Bible Study With Jairus

Encounters of Heaven Heal Wounded Hearts

Encounters of Heaven Heal Wounded Hearts

by Sean Song

July 5, 2021

 

How many times have we been wounded and hurt because we did not have the right information or proper perspective about a situation? Our understanding was limited to what our natural mind could perceive. What if it were possible to revisit memories with God and see differently what we once lamented? I propose that once we receive a glimpse of heaven or have an encounter with something heavenly, it has the power to radically transform our viewpoint and heal our broken hearts and memories.

 

In recent years, I completed a certification program on inner healing. I learned that the Holy Spirit can heal our past wounds by helping us reorganize our memory around a certain event to see it from heaven’s viewpoint. That is, the Lord can show us prior events from a totally different perspective and thus break off former lies or misunderstandings. This can bring healing to our hearts. Here I share a few experiences of my encounters with heaven and how they brought healing to me and a few people I know. As Christians have sought to have more spiritual encounters, God has responded. It seems, more than any other time in history, experiencing heaven is becoming a more plausible and palpable reality for many. I believe that if you pray in faith for an encounter with heaven, God will surely answer you.

 

My Father-in-law is Not in Hell!

In March 2006, I flew to Baltimore, Maryland to meet my future wife, Ruth. We sat down on the hills of Inner Harbor in downtown Baltimore. We were first introduced to each other by people in our church and since then, for a few months, we had been talking on the phone. During our time together that day, she told me the heart–breaking story of her father’s sudden death due to a cerebral hemorrhage. He died during her college years. This deeply impacted her, emotionally and physically, especially since she had been at odds with her father and never reconciled before his sudden death. Although she only became a believer in Christ a couple years earlier when she came to the USA, she worried about whether her father would go to hell. She and I have both been taught that a person will go to hell if he or she, upon hearing the Gospel message on earth, refuses to believe in Christ; for those who have never heard the Gospel, they will be judged according to their conscience (Romans 2:15). In the end, there will be a final judgement before the White Throne and all deceased people will be judged. Whosoever’s name is not written in the Book of Life will be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelations 20:11-15).

 

Unfortunately, my wife has no way of knowing how her father will be judged, and if he will end up in hell. She worried that she would never have the chance to make amends with him and apologize. She also blames other relatives whom she believes misled her to have an argument with him. Until the dream I had, this had been a painful situation for her, so much that she had never even mentioned to others that her father died. She cried when she initially told me this story and after years of marriage, I could still see the lingering pain in her heart from this event. I have witnessed her pain and for 10 years, I have tried to comfort her without much avail.

 

Yet, in 2016, I had an encounter with heaven regarding my father–in–law. This dream was a complete game changer for my wife. After I told her about it, her heart was able to heal. It was only a year after I got baptized with the Holy Spirit that I started having dreams and encounters with heaven.

 

I never met my father–in–law on earth because he died before my wife and I got married. In this particular prophetic dream, my wife and I were brought to a place where my father–in–law and other people were gathered. My wife was brought inside a building to see her father. In the meantime, I had the opportunity to chat with an old Chinese lady sitting at the door. She showed me a large print edition of the Chinese version of the Bible that she was studying. Here are the details of this dream.

 

My wife asked me to go with her to a place where she could pick up letters about her father. I questioned her about how people were allowed to put these letters there. She explained that there is a temple where people can drop off letters and they will keep them safe until someone else picks them up. So, we went to this strange place. Initially, it looked like a Chinese temple to me, but there was a man speaking/preaching there. While this man was preaching, my wife approached a counter and picked up the letters she came for. When she got the letters, the man finished preaching. She then asked permission to say a few words about her father. There was a crowd of Chinese people around and they were very excited to see us. I could sense the atmosphere was full of joy and surprise. I even heard people say, “You are the daughter of Tan Ze, right?” It seemed they all knew this man. Although Tan Ze was not my father–in–law’s name on earth, I sensed he was known by this name in that place. It seemed everybody knew him there and people were excited to have visitors.

