(This study contains recent insights that relate to the six part Bible study Elul; The Season Of Preparation and 40 Days Of Favor.)
Before you look at this study, I need to say one thing. From what I say in this declaration, some will say, “You’re setting dates for the return of Christ when He clearly declared, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matthew 24:36/NIV) Yes, He did say that, but the Father can reveal that the “appointed time” or “seasonable time” is drawing near to the watchmen whose job is to be looking for things before they happen, in order to warn the people.
A major clue to think about regarding when the return of Christ for His Bride will be appears to be revealed through one of the names given to the Feast of Trumpets by the Jews. From the article, “Yom HaKeseh: The Hidden Day (Yom Teruah)” (https://www.beitariel.org/single-post/yom-hakeseh-the-hidden-day) the following insight is given;
“Believers never said when the day of Rosh HaShanah [a name for the Jewish festival that God defined as Yom Teruah (which means “day of shouting/blasting”), known in English as the Feast of Trumpets] was; they simply said, “Of that day and hour no one knows, only the Father”… One of the reasons most often given to disclaim that the resurrection of the dead and the catching away of the believers is on Rosh HaShanah, is the statement given by Yeshua in Matthew 24:36, as it is written, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only." Because Rosh HaShanah was understood to be the hidden day, this statement by Yeshua is actually an idiom for Rosh Hashanah. Thus, it should be given as proof that He was speaking of Rosh HaShanah because Rosh HaShanah is the only day in the whole year that was referred to as 'the hidden day' or 'the day that no man knew.'” [For more on this, see the Bible study Elul; The Season Of Preparation and 40 Days Of Favor – part 2 on our website network153.com)
The prophet Amos said, “Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7/NASU) The prophets are the eyes of the body, the “seers” who will be shown things by the Holy Spirit before they occur. They may not necessarily know the exact day or hour, but they will be given notice that the appointed time has come. It is this very thing, through the fulfillment of the fall feasts of the Lord, that I am declaring to you. It is your responsibility to discern if that which is being said is from God, or a man. If from me, I will give an account for my sin of speaking for the Lord when it wasn’t from Him. If from God, we MUST prepare our hearts by faith in eager anticipation of the King’s coming again, and of the end of the age. May the Lord be merciful to us, confirming His will in this crucial moment of history.
The Three Trumps
As we will learn, “there are three primary trumpets the Jewish people recognize as God-ordained. Each of these trumpets is blown on specific days of the Lord’s feasts each year.” On Pentecost “the First Trump” is blown. On the Feast of Trumpets, “the Last Trump” is blown. And then on the Day of Atonement, “the Great Trump” is blown (we’ll discover more on these further below). Through what I believe is being revealed to me, it is my conviction that President Trump will get back in office as the 47th President of the United States, and that he will be a sign of the coming “Last Trump,” of sorts, before the return of the Lord for His Bride on one of the two days recognized for the Feast of Trumpets.
If the spring feasts (Passover, Firstfruits, Unleavened Bread, and Pentecost) were fulfilled at the first coming of Jesus Christ, on the very day and hour they were being celebrated, why then would He not fulfill the fall feasts (Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles) as well on the very day, or days, they were being celebrated at His second coming?
Is There Any Biblical Significance To The Number 47?
From the article “Meaning of Numbers: The Number 47” (https://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/47.html)
“Genesis 47 records the pivotal moment when Egypt's Pharaoh allowed Jacob (Israel) and his entire family to dwell in the land of Goshen. The family, at the behest of Joseph who was the second most powerful person in Egypt, left Canaan due to a severe drought. The Israelites will end up living in the country for the next 200+ years until they are freed to return to their ancestral home… Number 47 can be interpreted as a combination of 4 (creation, completeness) and 7 (perfection, divine completion).”
From the article “Biblical Meaning of Number 47: Spiritual Growth and Divine Purpose Explained” (https://increasingfaithintl.org/biblical-meaning-of-number-47/):
“In biblical numerology, numbers are often interpreted by breaking them down into their component parts. The number 47 can be seen as a combination of 4 and 7, both of which have significant meanings in Scripture. The number 4 is often associated with creation (four corners of the earth, four seasons) and completeness. The number 7 is widely recognized as a symbol of perfection, fullness, and divine completion. When combined, these numbers might suggest a process of complete spiritual transformation or the perfection of one’s earthly journey.”
From the article “The meaning of 47--Empowered Sons” (https://godskingdom.org/blog/2023/08/the-meaning-of-47-empowered-sons/):
“The number 47 is written in Hebrew as mem-zayin.
