or a reformer or a prophet, they were fiercely resisted and hated by the religious leaders and people who wanted to live in the flesh. A person is comfortable living in the flesh and does not want the spirit man to be the ruler and the leader and the guide in their life. They will fight against it as they have throughout history. Nothing is going to change. (Ecc.1:9) That which hath been is that which shall be; and that which hath been done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. The Lord is continuing to repeat history.
What we’re reading in the Book of Matthew will be fulfilled on a much larger scale, meaning the cast of characters has been multiplied. Herod represents a much bigger body of people in authority over God’s people, a worldly body of people that is a Beast kingdom over God’s people. Jesus also represents a much larger body of people, the Man-child ministry. The Pharisees and the Sadducees – the Sanhedrin, if you will – represent a larger corporate body called the False Prophet. The Sanhedrin was the False Prophet in Jesus’ day; they were the ones who crucified the Christ, the ones who sided with the Beast against God’s people, the ones who sided with the Beast against the disciples of Christ; and they were the ones who sided with the Beast against the Two Witnesses, etc. So history is about to repeat on a much larger scale, as it has throughout the Bible, and we’re fortunate enough to read Matthew as not only history, but a very accurate prophecy.
All of the Gospels and the Book of Acts, even though they recount history, are speaking a prophecy because the Bible says, “That which hath been is that which shall be.” Anything that happens today has already happened earlier, but on a smaller scale. Praise be to God! He is opening our eyes here to understand this and to have much prophecy opened to us in these latter days. I’ve shared with you how the Gospels, which were Jesus’ 3½- year ministry, represent the first 3½ years of the Tribulation and how the Book of Acts represents the second 3½ years and the 40 years between Jesus’ ministry and the 70 A.D. destruction of the Harlot by the Beast. 40 is the number of tribulation, as can be seen in type when Moses took the children of Israel through 40 years in the wilderness.