 

While my wife spoke about her father, I started to film her with my phone in a vertical position. A Chinese man suddenly approached me and offered to film it for me. I handed the phone to him, and he started to film it horizontally. Since he was helping me, I was freed to walk around the place to check it out. I was very curious about where we were. I walked back to the entrance to the door. Once again I saw the old Chinese lady sitting there, so I asked her, “Is this place a church or a Chinese temple?” I was very cautious since it had the appearance of a Chinese-style temple. I was trying to judge if this place was for worshiping idols or God. Then, she showed me the book she was reading. Perhaps this was her way of telling me what kind of place it was. She was studying from a large–print edition of the Chinese Bible. She explained to me that this large–print edition was for the elderly people to use there. Since it was large–print though, it could not hold all the books of the Bible because of its letter size. There were, therefore, only portions of the Gospels in this edition. After talking with her, I turned back to the building to retrieve my phone from the man filming my wife.

 

Before I knew it, I entered a much bigger place which resembled a gated community. I talked with a few people there, but they were not the ones with my phone. As I entered further into this community, I saw my wife walking out toward me. I proceeded to ask her about the man with my phone and we eventually went back to the building. We found him in a corner and I got my phone back. The dream ended there.

 

Now, to my knowledge, my father–in–law did not believe in the Lord before he died. However, in my dream, he and the people with him had the opportunity to study the Bible. I am not sure if the place where they were living is considered the Paradise part of Hades, but this is my impression. At the same time I had this dream, my wife also had a dream about meeting her father. However, she has no recollection of either meeting him in her dream or meeting him in mine. When I relayed the details of this dream to her, she received a lot of healing from it. She can now openly talk about her father’s death and I do not see her carrying the former pain regarding this matter.

 

I understand that dreams like this can be challenging to our existing theology. I don’t know how a person can end up in a place after death where they can study the Bible and grow to know God. I can only say with certainty that God is good and I resolve to conclude that many spiritual things are beyond my ability to understand.

 

One Chinese prophetess, Xiulan Laiwang, testifies to a similar experience. In one of her testimonies about heaven, she also describes how she saw her father and mother–in–law reading the Bible in Paradise. She said that when the Lord took her to visit them, they told her that there’s an angel in every household in Paradise that teaches them the Bible.[1]

 

My Aunt Gives Me A Treat

An encounter with my aunt is another example of a heavenly encounter beyond my understanding. My fourth aunt died of breast cancer. I don’t know if she knew the Lord either. In a prophetic dream, I was taken to a small house where she lives. She received me with fruit grown from her yard. This piece of fruit looked like a mulberry, but it was as big as a kiwi. Although her house was very small, I saw many kinds of fruits growing in her backyard. These fruits mostly consisted of fruits that I have never seen on earth before. The fruit was so ripe when I got there, so I picked some and ate it. Beside her house were many other people’s houses. They were very similar to the small townhouses one would see in downtown Baltimore, but not as tall.

 

I’ve had several experiences of meeting my fourth aunt. These encounters remind me of a testimony I heard from an Australian prophet named Neville Johnson. He once mentioned that he was brought by an angel to a place with small houses. It felt strange that these were different from the big houses in heaven, so he asked the angel, “What are these houses?” The angel told him that when some people who hadn't heard the gospel passed away, Jesus would appear to them, giving them the opportunity to choose him. If they chose Jesus, they would live in these small houses.[2]

 

Kat Kerr also publicly shared a similar vision. She saw Jesus appearing to those who rejected him during their lifetime, and he asked them if they wanted to know Him now. Almost everyone cried and said, “yes.” Jesus told them that He would not be righteous if he did not appear to them to give them a choice since their relatives had faithfully prayed for them and decreed that they would be saved in Jesus’ name. Kerr encourages people to pray and intercede for their family members even though they may not seem open to the Gospel. She believes that a lot of family members will be surprised to see that many relatives made it to heaven although they thought they did not make it.[3]

 

I recall praying for some of my family members to receive salvation, and I especially prayed for my fourth aunt after I found out she was sick. I never knew if she received the Lord before her death. It may be that my fourth aunt is already in the peripheral of Paradise as Neville Johnson mentions.