Mem (א) is water, signifying a flow of events over a period of time.
Zayin (ז) is a weapon in Hebrew. The perfect weapon is the Sword of the Spirit, by which spiritual warfare is accomplished, for “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal” (2 Cor. 10:4). Seven is also the biblical number of completion and spiritual perfection.
The number 47 (“empowered sons”) follows naturally the number 46 (“temple”). Building God’s temple is a process of maturing the sons of God, who are the living stones in that temple. Being filled with the Spirit, these sons are also empowered by the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. In other words, they hear God’s voice and know His word.”
The number 47 appears to represent the “perfection, divine completion” of the creation of the Lord. By the “flow of events over a period of time,” all of creation will be subdued and placed eternally under His dominion. This will occur when “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.” (See Revelation 11:15 right below.)
Revelation 11:15-19 – The seventh angel sounding the seventh, and final “Great Trumpet.” There were then “loud [megas] voices in heaven.” It will be at that “time” [“a fixed and definite time, opportune or seasonable time, the right time”] when the Lord will destroy those who destroy the earth. I believe this is revealed in type thru the “sealed verdict” that will be openly declared by God on the Day of Atonement.
15 Then the seventh angel sounded [4537- “to trumpet; i.e. sound a blast”]; and there were loud [3173- megas (meg'-as) – “great, large, of physical magnitude”] voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever."
16 And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God,
17 saying, "We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great [3173] power and have begun to reign.
18 "And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time [2540- “a fixed and definite time, opportune or seasonable time, the right time”] came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great [3173], and to destroy those who destroy the earth."
19 And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.
NASU
Genesis 47 – This passage of Scripture, when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, reveals God’s protection and provision for those who would draw near to Him during an extremely difficult time on earth known biblically as “Jacob’s trouble.” It’s a picture, in type, of the seven year period of time known biblically as the tribulation, right before the return of Christ to earth. It will be an extremely perilous time which all mankind who are not “caught away” with the Lord will encounter, to their horror.
Joseph’s revealing of himself to his brothers reveals for us a picture of those who have been humbled by difficult circumstances, and with nowhere else to go, come to spiritual “Goshen,” which in Hebrew means “drawing near.” (Genesis 45:1-15) Through a humbled, repentant heart they will be mercifully protected by the Lord. Not only will they be protected but will, as Joseph’s family, eat from the best of the land during the worst of times. For the Jewish people, the “brother” (i.e. Jesus Christ) whom they sold to those who took Him away and crucified Him (Genesis 42:13), will then be revealed to them as being alive, and more importantly, the One who has been sent ahead of them to preserve a remnant of their people on earth. Like Joseph who had been raised to a place of great authority, Jesus is more than able through His Kingship to save them through a great (megas), end time deliverance. (Genesis 45:7)
There is something else that has come before me that I believe is directly connected with Israel and the revealing of their Deliverer. It is through the Hebrew meaning of the number 28. From the article Hebrew Linguistics & The Bible (https://www.gods-abcs.com/numbers-1-to-40-defined), the following insight is given for the number 28;
“28 (kaph-chet) Leading of the Spirit - To write twenty-eight in Hebrew, they wrote two Hebrew letters: kaph-chet. These signify the open palm covering the inner chamber of the heart [I see the covering atonement of the Lord in this]. Twenty-eight is the number of the leading of the Spirit…”
In the first chapter of Matthew, the genealogy of Christ is divided into three sections of 14 each. Matthew 1:17 says, ‘Therefore all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the deportations to Babylon to the time of Christ fourteen generations.’ The number 28, then, should be viewed as having a connection with the number 14, which is the number of release, as well as the number 42. These three numbers, in a sense, represent Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Israel was released from Egypt at Passover because of events occurring on the night of Abib 14/15. The number 28 indicates the leading of the Holy Spirit, which points to Pentecost. And finally, the number 42 has to do with the full anointing of Christ, which points to Tabernacles. The number 28 is the climax of the second period of 14 generations. After 28 generations from Abraham, the people of Judah were taken into captivity to Babylon. Because of a general lack of understanding of the nature of Pentecost, most people find this to be puzzling, because one would think that Pentecost would be a time of freedom, rather than bondage. However, when we understand that Pentecost is a leavened feast and that King Saul was a Pentecostal type, the connection becomes clearer. Israel left Egypt at Passover and spent its Pentecostal days in the wilderness under Moses. They were supposed to enter the Promised Land at the time of the feast of Tabernacles. And so we find that after 28 generations, Judah was led into another “wilderness” type experience outside of the land, where they had to rely upon the leading of the Holy Spirit…”
