A short time ago the Lord gave me a word to share as I was reading the book of Revelation. I had just finished reading the following
10 Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ~ Revelation 3:10-13
It was immediately after reading this that the Lord gave me this message to share.
"Tell my people to hold fast to that which they have been given for the hour of their testing will soon be upon them."
Whenever I receive a Word like this from the Lord I press in and seek Him as to when and how to deliver His word, and if there is anything else I need to share. It has been nearly a week since I was given this word, but it was not time to share the message until this evening.
The Lord has made it very clear over the past couple of days that the message He gave me was given in the context of the hopeful bride candidates of Y'shua HaMashiach and the hour of testing they will soon experience. A significant part of this testing will come in the form of betrayal and persecution coming from the rest of the church. Many folks ministering in Babylon write and speak quite frequently about the war the world is raging on Christians and how the world is persecuting the body of Christ. While that is true, there is a deeper level of persecution and betrayal that will take place and it will be the "heads of house", the leaders of the Christian community, who lead their people to betray and persecute Y'shua's Bride.
The ministers of Babylon have done a terrific job at convincing their blinded followers that all of the church is the Bride of Jesus Christ. However, that is simply not true and the vast majority will not come to recognize this truth until it is far too late. The Lord has been doing a very special work with a small number of folks that will make up His bride. The bride of Y'shua will be taken out of the body of the last Adam just as Eve was taken out of the body of the first Adam to be his bride.
What the Lord has given me to write to you has been modeled in the Bible, and I encourage you to seek Him for confirmation of what I am sharing with you here.
As I sat down to begin writing this, the Lord took me to something Bob wrote quite some time ago called "The Testimony of Gethsemane." I have referenced this several times over the course of the last two years, but it is especially relevant now as we have entered into a very special season. As I was reading what the Lord showed Bob all those years ago it became quite clear that the Lord was speaking to me about division, and how the testing that will soon be upon us will serve as a means to separate and divide people into their rightful place in the eternal hierarchy.
“As I wondered and prayed, it came to me that the very location of the event typified separation. Indeed, even though such a thing is never stated directly, the entire Mount of Olives is a symbol of division and separation. As I checked every mention of this location in the Bible, this signification became very clear. Knowing that the Mount of Olives is always associated with division affords us greater insight, because all that the Bible records as being said and done on the Mount can be considered from that perspective. Though it may seem a small matter, this insight has led me to some very important lessons about the Lord's plans for the latter days of his church.
Deception will mark the time of the end as His coming approaches. Division will occur as many are deceived by the many who come in the name of Jesus Christ. We continue reading in the context about nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, the turning away of many from the faith, betraying and hating each other, the love of most growing cold but that those who stand firm to the end will be saved, and even the departure of those who are in Judea as they flee to the mountains. Then we read of the prominent separation as two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Could division be more pronounced?
Consider how the series of parables found in the balance of the discourse reveals the basis for division between the owner of the house and the ones who watched, the faithful and wise servant and the wicked servant, the five foolish and the five wise virgins, and the various servants who stewarded the master's talents while he was away. Finally, note the son of man's activity as "he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." Yes, division is so obviously the theme here!
In that account, we learned about the sheep being separated from the goats by the shepherd, but in the next, we will learn about sheep that are separated from the shepherd as they fall away on account of him. This, too, is declared while on the Mount of Olives.
The Testimony of Gethsemane - Part 1 - (The Mount of Olives)
The word "Gethsemane" means "oil-press place." It was an olive grove on the Mount of Olives with a name that suggests a place where the olives are processed into oil. Oil is a symbol both of the spirit and of understanding. In order to bring forth the liquid (oil) from the olive, an oil press causes great pressure on it. Jesus is the olive root according to Romans 11:16, supporting every olive branch and therefore every olive in the tree. Did he experience pressure in that place? Indeed he did! The tremendous pressure upon him can be seen to bring forth liquid in Luke 22.
The external fluid came forth like the internal fluid. Gethsemane indeed!
