Fulfilled prophecy

 Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

It might upset some readers to realize that this well-known prophecy originally referred to a child born to King Ahaz of Judah, and not primarily to the birth of Jesus some 700 years later. The child was to be a sign to Ahaz pointing to the fact that, before the child reached adulthood, the Assyrians would invade the north of Israel. The mother of this child could have been one of Ahaz’s wives, taken into his harem while still a virgin, and then becoming pregnant in the normal manner. This sign of Isaiah came true, as history proves.

Some believers find it difficult to accept that Biblical prophecies that have already been fulfilled somewhere in the past, could have any bearing on events that might still happen in the future.

But the apostles themselves believed that the words of the prophets did not only apply to historical events, but specifically also to their own time as well, as we read in Acts 3:24 “Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days.” This is because the Holy Spirit inspired the prophets to write about the messianic future, even if they themselves did not understand the full application of their own words.

We see this clearly in Isaiah 7:14, because although Ahaz’s child fulfilled this prophecy in history, it is also true that:

This prophecy refers to Jesus because the Holy Spirit says so through Matthew in Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

This prophecy refers to Jesus because it is addressed not only to Ahaz, but to the entire house of David.

This prophecy refers to Jesus because the words “the virgin will conceive” was literally fulfilled when He was born.

This prophecy refers to Jesus because the designation “Immanuel” was fundamentally true of Jesus in His lifetime, and not only used as a title. God with us shows His deity (GOD with us) and His nearness to us (God WITH US).

In the same way, we can know that many other biblical prophecies give us a template of things still to come, even though they might have been fulfilled in history already.

Points to ponder: Am I open to see Bible prophecy as markers for the future, waiting for another fulfilment? Do I then see end-time prophecies becoming real-time events all around me as time goes on? Ask Holy Spirit to convince you of the godly interpretation of the times we are living in and ask Him to show you how to truly discern and understand those prophecies in the light of His Word. Do not merely rely on the teachings of man.

Days of Elijah

Are you the one

 Ps 106:23

So he declared he would destroy them. But Moses, his chosen one, stepped between the LORD and the people. He begged him to turn from his anger and not destroy them.

What Moses did here, was to intercede for his nation, to “stand in the gap” as it is often referred to. The Hebrew word for gap means a breach in the wall, where the defensive protection has broken down and the enemy can enter in. God heeded the intercessory pleas of one man and spared His nation.

The effect of one man interceding on behalf of a whole nation is extremely powerful. Earlier in Israel’s history, when the sins of her people were so great and numerous that God could no longer avoid pouring out His wrath upon the nation, He looked for just one righteous man to plead the cause of this wayward nation:

Ex 22:30 “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.”

God then destroyed the nation and the temple and sent the people into captivity. The point I want to stress here is that God was not looking for a thousand praying men, only one.

We find our ultimate Intercessor in our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is interceding for us day and night, standing in the gap between us and God (Rom 8:34). Undeserved grace indeed!

The following poem (unknown author) really touched my heart. Listen to God speaking to us:

Give me a man of God, one man/ Whose faith is master of his mind/ And I will right ten thousand wrongs/ And bless the name of all mankind./ Give me a man of God, one man,/ Whose tongue is touched with heaven’s fire,/ And I will flame the darkest hearts/ With high resolve and pure desire./ Give me a man of God, one man,/ One mighty prophet of the Lord,/ And I will give you peace on earth/ Bought with prayer and not a sword./ Give me a man of God, one man,/ True to the vision that he sees/ And I will build your broken shrines/ And bring the nations to their knees./ One man.

Points to ponder: Who has God placed in our world for us to be an advocate for? Most assuredly our family. But what about that difficult neighbour; that casual acquaintance from the tennis club; that co-worker who is spreading all kinds of lies about you at work; that person standing in front of you in the grocery check-out line? God has planned for certain people to cross our paths in some way or other, purely so that we can intercede for their deepest needs - that only He can meet. It might just be that no one else in their lives will ever pray for them. Are you prepared to fight for them? Are you the one?

My prayer for you

Our hope in troublesome times

 Daniel 7:25

He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall oppress the saints of the Most High ….