“…many men of the Bible were required to leave, depart, or go do something on the 28th time that their name is mentioned. It is clear that they were to do as they were led by the Holy Spirit… [See the Bible study The Spirit Led Regiment Of The Lord in which I refer to the 28th regiment of Marines that planted the American flag on top of Mount Suribachi during the WWII battle of Iwo Jima, and who they represent.] The 28th time that Jacob’s name is mentioned is in Genesis 28:6, when Esau recognized that Isaac had sent Jacob to Paddan-aram to find a wife. Jacob was being led by the Spirit. Jacob was yet a supplanter, or usurper, and so God was sending him to a foreign land for further purging through tribulation. In bondage to Laban, he had to learn to be led by the Spirit, and in his return home, he became an overcomer, and the angel changed his name to Israel [This is a picture of the Jewish people since their dispersion throughout the world. See Isaiah 62:1-2, and Revelation 2:17 and 3:12 for more on “overcomers” who will, like Jacob, receive a new name from the Lord.]… The 28th time that Joshua’s name is mentioned is in Joshua 1:10, where he commanded the people to get ready to cross the Jordan. That, of course, is the purpose of Pentecost, for the leading of the Spirit is what prepares us to “cross over” to fulfill the feast of Tabernacles.”
As we’ll see right below in this study, I was led to another insight through the number 28 that, if from God, is extremely important to take notice of.
The Great [3173] Trumpet (“…immediately after the tribulation”)
“But immediately after the tribulation [2347- “a pressing together, pressure”] of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign [4592- “a sign, mark, indication, token”] of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT [3173- megas (meg'-as) – “great, large, of physical magnitude”] TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect [1588- “picked out, chosen, choice, select”] from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” [Notice the Greek for “Great” is megas; a megas trump. Sounds similar to MAGA (“Make America Great Again”) Trump. Strange coincidence? Maybe, but I think not. I will speak more about this thought right below.]
(Matthew 24:29-31/NASU)
Another interesting insight came to me through Psalm 90:10;
“As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength [1369- “strength, might, valor, bravery”], eighty years, yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; For soon it is gone and we fly away [5774- “to fly away, to cause to fly, to hover, to light upon, to cover (with wings or obscurity), to faint (from the darkness of swooning)”; it’s interesting that the definition for swooning includes the term “rapture”; “to faint, lose consciousness; to become enraptured; a state of bewilderment or ecstasy (daze, rapture); to be dizzy with joy; a state of suspended animation”].” (NASU)
The following thoughts came to me on September 21 and 22, 2024;
Israel became a nation in 1948. If you add 80 years to that, based on Psalm 90:10, it comes to the year 2028 (recognize the number 28 in here). Will the Feast of Trumpets, which is on September 21-22, 2028, and is right near the end of the next president’s term, whom I believe will be Trump, be the “appointed time” (“a fixed time or season, appointed place of meeting”) of the Lord when the Bride and her attendants will be “snatched away” (i.e. raptured) to meet Him in the air?
80 in Hebrew (pey or fey) = New Governmental Order. Means: Mouth, to Speak, Open or Beginning.
“Overall, the number 80 in the Bible is associated with preparation, testing, redemption, restoration, completion, and communication. It signifies a significant period of time [similar to the definition for number 47 on page 2], and emphasize the importance of spiritual readiness and consecration.” (Biblical Numbers #80 Meaning & Symbolism; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY6omFj75AQ)
Something else to meditate on to see if there is any connection with all of this is Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Solomon says there are 28 “appointed times” for everything, and a “season for every activity under heaven.” (NIV) The Hebrew for “appointed times” is defined as “a set time, an appointed time or occasion.” The Hebrew for “season” is defined as “period of time, appointed time, proper time, season.” The last two “times” mentioned happens to be “a time for war and a time for peace.” The Hebrew word interpreted as “peace” is shalom (shaw-lome') which is defined as “completeness, soundness, welfare, peace.” The Lord will have the last word and it will be PEACE, right after war. Jesus said;
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
(John 14:27/NASU)
To those who know the Lord, and are looking for His return, desiring to keep themselves pure (1 John 3:2-3), the sound of the trumpet will be a joyful sound. But to those who walk in rebellion against Him, it will be a sound of terror and extreme agony of soul because it is the sound of their judgment. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem during what we refer to as “Palm Sunday,” He wept bitterly over the city, declaring their coming judgment due to their lack of recognizing who He was, and why He had come;
“If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls [what about the children among God’s people today, in the churches, that will not recognize, at the end of this age, what would bring them peace?]. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize [1097- “to come to know, recognize, understand, perceive”] the time [2540- “an occasion, i.e. set or proper time; due measure, opportune or seasonable time, a fixed and definite time”] of God's coming to you [1984- “inspection, visitation”; 1 Peter 2:12 – “coming again in judgment”].”
