Preamble
On completion of this post, my thoughts pondered on its length. Though my posts are my personal thoughts, I do try to always include what the Father has placed on my heart. It is up to the reader to decide on how much of the offering they want to consume. What prompted this post is the concern I have for how the prophetic gift is being misused. The ancient prophets knew the cost of what God was asking of them and many struggled in taking the task upon themselves. In the charismatic stream, however, it has become glamourised and 'fashionised' to the extent that many so called prophets have become celebrities. There is a proliferation of prophetic messages on various platforms which seem impressive because the person might be referred to as a prophet or has been endorsed by some college of prophecy. All words of prophecy and every one who is called a prophet must be discerned. We are warned that in the latter days many false prophets will arise, and will, if possible, lead many astray. We must be aware that the gift of prophecy comes from God and cannot be assumed or purchased by attending such academy's.
Jeremiah 23: 20 The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has fully accomplished the purposes of His heart. In the days to come you will understand this clearly. 21I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in My council, they would have proclaimed My words to My people and turned them back from their evil ways and deeds.”
The ancient prophets declare the charge of the Lord upon an unrepentant and wicked generation. New Testament prophets are called to equip and encourage the people toward kingdom purposes. This generation is experiencing the repercussions of un-repented sin. We need to understand that sin piled up (un-repented sin) holds a greater judgement. We need to return to the Lord and call solemn assemblies and cry out for God's mercy.
The link between prophecy and repentance
by Grant Marshall
Jesus said,
John 16:33
I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!
The Greek renders the word ‘thlipsin’ as ‘tribulation’: Affliction, Distress, Persecution
tribulation (n.) · "state or condition of great affliction, oppression, suffering, or distress," physical, emotional, or spiritual,
The Latin tribulationem (tribulatio) "distress, trouble, affliction," "to oppress, afflict."
When applied to the tool, (bulum) we have the word ‘Tribulum which is an agricultural threshing sledge used”to thresh out grain,"
For comparison, the Hebrew word ‘Lachat’ Strong’s H3906 means: pressure oppression, afflict, crush, distress.
The Word Lachat is used twice in Exodus 3:7-9 as ‘hal-la-has( ha-La Chatz) ‘oppression and ‘lo-ha-sim’ (L-Hatzsim)
Ex 3:7 The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings. 8 I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached Me, and I have seen how severely the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 Therefore, go! I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring My people the Israelites out of Egypt.
The nation of Israel knows acutely, having spent most of her history under persecution, the meaning of oppression and the distress that comes with it.
Distress of nations
Luke 21:25“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Every generation, by God’s grace, gets the chance to read the warnings that as we approach the end of the age, distressing and pressing times will come. Every generation also gets to experience its own level of pressure, pushing the needle deeper into the red zone.
God, however, wants to mitigate the fallout and thus brings times of repentance, time windows of grace, which release an outpouring of His Holy Spirit and ultimately periods of revival. We must also understand that these periods of grace give us a chance to make ourselves right with God in order that His mercy will temper His judgment.
We must realise that as we return to God, we must audit ourselves and in doing so address areas of erroneous and aberrant practices. A great demolition must occur, and this in turn, will bring its own levels of stress as man-made structures give way under the shaking.
It is during this time that the call to return to the ancient paths is heard. It is along these paths that we discover the ancient wells, those memorial stones, and of course, the Ancient of Days. We have to remove ourselves from linear thought if we are to travel these ancient paths with a timeless God.
Every word, sealed by God's name has an outcome and is thus prophetic. It declares 'what will be', the very meaning of the name of YHVH. The message of repentance, for example, is a constant one and is imparted to every generation. The forgiveness of God comes because people repent causing His goodness to be spoken about through subsequent generations.
Psalm 145…3 Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised,
And His greatness is [so vast and profound as to be] unsearchable [incomprehensible to man].
4 One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty and remarkable acts.
5 On the glorious splendour of Your majesty
And on Your wonderful works, I will meditate.
6 People will speak of the power of Your awesome acts,
And [with gratitude and submissive wonder] I will tell of Your greatness.
7 They will overflow [like a fountain] when they speak of Your great and abundant goodness
And will sing joyfully of Your righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
9 The LORD is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works [the entirety of things created]
When it comes to judging sin God applies His attributes.
Exodus 34:6-7
(6) The LORD passed before him and proclaimed: “The LORD! the LORD! a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, (7) extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He does not remit all punishment, but visits the iniquity of parents upon children and children’s children, upon the third and fourth generations.