 

This dream of my aunt brought healing and comfort to my heart. My fourth aunt was a very important person in my family. I was born into a poor Chinese farmer’s household. My father worked in a brick factory but injured his back while working there. His salary was little, so my mom raised pigs to support the family. My fourth aunt married a guy in my village whose father was a leader in the local county government. Because of her help, my father later got a job with the government. This turned around the hardship in our family and made a way for all three of us siblings to go to college. This incident was a rare occurrence to happen for those growing up in the 1970’s in China.

 

I later discovered that I had a calling on my life and that God used my aunt to help me get a higher education. This was God’s plan. Yet, I had been at odds with my aunt when I was a kid because of my low self-esteem. I avoided her, and I never apologized to her even when I became a believer (I was still young in the Lord). Thanks be to God that I was able to see her in Paradise even though she only has a very tiny house. By the way, I really enjoyed the fruit from her yard. It was incredibly tasty. I wish to visit her again soon when I reach heaven!

 

Music Box on the Wall

In another prophetic dream, the Holy Spirit drove me and a Christian couple who attended our Bible study, to heaven. He showed us the house of his wife in heaven. The house was huge. The vines and wall had grown together as one. There was a music box on the wall beside the front door. You could open the music box and music would play automatically.

 

The lady had a great passion for music. After listening to my testimony, she was very encouraged that God had installed a music box on the wall of her house in heaven so that she could play music at any time. The wife of my friend who was with me in the dream said she also had a dream of herself at the same time as me, and she saw the Lord. Since she thought she might have been dying (from having the dream), she cried out to the Lord and woke up. Perhaps this was not just a dream and we had traveled there together.

 

Afterward, the husband told me that this was one of the most difficult times of their lives because of the challenges they faced, principally with their son’s schooling. They were frustrated that their child was being bullied in school, so they fervently prayed to God every day for help. They eventually passed through that difficult time and their son is now doing well in school. Yet, at that time, this dream comforted their hearts. The wife was reassured that God cares so much for her that in heaven in the future, he would give her the desire of her heart. In her estimate, God would then surely carry her through her tribulations on earth.

 

 

Have Faith in God

God is near to us, and more of heaven is being revealed to us. When I studied to complete my certification program on prophecy, I often heard people quoting Psalm 139:17–18 (NRSV) as evidence for how one can have faith in God to receive a prophetic word for others. These verses state, “How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! I try to count them—they are more than the sand.” They say God’s thoughts for a person are so vast like the sand on seashores. In this way, being prophetic is like picking up a few morsels of sand, or thoughts of God, regarding a person and sharing it with them. If God is love and includes himself in our personal lives, we can trust that He has millions of thoughts about each of us every single day. Surely, God is willing to share a piece of information with you and I as a word of prophecy or revelation to encourage the next person. Whether you are learning to be prophetic or need healing in your own heart, you can approach God in prayer by faith (Hebrews 4:16). Be assured that He will give you encounters of heaven, transform your life, and heal your heart! Let us approach and trust God together.

 

[1] Lai Wang Xiulan, Jehovah-jireh, 45.

[2] From Neville Johnson’s sermon on Youtube. No link available.

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Het_gU1nYCI

Revival is coming to China (version 2)

Revival is Coming to China

A Message for the Body of Christ

Sean Song, March 11, 2021

 

A Miracle Baby

By 2015, I had been in the United States for 13 years and a Christian for the same amount of time. In 2006, I married my wife, and like many other Chinese couples, we had every intention of building a family. However, by 2015 we approached 10 years of barrenness. We wanted a child, but we simply could not have one. In search of healing for my wife’s infertility, I traveled to many cities within the US to join healing and prophetic conferences.

 

A final visit to an Elijah List conference in Oregon in January 2016 sealed the deal for me. There, a well-known prophet named Dutch Sheets spoke to the crowd and said, “Today, you come here not by coincidence. It is God who leads you here and from today on, you will hear God speaking to you like you never have before.” I believed these words. During our lunch break, I wandered to a nearby store and entreated of the Lord to speak to me. When I sat down in a chair outside of a Christian bookstore, my eye caught a Peanuts calendar sitting on display. The cover said, “Peanuts 2016 Family Planner.” Suddenly, God spoke clearly to me: “2016, plan your family; you will have a child this year.” I was astonished! I had never heard God speaking to me so clearly, and He just said I was going to have a child that year! I immediately called my wife and she encouraged me to buy the calendar as a memorial.

