By Grant Marshall
A Voice Calling
The voice of prophecy speaks loudly through the scriptures. The work of the Holy Spirit draws our attention to God’s heart. Unlike Israel, when God gave the prophet the task of taking the message of God’s displeasure, we have, as believers, the witness of the Holy Spirit to guide us through turbulent times. The testimony of Christ in us is the spirit of prophecy, it is the conduit to knowing the Father’s heart and of the condition of ourselves. Knowing the Father’s heart is knowing ours too, because He reveals it to us.
Right now, the voice of the Lord is calling His people into the wilderness. The wilderness is sometimes seen as a place where someone may feel alone or abandoned. But it is also a place where we can close the door to the noise of the world and seek calm from the busyness of our minds and seek refreshing, direction and strength. It was in the wilderness, after all, where God took His people to change them and to teach them. We often forget that times of separation help us to find ourselves. Our faith in the blessed hope, tells us that we will one day be changed and be as our Messiah is, but in the meantime, the changing of our minds must continue to bring the necessary transformations of our soul.
As in ancient times, the nation of Israel often forgot her identity and relationship with her God. God had called His people a chosen group from among the nations and the covenant and the laws He gave to them would help them to live as this peculiar nation in the world.
Our Messiah is soon to return, but the anti-Christ must come first. We need to realise that this person will also bring a system that is completely opposed to the Kingdom of God. I we have eyes to see and are listening to the Holy Spirit, we will not be ignorant of this system and temporary government around. Sin brings expulsion from the presence of God, and He uses the principalities and powers in the heavenlies to influence our status upon the earth. The invading force moves in through stealth.
If we, as disciples of Messiah Yeshua fail to live as kingdom people and obey His commands, we will be caught up and become bound, once again, to another power. This is the plan of Ha’Satan. To be released from his grasp God’s people must repent, and live a repentant life daily.
Hebraically, this chosen path of repentance is called ‘Teshuvah’. The reader needs to understand this path.
But alas, despite the warning, despite the historical fact of our forefather’s mistakes, we still have to learn and come to the realisation that God speaks to us through the great shofar of His word, that we are deeply flawed and continually persist in turning away from His righteousness and continue doing what we feel is right in our own eyes. To remind ourselves of who we are and return to God, we need to drop all the normal stuff and hear the call that reminds us to prepare the way in the wilderness. God’s people were not called to normal or to live in this fallen world. They were called to prepare it for the great exchange.
We live in a world where its people are generally unconcerned about their relationship with God. Most find no need to entertain the idea of a Godhead creator; God is make-believe or a construct to control the weak and Jesus is considered a person of fiction, rather like the heroes of folklore. Man is the captain of his ship and the designer of his destiny. The search for a higher power, nonetheless, occupies the thoughts of man and has done so for millennia. But how peculiar that those thoughts can skip over the very concept of a God that has been acknowledged since the dawn of time and written about for thousands of years. How strange that the testimony of a witness, given verbally or in writing can be accepted as fact in a court, but the witness of God and of His Christ, to millions throughout the age is rejected. YHVH made Himself known as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Father even says that when you weren’t looking for Him, He made Himself known.
Isaiah 65:1 “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’
Dear reader, the Word of God came as flesh to a world that rejected Him, and today millions still reject Him. We may choose to ignore the path that He has laid for us and the light that shines upon our feet but the end of His road is the one we will all travel upon when our days on this earth have been completed.
I believe that YHVH, is the one true and the only God, and no other god can stand at any level of magnitude equal to HIm. He is the God of gods. YHVH has revealed His name and identity to us, and I believe that only through faith is it possible to accept the witness of the Holy Spirit, and through the life-changing events of His influence will we receive this name that has been promised to us as His children and His bride.
But why can’t some accept the reality of God and reject the offer of the gift of faith to believe in Him?
It is because when we do, we have to accept that we are sinful and that we have all sinned against Him. It means then, that at that point, we have to relinquish control and yield to His sovereign will. It is at that point we have to declare ourselves as imperfect and that He is perfect.
If humanity were to accept that God is indeed this, then they have to accept their sin and the consequences of their actions. They have to accept that God finds displeasure in the wickedness of His children. They have to accept that the God who made this world for them is also the one who will destroy it at the end of its allotted time. This is the nature of God that they don’t want to acknowledge. They want a god who is merciful and compassionate and who forgives their sins. They want a god who says that their lifestyle, however deprived and wicked, is still ok as long as they give this god some acknowledgement. In other words, they will serve a human and flawed deity and not a holy one. Believe it or not, the revealed word of God tells us that this is what God wants too. He does not delight in having to pass judgment on the evil that men do. But He has no choice. God, who is without sin, can’t stand in the presence of sin and neither does He want His children to do.
The prophetic warnings are given to remind us that we have sinned and need to bring ourselves back to God through repentance. The prophetic promises of restoration and blessing to the people and land are also within the messages. However, Yeshua reminds us that overall the people ignored these messages from God and chose to seek ways to silence the mailman.