God brings the repercussion of un-repented sin upon a nation. However, the repercussions of repented sin may prevail to the 3/4th generation. We forget that our actions have consequences.
In simple terms, imagine that an oil spill accidentally occurs upon the ocean, or some poison discharges onto a farmer's field, though the accident is admitted and people are sorry for what has occurred and policies are made to prevent further accidents, the damage has been done and it might take many years for the ocean or the field to recover. In another analogy, alcoholic or drug dependent parents can give birth to equally dependent infants. Is it the infants fault, no! The child is born thus, because of the lifestyle of the parents.
God’s grace, however, allows us to make recompense along with our repentance.
Prophecies of the age
Prophecies concerning nations are generally not new or unique. The same message to repent is cyclical. Each generation gets to hear them. What happens thereafter is down to the level of repentance.
The prophets come out, and generally over a period, the same messages are released. Modern Christianity has the propensity to exalt or give station to the modern-day prophets but it was not so in ancient times. God differentiates between the good and the bad prophets.
Ezekiel 22
The Sins of Prophets, Priests, Princes
…27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain. 28 Her prophets whitewash these deeds by false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken. 29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy and have exploited the foreign resident without justice.
Jeremiah 23:16-17
‘This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. / They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD says that you will have peace,’ and to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, ‘No harm will come to you’.
Matthew 24:11
And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many.
Sadly, false prophecy is rife amongst the body, and many so-called practitioners, are soothsayers and echo chambers making their livings upon the ministry of others. Those who are familiar with the practices within clairvoyance for example will be aware of some of language. We must also be aware of the level of God’s word given within the utterances and I would also argue the level of response by those who hear it. The truth released is a affective and should make the hearer fearful and respectful of what is said. We see this in the prophets actions regarding their hearing of God's voice.
Friends, when the word of the Lord is heard, we need to reflect deeply upon it by praying and fasting. God is serious about how we should respond to His word. We must not treat it with disrespect.
Why does it sometimes feel that despite our prayers, fasting and repentance gatherings, there seems to be little impact?
Let me give you my thoughts. I believe that the fact that repentance is rarely spoken of, is because the understanding of it is lacking. It’s not taught because many teachers don't know what it means. The hyper-grace doctrine covers it by declaring that where sin abounds, grace abounds even more. We need to understand that grace holds back the hand of God upon sin. It does not mean that God is not going to judge it. When the message of repentance comes, it is God telling us that judgment is coming, and we can influence His level of mercy upon the judgments. We can also assume that we have repented when we have not. That is why we need to seek wisdom so that we no longer remain ignorant.
Prov 28:9 ‘If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable’
Isaiah 1:11–15
11 a“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the LORD;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.
12 “When you come to appear before me,
who has required of you
this trampling of my courts?
13 Bring no more vain offerings;
incense is an abomination to me.
new moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—
I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts
my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
Even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood
Amos 5:21–23
21 “I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,
I will not look upon them.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
to the melody of your harps, I will not listen.
In other words, we can return to our practices assuming that things are well. But God will see whether we repent religiously or wholeheartedly. If we do not know how to repent we need to seek God. We must ask for wisdom and understanding of what is required.
Who can ascend the mount of the Lord?
Psalm 24
…3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place?
4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not set his mind[a] on what is false, and who has not sworn deceitfully.
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Psalm 51
…10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
In order for us to approach God we must have gone through a process of repentance and cleansing. God looks to see that which is holy and consecrated. Why? Because He is allowing us to stand in sacred space in order for Him make contact with us.
Repentance is not a simple apology but a genuine reconciliation to walk the path of holiness. It is not achieved through a weekly visit to some religious confessional box.
Repentance is a daily walk. We must emphasise that. We must also understand that we have sinned against God alone and we must know what we have done.
This is something that is generally missed in the narrative.
Focusing on what’s coming and the problem with the wrong kind of prophecy.
The book of Daniel 12, emblazons the end time scenario. The beast and his kingdom has already taken central stage in world but will lose his power. We are told that everyone whose name is found written in the book will be delivered from the distress to come. We are told this:
Dan 12:3 Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. 4 But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.”
The charismatic flow within the body has for decades increased the interest of knowledge and prophecy. The Hebrew roots movement, for example, has become a specific hunting ground for this. This is a big bone for me but I will refrain from chomping down on it for now. What I want to express are my feelings on what I am seeing.
We are told in Dan 12:4, Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.”
