A Prophetic Word
A little over 40 years ago, while reading the scriptures, I had a very brief vision : The “canvas” was entirely black. Then out of the blackness, bright specs jumped into the center of the picture. This continued until the center had grown into a bright golden sphere. The understanding that immediately came to me was this: In “latter time”, people would be “jumping” out of the world into the Household (Kingdom) of God. This vision took place just before or just after reading Jude 1:23.
Recently, the same verse – Jude 1:23 – has been placed on my heart and mind, along with an instruction or direction from the Holy Spirit, which I’d like to share.
“And some, save (or deliver) by seizing (or snatching) them out of the fire, detesting (disdaining or hating) even the garment that has been polluted by the flesh (or fallen human nature).” Jude 1:23
The Spiritual Context is this:
The World is “on fire” – the political sphere is riddled with “fires” continually springing up all over the World. Human governments are constantly working to “put out the fires” of social issues and political unrest, but there is no end to these “fires”. At the same time, Christians have become more and more INVOLVED trying to address these “fires” – the ills of fallen Humanity. Contrary to the “spiritual weapons” used by the apostle Paul , Christians are predominately and increasingly aligning themselves with various political personalities, parties, policies, and programs in an effort to address these ‘fires”.
The Instruction of the Spirit is this:
There can be no “fellowship” – no partnership – with light and darkness. Our INVOLVEMENT is to be with the Kingdom of God – NOT the World system. Know this: The World system is NOT going to be “redeemed”, but rather burned up in the fire of God. (2 Peter 3:7, 10-12) It is NOT God’s agenda to transform the World system into the Kingdom of God. It IS God’s agenda to have the Church witness to and be a witness to – that is, “to make known” (Ephesians 3:10) – the Kingdom of God as an ALTERNATE SOCIETY – a light in the midst of the darkness.
The Direction for Those Who Belong to Christ is this:
Firstly, COME OUT , and STOP INVOLVEMENT with the World system – with a healthy fear and disdain of its spiritual pollution.
Secondly, aligning ourselves and our energies with God’s agenda, preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, make Disciples of the Kingdom, be a collective witness of the Kingdom of Heaven, and thus SAVE SOME – seizing (or snatching) them out of the fire through the power of the Word and the Spirit of God. And thirdly, implied in Jude 1:23 is that our focus as the people of God is to be the building up of the Ecclesia – NOT transforming the World system.
As the World burns, SOME will also COME OUT of the flames into the Household (Kingdom) of God. Therefore, we are IN, but not OF the World. We are INVOLVED with “some snatched from the fire”, but not the World system. We belong to Christ – our citizenship is in heaven. We are Sojourners in this World system – NOT INVOLVED in its politic. In a manner of speaking, we can be likened to are “Conscientious Objectors to Politics” – “Political Atheists”.
I believe this prophetic word is very much in sync with the series of messages I wrote just a few years ago: “A Remnant Will Return”. The key scripture passage there, Isaiah 8, portrays ancient Israel in the same situation as ourselves today – IN the World, But not OF the World. And the following verses give God’s instruction to His people in that spiritual and political environment:
“Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait for the LORD who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; I will even look eagerly for Him. Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.” Isaiah 8:16-18
A complimentary .pdf copy of “A Remnant Will Return” can be obtained by emailing AtChristsTable@gmail.com
But there is something more: I am prayerfully seeking insight from the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit concerning something which I feel under-prepared to write about at this time. I see in the words: “Save others, snatching them out of the fire…” and “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples…” something to do with “family households” functioning independent of the World system in various ways – alternate societies which “are for signs and wonders” – that is, family-based / household-based intentional communities which would be witnesses to the Oikos (Household / Kingdom) of God in a post-Christian world. As I said, I am before the Lord regarding this vision, but as I have been reflecting and meditating, I’ve realized that some of what I am seeing is rooted in a message I published back in 2013: “Facing the Future”. A complimentary .pdf copy of this can be obtained by emailing AtChristsTable@gmail.com
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“Explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words” 1 Corinthians 2:13