In a strange conundrum, we all seek the mystery and the hand of God in things. We want God to accept our ways, and somehow seek His consent in allowing us to live a life void of His interventions. Humans look to the higher power, but if they don’t seek God as this power, then He will give them what they want. It will be a malevolent force that will demand their souls in return for the pleasures of this world.
Friends, why do so many reject the ransom that God paid to release us from the bondage of this dark force, this slave trader of souls? Why, having been given the message that their souls have been set free and that a new resurrected life awaits them, do some prefer to remain in chains?
Our world conditions us to processes of thought. We seek pleasure and not pain, peace and not chaos. The ruler of this world has infiltrated every thought and shapes human response and desire. Even in the Church, the tares grow and are given authority to reshape the image of God. To be ourselves is what the human desire wants. It does not seek to be holy. Yeshua paid the price for us to be holy and to walk in all His commands, but death to self is not the price we are willing to pay. How many are willing to live a life that reflects that of the early church, for example?
Death comes to us all, but Yeshua taught us that those who die for Him, who give up their lives for Him will attain eternal life. The adrenaline junkie seeks the near-death experience, but the last thing on his mind is to lose it. Such a person wishes to experience the extreme roller coaster ride — they scream in terror at the ferocity of the car upon the rail — they want to get off the ride, yet they want to stay on and experience excitement of emotion. Having survived the fix more extreme experiences drive them on.
Jesus gave us a warning, that the pursuit of the love of this life will end with death, but for those who seek Him, there will be eternal life in heaven.
Have you ever thought about how many faithless people want to go to heaven? Is it not clear that heaven is the abode of the God they reject? This is like the man who tried to enter the wedding feast without an invitation. What I see about this parable in Matthew 22, shows us how the doormen call the uninvited guest, ‘friend’. The kingdom of God is open to all but the person has to be prepared to enter it. The only way is to receive Christ and to respond to His invitation.
This same message of unpreparedness applies to the Church too, and that is what we gather in the invitation. The message is clear, many who have been invited to the feast will reject the invitation or will not be prepared, they won't be accepted into the celebrations of the house, because they do not see the need to prepare and dishonour the master of the house.
Wickedness and the rejection of God’s love and salvific gift are the only things that prevent them. They don’t want to look at the disfigured body of Christ on the cross because they don’t want to acknowledge their part in His death. They want to enter heaven without looking at the cost.
The prophets told of this sacrifice too, and so the authorities, the priests of Israel, withheld this message and told the people to continue living for today and to just keep on observing all the religious stuff.
What God brought upon the earth, this so great a salvation for all humanity was a supernatural event, a divine appointment fulfilled.
The scriptures tell us that Jesus was the light of all mankind and that He came to His own, but they did not recognise Him. He was despised and rejected. You can hear the ridicule, ‘Who is this man, isn’t he just the carpenter’s son, after all?’
‘What right does he have to interfere in our world?
An ancient people saw the wonders of God’s hand in their natural world. They glorified Him and acknowledged His works. The supernatural was what God did. Millennia later, we through our knowledge and intelligence, perceive those wonders and natural phenomena as rare earthbound or cosmic events.
As spiritual people, we need to be able to identify spiritual matters. We need to discern the physical natural event from the spiritual. But how lazy we have become. Instead of seeking the voice of God, we pursue the prophetic perceptions of the prophets of this age. We ignore to our detriment the Holy Spirit’s leading and lean upon the wisdom of men.
Jeremiah 10:2-4
Thus says the LORD: “Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them, for the customs of the peoples are vanity.
At this very moment, many are waiting for the sign of what is called the ‘Great American Eclipse’. I’m afraid, that I view this as nothing special, nothing extraordinary, nothing supernatural. But many run seeking the signs. Jesus calls such people. ‘ a wicked generation’. However, if my viewpoint and perception are wrong, I will seek the Lord for more revelation and repent for not being a good watchman. I truly will.
Despite all the anxious thoughts and the presumption of this event, there is nonetheless, still a voice that calls out. It is the one that calls us to repent.
Before I resumed writing this article, the Lord showed me something most profound. He said that His Church and Bride are Holy and will always be Holy. He will not run after another but will always want her. He is zealous for her. But the relationship with her has become disjointed.
The marriage bed is defiled and it is like a husband and wife living individual lives and sleeping in separate beds. Neither of them is sleeping in the marital bed at all.
Mark 10:9 speaks of the marriage covenant where two people are joined together. The joining of the two become one and this enjoinment speaks to us of a priesthood that has been separated to serve God in holiness and consecration.
It is like two pieces of wood coming together, just like the two sticks of Judah and Joseph. The word ‘Levi’, means ‘join’, and it is through this priestly tribe that the service and worship of God passes through. It is also through the covenants that YHVH creates and endorses this union, enjoining His people to Him. It is a wonderful picture of How YHVH seeks to be with His bride and is making all the effort to accomplish His plan and redemption of her.