What does that mean? The human store of knowledge has increased exponentially since WWII. We’ve been introduced to the internet that enables us to get our hands on knowledge in fractions of seconds. Our only brake at the moment is speed and our human ability to process it in our brains. But that is about to be surpassed through the neuro-brain interface. Ai supercomputers now store the some of human knowledge and continue to data mine our thoughts enabling our actions to be predicted. In truth, experts in Ai intelligence predict a world government run by computers without the need of human intervention.
When it comes to the spiritual things, the knowledge of God will increase too. However, knowing of Him and knowing Him will be differentiated. Those who know Him and are in Christ, will find their names written in the ‘Lambs Book of Life’.
In the pursuit of spiritual things, many will run here and there seeking the knowledge of mysteries, and many will run to prophets, true and false, for words of knowledge. The knowledge of God can been attained by every believer and disciple of Christ, but it comes at a price. It does not come by attending prophetic meetings and biblical teachings, alone. Time spent seeking wisdom in the presence of the Father, gives access to the knowledge of Him.
God will deal severely with those who think they can enter the kingdom and receive its blessings through the back door.
Those who spend time in Father’s presence, shine like Moses and those who are about the Father’s business will take their place among the cloud of divine witnesses.
There is a proliferation of ministries that have become fountains of knowledge for those who are searching. The many false ministries among them have gained power and influence through the ignorance of the people who attend their prophetic gathering. The soothsayers and the secular prophetic mix, keep their audiences energised with conspiratorial trends that are focused on what is happening around us and the nefarious agencies of the enemy.
We are so clearly focused in the devastations to come that we forget that God has diagnosed the problem and supplied the treatment. God has been telling us for ages, that distressing times are coming and that we must prepare for them.
Yes, we need to repent for ignoring His voice and for not responding appropriately, but we must return to Him. It is a requirement. Returning to our traditional values and the doctrines of the church and its busyness does not solve the problem because His word, it’s truth, it’s rebuke and teaching, is often absent from many sermons. God’s word is truth. It must alarm us, and awaken us to action. Most of all it must empower, equip and change us. When was the last time you felt that way after hearing the sermon?
1 Corinthians 14:4 Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church.
In the Greek, ‘edify’ means to build up, as in the building of a house, and to increase in religious knowledge.
Prophecy in the New Testament Church is an equipping ministry. Its function is not to make people feel fuzzy or appease emotions. This type of prophecy smacks of witchcraft.
We do not, therefore need to be prophets to prophecy. All God’s words are prophecy. We just need to speak them at the appointed times. Deuteronomy 28 is a passage we can all prophecy because it tells us what happens when a nation obeys God’s law and what the repercussions are when it doesn’t.
I believe that God has already released His prophecy through His name, through His Word which is Christ and that nothing else needs to be said. A prophet will speak God’s word at the appointed time. We need to remind ourselves that we are a covenant people, part of the commonwealth of Israel. it was to Israel, that the word, the blessed hope and the covenant blessings and curses were given.
It is truly is not complicated. Repentance is not complicated because God’s word is not difficult.
Deuteronomy 30:11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.
When it comes to the call of repentance the passage in 2 Chronicles 7:14 is often cited. But let us read from verse 13, “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
The opening phrase tells us that God brings His judgment upon a wicked people. V14 refers to His people who are called by His name. It does not refer to a nation but an ethnic group of peculiar people. It is God’s covenant people who must repent.
Grace is over all the people of the earth. The world does not live necessarily under this covenant but receives its benefits just as the covenant people do. Let it be said, 'nations also suffer as a consequence of the sin of His covenant people'.
Prophecy and repentance are linked.
We are familiar with Matthew and Luke’s discourse — the prevailing trends of wickedness and lawlessness in 1 & 2 Timothy, the outpouring of terror in the book of revelation, the psalms 91 & 23, the exilic and messianic prophecies of Isaiah, the historic and end time prophecies of Daniel, and the final judgements of God upon the last days of the earth.
In the midst of all of this God’s people will come under distress, oppression, tribulation. Faith will suffer, but it will also increase.
The message of repentance must go beyond the Church. It must go to Israel too, but who is telling her about her harlotry and rejection of Christ. The Church might have not rejected Christ, in its institutional beginnings rejected being part of Israel. Its understanding of being a covenant and holy people has become blurred. God’s word has been compromised and watered down to suit woke agendas. God will not allow His name to be mocked or His sanctuary profaned.
So, it would be good to remind ourselves that the light can expel the darkness and illuminate our error too. God will protect His name and in doing so, He reminds us that a sinful and unrepentant people ( people who are not living a life or worship) cannot present the holy sacrifice of praise.
Mark 7:6-7
Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honour Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. / They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’
Shalom
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