I have noted a number of significant instances of separating in the account. First, we see our Lord separating himself, Peter, James and John from the other disciples and then further separating himself from those aforementioned three. (Matthew 26 and Mark 14) This curious matter is what initially arrested my attention when the Lord was opening to me the association between the Mount of Olives and the meaning of division. Y'shua made a point of telling them to stay where they were, insuring that they would remain as he had separated them. Later in the account, Judas singled Y'shua out by betraying him with a kiss. He distinguished very particularly in this manner, separating him from the others present. Strange, isn't it? As if they wouldn't have been able to recognize him on their own. I believe part of the reason this was noted in the account is because of the primacy of the division theme. It is interesting that the agreed upon sign of betrayal was a kiss, an act of the parting of the lips. At the scene of the arrest, one of the disciples separated a man's ear from his head. In the account given in the gospel of John, the names are given and may therefore be seen as important to know. Simon Peter ("Simon" means "hearing") used one of the two (the number two signifies division) swords to separate the servant (whose name "Malchus" means "kingly") of the high priest's right ear from his head. Note that the cutting off of an ear impairs the ability to hear, and that the ear's healing restores the hearing. In the time of antitypical fulfillment, the "kingly" of the "High Priest's servants" whose hearing has been impaired will receive ears to hear because of the use of the "sword" given "Simon Peter" to wield. After Y'shua was arrested, they took him away, separating him from his disciples who themselves were scattered, causing a complete separation among them. Like the mention of the names in the above account, another feature unique to John's record is the recording of a very strange event that dramatically emphasizes the number two (division , separation) by way of repetition.”
The Testimony of Gethsemane - Part 2
Deception will mark the time of the end as His coming approaches. Division will occur as many are deceived by the many who come in the name of Jesus Christ. We continue reading in the context about nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, the turning away of many from the faith, betraying and hating each other, the love of most growing cold but that those who stand firm to the end will be saved, and even the departure of those who are in Judea as they flee to the mountains. Then we read of the prominent separation as two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Could division be more pronounced?
Consider how the series of parables found in the balance of the discourse reveals the basis for division between the owner of the house and the ones who watched, the faithful and wise servant and the wicked servant, the five foolish and the five wise virgins, and the various servants who stewarded the master's talents while he was away. Finally, note the son of man's activity as "he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." Yes, division is so obviously the theme here!
In that account, we learned about the sheep being separated from the goats by the shepherd, but in the next, we will learn about sheep that are separated from the shepherd as they fall away on account of him. This, too, is declared while on the Mount of Olives.
When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 31) Then Jesus told them, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: "'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' ~ Matthew 26:30-31
(Similarly; Mark 14:26. Also see Luke 22:39)”The Testimony of Gethsemane - Part 1 - (The Mount of Olives)
Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray."
~ Matthew 26:36
~ Matthew 26:36
The word "Gethsemane" means "oil-press place." It was an olive grove on the Mount of Olives with a name that suggests a place where the olives are processed into oil. Oil is a symbol both of the spirit and of understanding. In order to bring forth the liquid (oil) from the olive, an oil press causes great pressure on it. Jesus is the olive root according to Romans 11:16, supporting every olive branch and therefore every olive in the tree. Did he experience pressure in that place? Indeed he did! The tremendous pressure upon him can be seen to bring forth liquid in Luke 22.
And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. ~ Luke 22:44
The external fluid came forth like the internal fluid. Gethsemane indeed!
I have noted a number of significant instances of separating in the account. First, we see our Lord separating himself, Peter, James and John from the other disciples and then further separating himself from those aforementioned three. (Matthew 26 and Mark 14) This curious matter is what initially arrested my attention when the Lord was opening to me the association between the Mount of Olives and the meaning of division. Y'shua made a point of telling them to stay where they were, insuring that they would remain as he had separated them. Later in the account, Judas singled Y'shua out by betraying him with a kiss. He distinguished very particularly in this manner, separating him from the others present. Strange, isn't it? As if they wouldn't have been able to recognize him on their own. I believe part of the reason this was noted in the account is because of the primacy of the division theme. It is interesting that the agreed upon sign of betrayal was a kiss, an act of the parting of the lips. At the scene of the arrest, one of the disciples separated a man's ear from his head. In the account given in the gospel of John, the names are given and may therefore be seen as important to know. Simon Peter ("Simon" means "hearing") used one of the two (the number two signifies division) swords to separate the servant (whose name "Malchus" means "kingly") of the high priest's right ear from his head. Note that the cutting off of an ear impairs the ability to hear, and that the ear's healing restores the hearing. In the time of antitypical fulfillment, the "kingly" of the "High Priest's servants" whose hearing has been impaired will receive ears to hear because of the use of the "sword" given "Simon Peter" to wield. After Y'shua was arrested, they took him away, separating him from his disciples who themselves were scattered, causing a complete separation among them. Like the mention of the names in the above account, another feature unique to John's record is the recording of a very strange event that dramatically emphasizes the number two (division , separation) by way of repetition.”
The Testimony of Gethsemane - Part 2
very powerful bob,...i give thanks to God and to you sir for putting this message forth, and to the dezert-rat who sent this my way,.........cheers!
ReplyDeletethanks bob and thanks dezert rat!, tony in vt
ReplyDeleteIt is what it is. Thank you.
ReplyDelete