Dear friends, since October, before the Israel/Gaza war, the Lord has been speaking through the small intercessory group I hold each Shabbat eve, that the warning sound is blowing, and that the cockerel is crowing frantically, but no one is taking any notice. Friends, the watchmen have not been focused on the task and their eyes have been roaming.
In another vision, the Lord showed me two people. Both were in the darkness of a bedroom. One lay asleep, the other could not sleep because outside in the middle of the night, there was a storm and the rain was beating heavily upon the windows. The one who was awake could not sleep and would allow tiredness to overcome him. He knew that the storm was not a natural one and that great danger was within its power. The one that slept was like a child who had been lulled to sleep through fairy tales.
The Lord was saying that the preaching behind the pulpit is like the telling of a story, a fairy tale that is meant to send a child to sleep at bedtime and that the people are not watching for the warning signs or listening to the trumpet blast.
Let us read this verse.… 1 Corinthians 14: 7 Even in the case of lifeless instruments, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone recognize the tune they are playing unless the notes are distinct? 8 Again, if the trumpet sounds a muffled call, who will prepare for battle? 9 So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air.
This passage of scripture admonishes us to understand prophecy. Paul, however, asks the question, ‘How will a person understand the notes of the trumpet’.
You see, it was incumbent upon the community and the watchman to know the meaning of the blast of the trumpet — was it a call to worship or to battle?
As believers, we need to watch the horizon because this is the hour when the enemies of God are rising - the army of locusts is approaching. This is the will of God. Persecution is coming upon the true Church. At this moment there are at least three types of church. There is the church of tares. This is a false church with a religious, non-relational aspect with Christ. This church looks Christian but denies the power of God. It is what will be burned up in His judgement There is the Church of the wheat. This is the Church that seeks a deeper relationship with her saviour and bears fruit, and then there is the church which seeks to embrace idolatry. It is an ignorant humanistic church with a social gospel. It serves along with the church of the Tares, the antichrist. It looks on the outside like it is doing good things, but it corrupts the image of God not accepting His holiness and denies His power and their altars are abominable.
Just as in the day of Jeremiah, and before the calling of the prophet Samuel, the priests were unfit to lead the people. They declared all was well and acceptable. In Jeremiah’s time, the priests failed to encourage the people to prepare for the end of their exile in Babylon. Thus, for many, their temporary homes under this great domination, became their permanent ones. They remained in a world that they had become accustomed to.
Friends, this message is a call to 'REPENT". God is calling intercessors to position. They will hear the will of God through deep prayers and travail. They will hear the trumpet blast and will prophesy His word. They will be like the ones crying — as one who finds themselves ostracised from their culture and forced to go into the wilderness, calling many with repentant hearts to return to Him.
I urge you to pray and intercede and join others who are called alongside you. The Lord has shown me that there is a three-phase attack which will avail much. Intercession, repentance and worship will usher in God’s presence. Worship will be acceptable and He will inhabit those praises. Friends, many are praying for their nations, but the blessing upon the nation comes only when God’s people repent, humble themselves and pray. Worship with unrepentant hearts is simply not acceptable. It is a tainted blemished offering. We forget that the sovereign Lord sees the schemes and intentions of the heart.
How can God be pleased with this?
Dedication and Commitment
Friends, cry out in prayer and call the solemn assembly. Stop the usual things, the normality of the order, and put a halt to your programmes and make the changes, at least for a time. We must commit and dedicate the hours ahead of us.
Passover is near and the pattern that the Lord has shown us is that judgment precedes this date. We only have to look to the plagues that He brought upon the Egyptians. Passover is the time for the deliverance of His people. It is the pattern of the exodus. The greater exodus is coming and God is gathering His people. YHVH knows those who are His. He has measured out the habitation of the land they will occupy. Make ready friends and draw near to Him, now! The nations are at war and are gathering around Jerusalem.
Zechariah 2 Then I looked up, and there before me was a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 I asked, “Where are you going?”
He answered me, “To measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is.”
3 While the angel who was speaking to me was leaving, another angel came to meet him 4 and said to him: “Run, tell that young man, ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of people and animals in it. 5 And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory within.’
6 “Come! Come! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the Lord, “for I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven,” declares the Lord.
7 “Come, Zion! Escape, you who live in Daughter Babylon!” 8 For this is what the Lord Almighty says: “After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye— 9 I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me.
10 “Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the Lord. 11 “Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. 12 The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem. 13 Be still before the Lord, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.
Finally, do not be fooled by the tricks and false flags of the enemy. Prophecy is directed at Israel. The regathering is about the tribes scattered because of their sinful ways and harlotry. Israel needs to repent. The elder brother must learn from the younger.
Jonah was a sign that Jesus said would reappear in the latter days, before His return. But we must not forget this — Jonah placed His shipmates in jeopardy because of his unwillingness to obey God’s call upon his life. He found repentance in the belly of the fish. This is a sign to us, that when God’s people, especially those who are called to lead, whether kings or ministers, fail to do their duty or run from their responsibilities, those around them suffer. Look to nations, look to the Church and see that this is true!
Go into the wilderness and cry out to the people to 'Repent'.
Shalom
Grant Marshall