(Luke 19:42-44/NIV)
From the article “‘That will be it’: Trump shares decision on a presidential run in 2028” by Savannah Kuchar for USA TODAY, (published September 22, 2024);
“One way or the other, 2024 will be Donald Trump's last presidential campaign, he says. The former president and GOP presidential nominee said he will not run again in 2028 if he loses this November, in an interview aired Sunday on the television show Full Measure [interesting that it’s called this]. “No, I don't,” Trump told host Sharyl Attkisson, when asked if he thought a fourth campaign was in the cards. “I think that that will be, that will be it. I don't see that at all.”
Will Donald Trump be the “Last Trump,” so to speak, in our nation, even the last president to be used of God in the nation He founded before the antichrist world system is allowed to be set up? From what the Lord has been revealing to me, it has become my strong conviction that, YES, he is.
“Our Great High Priest, Yom Kippur, and the Great Trumpet – Focus 41”
October 8, 2019 / Mary Ellen Wright
“Yom Kippur/the Day of Atonement is also the day of “the Great Trumpet.”
As I’ve mentioned before, there are three primary trumpets the Jewish people recognize as God-ordained. Each of these trumpets is blown on specific days of the Lord’s feasts each year.
“The First Trump” is blown on Pentecost – in remembrance of the trumpets blown the day that God gave Israel the ten commandments.
“The Last Trump” is blown on the Feast of Trumpets/ Rosh HaShanah – Announcing the coming of the Bridegroom
[It is my conviction that this is when the rapture of the bride (i.e. the “queen in gold from ophir”; Psalm 45:9) and her “virgin companions” (Psalm 45:14) are “caught up” (i.e. the rapture) to meet the Lord “in the air.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)]
“The Great Trump” is blown on Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement – Believed by many that this will be the day of Judgment when the Lord will come with His armies to do warfare against those who have come against Israel [the “time of war” before the “time of peace”].
It will also be the day of redemption for many of the Jews. While it is months after Yeshua poured out His atoning sacrifice, Yom Kippur will be a day for the Jews to recognize their Messiah:
Zechariah 12: 9-10 – “And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon 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 firstborn.”
Many of them will come to a saving knowledge of Yeshua as their Messiah.
The Bible mentioned this day in a couple of places:
Matthew 24:29-31 – “Immediately AFTER THE TRIBULATION OF THOSE DAYS the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign [4592- “a sign, mark, token”] of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (see Mark 13:5-27 – especially note verse 29)
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (Complete Jewish Bible) – “For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God’s shofar; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise; then we who are left still alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord.”
So, the Great Trumpet will usher in the return of Yeshua to rule and reign.
It is believed that this Great Trumpet will announce the final gathering of the Bride and the beginning of the Day of the Lord – or the wrath of God being poured out on those who remain on the earth. [The gathering of the Bride will begin on “The Last Trump.” The final portion will occur at “The Great Trump.”]
This is a brief recount of the activity and meaning of the Day of Atonement. But, my prayer is that you recognize the incredible blessing we have as believers. Yeshua paid the ultimate sacrifice for each and every one of us.
Hebrews 4:14 – “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Yom Kippur can be a day of thanksgiving for this great blessing and for the reward of relationship with Him in His family. It can also be a day to pray for the Jews and many others who don’t know that He paid the same price for them and that eternal salvation is theirs for the believing.”
The Decree Of God
“Jewish tradition holds that on Rosh Hashanah, God pronounces a judgment on each Jewish person for the coming year and, ten days later, on Yom Kippur, He seals that judgment.” (p.3 in the Bible study Elul; The Season Of Preparation and 40 Days Of Favor – part 1)
Q: At the end of this age, how will we know what God pronounces as our judgment on the Feast of Trumpets when, per Jewish tradition, the books are opened and our deeds revealed?