 

Meanwhile, I went back to China to visit my family in February 2016. My mother, who still worshiped Buddha, had been desperately praying to all kinds of idols to help us have a baby. I had been trying to preach the Gospel to her since 2003 but with trivial effect. Months later back in the USA, we continued waiting for our miracle. One day in desperation, I prayed, “Dear Holy Spirit, those people in Pentecostal churches always teach that we should have an intimate relationship with you. Now, I have prayed to both the Father and Jesus many times and I do not know when this [pregnancy] is going to happen. Can you ask the Father and Jesus for me when this will happen?”

 

That night I had a dream. A woman (representative of the Holy Spirit) pointed to the back of a male figure (Jesus). She said to me, “Did He not tell you that you will have a child next month?” I woke up the next morning and told my wife about this dream. A misunderstanding occurred between us and we ended up in quarrel that left us on non-speaking terms for two weeks until I received a text from her one day that read, “You have won the lottery!” We reconciled when she found out she was miraculously pregnant on May 28, 2016. Our miracle baby girl, Elim, was born healthy and beautiful in early 2017. My parents were astonished with this miracle and they both accepted Jesus as their Savior.

 

 

A Revival Among the Chinese

 

Before attending the Elijah List conference in 2016, I read a book by one of the speakers, Chuck Pierce. In his book, “God’s Unfolding Battle Plan,” Pierce recalls a visitation he had with the Lord in the 1980s. God told him what China would be like in 2006 and that there would be a great revival coming to China in the future. It would also spread to the world. I was just going to the conference to receive healing for my wife, but God had much more in store! That day I received three things: (1) a prophetic promise directly from God that I would have a baby (which came true); (2) an anointing to clearly hear God henceforth (which started that day and has continued); and (3) the beginnings of my commission to be part of this soon-coming revival to China.

 

When I came home from the conference, the Lord began to speak with me more about this revival. One day I was walking the streets of Washington D.C. thinking about this great revival. Suddenly, the Holy Spirit asked me, “What is a great revival?” I was surprised that I again heard him speak so clearly! I immediately replied in my spirit, “I heard that one out of 10 Chinese people have converted to Christianity. Isn’t this already a great revival?” Immediately, the Holy Spirit asked another question, “How about two out of ten?” I was shocked again by the clarity with which the Holy Spirit spoke. In a very short time, I had a calculation. That would be the equivalent of another 100 million Chinese people.

At that moment, I believe the Holy Spirit intended to challenge me with his questions to open my perspective. Please note that I do not think He only meant that two out of ten Chinese people will be saved. Bob Jones once prophesied that one billion souls would be harvested in the soon-coming world revival. For me, it is not hard to imagine that at least 100 million Chinese would be included in this number.

Sometime later, I met a Korean prophet who confirmed what the Holy Spirit spoke to me on that day. He said, “God will have you go back to China to teach the Word of God all over and be part of this revival.” He also said that the 21st century is a century that God will use to evangelize China.

 

 

Prophetic Dreams of China’s Future Revival

 

On January 11, 2016, shortly after coming back from the Elijah List conference, I had the following dream. There are four scenes. In the first scene, I found myself at a construction site in China. A keeper (a guard-like man) was there with a roll/register in his hand. I got the impression that he was an angel who managed the Book of Life. I asked this man if a relative who had gone missing in China was on this list of names. After looking, he replied, “No.” I felt so sorry for this relative. In the second scene, I experienced great chaos and upheaval. I was tossed upside down and I discerned pending destruction as I watched a steel stick from the construction site fall from a building. By the end of this scene, I saw a building only partly constructed.

 

In the third scene, my wife and I were in a high glass tower with windows like the ones you see in big cities. It seemed we were a having a Christian meeting there when suddenly we received a report that we were surrounded by persecutors. Arguments arose among the people in the building. Some insisted to go down and some said to go up. I insisted on heading upward, so up we went.