A few years ago I became aware of the testimony of a member of the underground church in China, where the person lamented the fact that the church had not prepared them for martyrdom. The message they had received consistently was that as Christians, they would all be protected from harm, while not realizing that God chooses some to be martyrs for Him. (He blesses all who are persecuted for His sake and holds them in great honour - Matt 5:11). Many Chinese believers then fell away from the faith when serious persecution started.

Daniel is referring to the Antichrist in the verse quoted above, and how he will treat all believers in Jesus at the end of times. The Hebrew word used here for oppress means to wear away; wear out; to harass constantly. At that future stage, the Antichrist will be operating under the full power of Satan himself (Rev 13:4), and we are therefore speaking of the constant, unrelenting demonic harassment of believers during that time.

Jesus warned us that the signs of the end times will present themselves as birth pangs do with pregnant women - the same pain is felt throughout, but with increasing frequency and intensity (Matthew 24:8). We can therefore anticipate that believers everywhere, who are currently already being harassed by the enemy forces to some extent, will be worn down in ever increasing measure, until the worst-case scenario plays out at the end of the age where the saints will be persecuted relentlessly and beheaded when found (Rev 20:4).

Since none of us knows whether we will be martyrs for God or not, it seems prudent to be prepared to face such circumstances. Like soldiers who are trained to be prepared for battle, even if not all are even called into battle. Knowing the tactics the enemy uses against us is crucial if we are to counter them successfully.

In line with the verse from Daniel above, the testimony from many believers coming for inner healing sessions currently, is: I am so tired! What wears out the saints? A few issues were identified by Estell Brink – busyness; unresolved disappointments/offenses; trauma from prolonged sickness; financial delays to fulfil the calling; continued strife/conflict; allurement – what holds your fascination?

Stephen, as he was being stoned to death (Acts 7:56), saw a wonderful vision of Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father - waiting to welcome him home. He showed us that our hope ultimately lies in Jesus our Saviour, no matter what the circumstances, because He will never leave us, nor forsake us! The end-time church will be singing love songs to Him, even under persecution, which will be totally beyond the comprehension of the rest of the world who rages against Him!

Points to ponder:  Look for areas in your life that would hinder your faith in difficult situations. What wears you out? What pulls your eyes away from beholding Him? What can you do now to prepare for challenging times of persecution that might come your way?

In Christ alone my hope is found      

Will Jesus acknowledge me

 Matthew 7:22-23

On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’  23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’

Many of us struggle to understand these verses. It is difficult to comprehend that a person can prophesy, cast out demons and perform many miracles “in the name of Jesus”, and then hear Jesus say, “I never knew you”. It seems that it could be possible for someone to think that their actions are in service to God, when in reality they are not - evidenced by the fact that here they are shown to be standing before Jesus on judgement day, calling Him Lord, and claiming to have been in His service. They must have believed this to be true.

This is not something that outright atheists or Satan worshippers or simply non-believers would do. Even those from the dark side who were sent into churches to destroy them, and who would be doing these miracles by the power of Satan in order to deceive many, would not call Jesus ‘Lord’ on judgement day, they served another.

Is it even possible for unbelievers to cast out demons? This was something that I immediately considered upon thinking about the above verses. In Matthew 12:27 Jesus speaks about the sons of the Pharisees driving out demons; Acts 19:13 also refers to Jewish exorcists, and these were not believers in Christ. Were they successful? It would seem so, even if only to a certain degree. I believe that there are two possibilities here: either God allowed them for His own purposes to have authority over demons in some cases, or it is through demonic power.  This is indeed possible - the Bible shows that angels can perform miracles (Gen 19:11), therefore we know that Satan and his followers can also do the same. In the future, Antichrist and the False Prophet will perform many lying signs and wonders through the power of Satan (2 Thes 2:9). He will certainly orchestrate the casting out of his own demons to mislead people into believing that it is a believer performing an act of God operating here, when in actual fact it is not, and bystanders will then easily be led astray.