A: If declared innocent, you will be among those who will be “snatched away/caught up” in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). If declared guilty you will be left behind for your time of “trial” on earth, pictured within the “ten days of awe” between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement. The good news is that, because of the mercy of God, it can be changed through repentance, before the final sealing of the charge on the Day of Atonement. (FYI, the Greek for “snatched away/caught up” is harpazo. The Latin word for this is rapturo, from which we derive our English word “rapture.”)
The Book Of Remembrance and The Book Of Life
Leviticus 23:23-25 – On the first festival of the Lord in the fall, the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah), the blowing of trumpets served as a reminder, or a memorial before the Lord. I believe that it was to be done in remembrance of the Lord in order to then be remembered by Him. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a memorial is “done to remember a person or people who have died.” Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. In the New Testament, a memorial is a “token of remembrance.” (See Matthew 26:13, Mark 14:9, and Acts 10:9.) Our symbolic “token of remembrance” is found within communion where Jesus commanded His followers to, “Do this in remembrance [364- “to call to mind”] of Me.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-32)
23 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
24 "Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder [2146- “a memorial, a reminder, a remembrance”] by blowing of trumpets [8643- teruw`ah (ter-oo-aw')- “an alarm, a signal, a battle cry”], a holy convocation [a sacred, or solemn assembly].
25 'You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.'"
NASU
Leviticus 23:23-25
23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
24 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial [2146] of blowing of trumpets [8643] a holy convocation.
25 You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.'"
NKJV
In Jewish tradition, the Book of Life is opened on the Feast of Trumpets to determine where a person stands. It’s the evidence written down for our case before the court of heaven, determining our innocence or guilt before God. I believe it is a type for the Israel of God, made up of both Jews and Gentiles (Galatians 6:16), at the end of this age. To those who are given a negative decree because of their rebellion against God AFTER turning to Him, their lot will be with the unbelievers (1 Corinthians 11:31-32), outside of the wedding supper of the Lamb. They are called foolish virgins by Jesus, those who took the midnight sound of the trumpet-like ministries lightly (Matthew 25:1-13).
We are told that, along with the wise virgins, they too trimmed their lamps after being awakened by the midnight shout, but did not take seriously the need to possess their own oil. Because their faith was not brought to completion at the coming of the Lord through obedience to the Spirit’s instructions to get ready (James 2:21-22), they will be on the outside, unable to enter in.
The Greek for “trimmed” is kosmeo (kos-meh'-o) which means “to put in order, arrange, make ready, prepare.” It would appear that everything had been “made ready” in their life, outwardly, but something was missing on the inside… the illuminating oil (of the Holy Spirit) to keep their lamps burning.
One day while traveling, Jesus entered a village where two sisters named Martha and Mary lived. The Bible gives us the following account of what happened when Jesus came to their home;
“Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted [4049- “to be distracted with cares; to be over-occupied, too busy, about a thing”] with all her preparations [1248- “service, ministering”]; and she came up to Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.’”
(Luke 10:38-42/NASU)
This passage reveals the way to receive the inner oil necessary to keep our lamps lit. It’s not just from serving, which is a very important part of ministering, but it’s as we set apart time to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen that we will receive what is necessary to allow His light to shine through us (i.e. the illuminating power of the Holy Spirit). Otherwise, we minister in the power of the flesh, void of His light and glory.
As revealed through Martha, it’s possible to actually be “distracted” from spending time in the Lord’s presence, listening for His word, by being over-occupied in ministry busy-ness. Without the recognition of our daily need for intimacy with the source of “the light of life,” the light of His presence within us will soon become darkened, unable to shine and reveal the Way of salvation to those living in darkness (John 14:6). Like the priests in the temple, during this age we are required to do regular maintenance with the lamp of God within us lest it go out. It is mandatory that we go to the Lord on a regular basis to receive from Him, as we sit at His feet, the oil of the Holy Spirit in His temple within us. It’s crucial that we work together with Him, lest we work against Him (i.e. the spirit of anti-christ).
This is why so many ministers, in particular, suffer from religious burnout (i.e. their lamps burning out). They’re kept busy with religious activity that keeps them from sitting at the feet of Jesus and receiving the life-giving, illuminating power of the Holy Spirit necessary to minister in His strength rather than their own. Actually, this is every Christian’s priority, not just the pastors’. Jesus is the keeper of the oil (i.e. the Holy Spirit). He distributes our daily ration to those who recognize their need of dependence upon Him, and then spend intimate time with Him in order to be continuously filled with His light. In this case, co-dependency is a good thing.
(continued in part 2...)
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