In the fourth scene, my wife and I miraculously escaped into a residential building. I told my wife that no one would see us since we appeared just like the residents. As we walked downstairs, I felt peace and a lion-like animal the size of a cat appeared among us. I carried the animal and it seemed calm and meek until we hit a great wall that we could not pass through. Suddenly, the small lion-type animal arose with great strength to help us roll the wall over. Immediately, I saw several horses gallop speedily and powerfully, and a great pasture lay before my eyes. It was powerful! It reminded me of something resembling a great breakthrough or an extreme revival.

My interpretation coupled with the interpretation of a fellow believer is detailed below. This dream represents several stages of the coming revival. First, the construction site represents a work in progress. An incomplete or half-erected building symbolizes that a work has begun but is not complete. The angelic being keeping track of lives demonstrates God’s involvement and desire. It shows their salvation is important to God. My attempt to find a dead person can represent the spiritual state of many people in China, and my sadness shows God’s feelings regarding this matter. The sudden and great chaos in the beginning and throughout is representative of the shaking that will take place. Authorities and systems that have been allowed to stand for a time will fall, and only what is in line with God’s Kingdom will remain (a building left partly standing). The church will also go through immense suffering and during this test, some may fall.

 

The third scene is symbolic of a few things. God will give favor to those who are spreading the Gospel and discipling people in China. This is representative of the high tower my wife and I were hosting a Bible study in. Although persecution will arise and has even already, God has given his people the wisdom to see it coming (the glass windows). Wisdom for escape and a battle plan will be granted to those led by the Spirit and commissioned by him. In the dream, wisdom is represented by my ability to discern among those panicking and unsure, that our escape from the building will be by climbing upward instead of down. Climbing upward is also significant of looking heavenward to maintain our eyes fixed on the Lord and tuned into His plans. Persecution and shaking naturally entices us to look at our surrounding and environment; we are tempted to descend instead of ascending. To deal with the situation, faith must move Christians rather than fear. The only way to guarantee supernatural delivery is to continue upwards and the Lord will surely rescue such people.

 

God will also grant cover when necessary. This is demonstrated by us blending in and appearing like the other residents. Finally, the lion-like animal represents the presence of the Spirit of Christ which will accompany those he calls His own. He will grant them peace amidst the turmoil, and they shall not be afraid. Carrying the lion-like animal is also symbolic of being equipped with the Spirit of Christ. This scene represents both the life of Christ in us and the help he offers. Christ is both meek and mighty. If a wall stands in our way, Christ will arise with power and strength to make a path for our feet by rolling the wall away.

 

With Christ, Christians commissioned by him will demolish forces in our path to make it possible for breakthrough to be released (represented by the horses and pasture). As speedily and powerfully as the horses were, so will the awakening be. It will also be pleasant (green pasture).

 

Finally, in March 2020, I was taken into another vision. This was the most vivid 3D type of vision I have had thus far. In it, I saw a great revival happening in China. It was bursting out all over! People were dancing, celebrating, and worshiping God all over the streets of China. In the next scene, I was brought into a heavenly meeting where many saints in glory, including Chinese and Westerners, were meeting. There was a Chinese lady who gave me a tour of the place and she specifically told me that this revival is something she had never seen when she was on earth. In the end, angels had bound an evil political spirit and I saw that a great political change will come to China after this great revival. China will become a democratic nation and they will worship God.

 

Just as the Lord once appeared to me in great power and light and laid his hand on me, I sense His hand is on China right now. He is about to release a great awakening to China and a mass exodus of Chinese people will come out of darkness into the light.

God’s Love For Japan

God’s Love For Japan

Sean Song

June 24, 2021

 

I had never thought about going to Japan to preach the Gospel nor had I felt such a strong burden to pray for Japan as I do now. Several prophetic dreams have left me with a longing for this. In these dreams, I was taken to Japan and Jesus appeared to me. As you read, you will see it is the Lord’s desire to reach the nation of Japan with the love he carries. I am also now convinced that revival will come to Japan. That is, many Japanese people will be captured by the love of God and turn into devoted lovers of Jesus. While it may seem to the carnal mind that Japan is one of hardest places on earth to preach the Gospel, it is not so with God’s intervention. God’s love will melt their hard hearts. A massive delivery and exodus will occur and many Japanese people will be freed from idolatry, generational curses, and the grips of evil spirits. All the nations are close to God’s heart and Japan is no exception. He cannot forget them.