Jesus’ words “I never knew you” implies that the people referred to in our quoted verse were not Christians to begin with, and therefore did not operate from God’s power. They might have grown up in a Christian environment but never personally chosen Jesus as Lord; or seen first-hand that ministering in a church could bring fame and power; or relied on their works to gain them entrance to heaven - and never come to realise that all Jesus really wants is for us to have an intimate personal relationship with Him. To “know” Him in other words. How? Just love Him - 1 Cor 8:3 “But the one who loves God is known by God.”

Points to ponder: How deeply do I love God? Are the following signs of loving worship for my heavenly Father; and for my Beloved Jesus; and for my Companion Holy Spirit present in my life: do I obey His word; do I do everything for Him and offer everything He has given me back to Him to be used for His purposes; do I connect with Him through prayer; do I obey His commands?

I will love the Lord        

The land mourns

 Hosea 4:2-3

You make vows and break them; you kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere— one murder after another. 3.  That is why your land is in mourning, and everyone is wasting away. Even the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea are disappearing.

We do not normally consider what effect, if any, our way of living has on the land itself. Hosea is telling us plainly that sinful lifestyles have a great negative impact on our environment. He names broken vows (which would include divorces; unethical breaking of business agreements; broken promises), he names murder and violence, he names stealing, and adultery. These are all transgressions that were not exclusive to Hosea’s time - we are seeing the same happening around us in ever increasing numbers.

In verse 1 Hosea lists the causes leading to this sorry state of affairs. There is no faithfulness, love, pity, and mercy anymore. And these have all disappeared because there is no more knowledge of God from personal experience with Him, in the land. As we continue reading, we encounter the often-quoted verse 6, where God states that His people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. He is not referring to religious knowledge about Him here, He is talking about a personal knowledge of Him, gained through pursuing an intimate relationship with Him. In fact, He says very clearly in Hosea 6:6 that He desires and delights in steadfast love and goodness, not sacrifice, and in the acquaintance with God more than burnt offerings - in other words, He looks more to the heart that is turned towards Him than to that person’s formal religious practices.

People’s rejection of God leads to His judgement over the land they live in. We see it all through the Bible, from Genesis recounting how Adam and Eve now had to live on a cursed earth, all the way up to the final judgement of God when earth is completely destroyed, as written of in Revelation. We certainly also see the consequences of dishonouring God which Hosea spoke about, in our own neighbourhoods, cities, provinces, and countries as we witness the land mourning under droughts and other extreme adverse weather conditions. Sea creatures like certain populations of whales, dolphins, seals, turtles, and many fish are critically endangered. Land animals like rhinos, leopards, gorillas, asian elephants and even small creatures like frogs and bees are disappearing.

Points to ponder:

How do we stem the tide? One way is that we, as Christians, need to occupy our land! It starts with you and your family claiming your property for God, then joining other intercessors in moving into your neighbourhood, your city, your province, your country. Anoint the boundaries of your property, sealing it off under the blood of Jesus, and ask God to set His angels along the perimeter, also angelic gatekeepers at your entrances. Make sure that no sin door-openers are practised in your home. Then start moving into your neighbourhood and city with prayer walks and cover more distant areas in prayer.

The following website has good pointers on what to pray for during your walk: https://myheartscry.org/2022/06/16/how-to-pray-over-land/

Start by praying for protection both physically and spiritually. God knows your plan to pray, but the enemy does too. You may be tempted with distracting thoughts, insecurities, or anything Satan can use to dissuade you from your commitment to walk and pray. Include worship. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. Whoever may own the property you walk, God is still over them. God has a plan and purpose for each parcel of land. Thank God for the land and his creation. Ask God to bless the land where your feet tread. Bless the land, the people, the animals, the foliage, the water. Any of God’s creations that actively use this land. Ask God to bless houses, businesses, churches, and institutions while passing by. Pray for residents to be good neighbours towards each other. Pray for crime to be exposed and prosecuted. Pray for divine appointments. By that, I mean I pray that God would have you at a particular spot at a specific time to meet a physical need or have a conversation with anyone He chooses. Pray for the Christians in the community to be a beacon. A guiding light to their neighbours and communities. Pray for the lost, depressed, handicapped, and penniless. Pray for children to be safe in the streets, walkways, and at play. Ask God what His heart is for that particular area.

We'll walk the land