FromtheWall

The article below is one I wrote in 2005 during the time just preceeding Passover.  The message is still relevant in 2007, perhaps now more than ever; for each day, each passing year the coming of the Lord draws nearer.  And as I have been hearing for the past several months, He is not coming as a Lamb again, but as a Warrior, a Judge, and the Lion of the tribe of Judah.  The last book of the Bible was originally called the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ.  Apocalypse is a Greek word meaning, simply, "the revealing."  Jesus the Messiah is about to be revealed to this generation on earth in a new way, and, unfortunately, those in the church who should be expecting His coming may not even recognize Him in this new manifestation, just as much of Israel and her leaders did not recognize Him the first time He came.  They expected a king, not a suffering servant.  They expected a lion, not a lamb.  The church today is very familiar with Jesus as Shepherd, Jesus as Friend, Jesus the Meek and Mild, but they are not as familiar with Jesus, the Captain of the Host (as He was revealed to Joshua) or as the mighty figure who comes out of Bozrah, His garments dipped in blood.

Who is this that cometh from Edom with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength?  I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.  Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?  I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me; for I will tread them in mine anger and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.  For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.

Isaiah 63:1-4

The Lord has been speaking to me about the imminent judgment of God since 2003.  He has been warning us for centuries through the words of His prophets, both in the Old Testament and the New.  It seems God does nothing in the earth without telling His prophets, His confidantes, first, that they in turn might warn others.  The eleventh hour prophets are now crying out the message to the Church, because that is where judgment begins, with the house of God.

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God; and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

I Peter 4:17

But God is also preparing to judge the nations ("goyim," meaning pagans or gentiles) of the earth as well.  He will use the Church to warn them, intercede for them, and be a witness to them with their lives and, perhaps, the Lord willing, in their deaths.  We have entered a new era.  A shift has occurred.  This sovereign move of God will occur whether anyone is ready or not:

And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.  They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.  Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank,they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.  Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

Luke 17:26-30

Yes, this judgment side of Jesus is real, and totally scriptural!  It is one of the "revelations" of Jesus Christ.  And it is just as much a vital and necessary facet of His Person as His grace and mercy and love.  We must accept Him as He is, in all of His manifestations, just as we expect to be accepted, just as we are, when we come to Him.  It works both ways! 

When we accept this side of God, what becomes birthed in our hearts is a holy and righteous fear of Him.  We call it reverence.  And this motivates us to lead holier lives.

But we know that, when he shall appear , we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

I John 3:2b-3

Even though judgment is coming, there is "this hope" for every believer.  This hope will motivate us toward holiness. As you will read in the following article, there are things we can be doing to prepare ourselves and others for what is to come.  Yahweh has provided a net of safety for his righteous remnant in troubled times, and you will find it in Psalm 91.  I suggest you meditate on this passage, and get it in your heart.  In addition, it is time to prepare the Bride and prepare for battle!  The Bride is described in the Song of Solomon as being as beautiful as a bannered host. (Song of Solomon 6:4, 10)  The Bride has her army boots on as well as her wedding dress!  This is another manifestation of the church that many are not used to, but it is biblical.  How do we prepare the Bride and prepare for battle? The preparation is through repentance and leading a holy life.  The battle is through prayer.  These are Jesus' words to the end time saints:

And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore. and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Luke 21:34-36

At Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the Jewish New Year (also known as Feast of Trumpets), the shofar is sounded, calling the faithful to a time of repentance that lasts for ten days.  This period of time concludes with Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement.  These autumn feasts have yet to be fulfilled on the prophetic time table and are a shadow of things to come.  Passover has been fulfilled through our Messiah's death and resurrection.  Pentecost (the Feast of Ingathering or Shavuot) was fulfilled at the birth of the Church.  We have been in the long, hot summer between the feasts, but it is now harvest time.  In the heavenly realm, the shofar has been blowing, calling us to repentance. It is time to heed that call, and by doing so, we will prepare the way of the Lord and the Day when He comes to cleanse the earth and make complete its atonement and restoration.

May you be blessed as you receive and understand these words.  May Yeshua, the Messiah,  be revealed to you in a new and profound way as He draws ever closer.  May you be ready and waiting, watching and praying, and always abounding in the work of the Lord till He comes.

Shalom, shalom...

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