 

A Series of Dreams

Chinese and Japanese Revivals Will Affect Each Other

This first dream happened on September 23, 2016. Before I arose that morning, I saw a plane arriving from Japan to my hometown in China. In fact, I saw it pass through a cloud and come directly to my childhood house. My hometown is close to the capital, just 400 kilometers south of Beijing. The door of my home faces east. In the dream, I came out of my door to give the airplane a signal. I also opened the door to allow the light to shine through so the airplane could see where I was standing. Then the lamp in front of my house started to blink like a car blinker signaling to turn. I sensed it was about dawn outside, so I anticipated the darkness would soon disappear. The airplane, similar to a passenger aircraft used for international flights, was about to emerge from the clouds.

God often uses my house in my hometown in China to represent the entire country of China in my dreams. The same is true of this dream. My childhood home is on the westernmost side of my village. The door of my house faces a main road in the village. In this dream, I stood at the door as the airplane grew closer. I believe the direction of the plane’s path affirms China’s great influence on Japan in the matter of the Gospel. In ancient days, Japan sent many people to China to learn from China about its language and culture. In modern days like today and into the future, Japan may again come to China to learn from them, but this time about Jesus and the Gospel.

In the United States, lights are installed on garages or on the front of the main entrance door to the house to give light to those arriving. In real life, there is no light on the east door of our house. However, in my dream, there was a light that flashed as a signal light. I was certain that these lights were not ordinary lights. These signal lights flickered, so I stood at the door to motion and guide the plane on its landing.

I understand that future revival among the nations of China and Japan are interconnected. In other words, revival may start in China and then spread to Japan. Perhaps after a great revival comes to China, it will lead to Japan’s revival. An airplane from Japan may prophetically represent large and influential ministries that will be raised up in Japan by the Lord. The fact that I stood at the door giving the airplane guidance may again attest to the fact that China will likely play an important role in helping to direct the path of Japan’s revival. This is also confirmed by a dream I had on April 17, 2017. Note: I had two dreams about Japan on April 17. This second of the two is detailed below and involved preaching.

I woke up at about 6:30am that morning, fed my baby, and then went back to sleep. I began dreaming of a screen which showed information related to preaching the Gospel in Japan. In this dream, Chinese people were sent to Japan to preach the Gospel village by village. The movie on the screen said, “One American went to Japan and had a good start.” It was an American missionary. Then I saw Chinese people walking to different Japanese villages to preach the Gospel to them. I saw one Chinese family with a young boy and they went to the entrance of a Japanese village. Japanese people in their traditional clothing came out of the village to talk with them. They asked the Japanese people if they were open to receive something non-Japanese, like Chinese people and the Gospel. Some refused their offer and even blocked their entrance to the village. As the family went to the next village, however, some were willing and open. Later in the dream, it appeared that the Chinese family set up a station and had reached some goals in preaching the Gospel.

These two prophetic dreams embrace the prophetic mission of Chinese people going to Japan to preach the Gospel in the future. Chinese people have always gone to Japan with this intention, and they have aided in Japan’s evangelization process. In the future, God may choose China and more of their willing vessels to go and preach the Gospel there again. There are even prophecies that mention that after China’s great revival, Chinese missionaries will be raised up to preach the Gospel around the world.

The American missionary whom I first saw in the dream was a modern American missionary. Initially, I didn’t understand that when God lets us see a person, it does not necessarily refer to that specific person. It could be representative of a type of person or group. I conjecture that the American missionary here represents the people in God’s move who evangelized Japan in earlier days. They laid a foundation for God’s preaching in Japan.

The Chinese family I saw afterward likely represents the Chinese people that God desires to raise up. The family preached the Gospel from village to village which is self explanatory, but the roadblocks indicate the hardness in the Japanese people’s hearts. There was a question asked by the Chinese child which seemed very strange at first. He said, “Do you accept things other than the Japanese people, such as the Chinese and the Gospel?” This is a good question. It helps illustrate the closed hearts and the difficulty of evangelism there. People in this village rejected the Gospel. Thankfully, these Chinese people did not give up. They went to the next village, and eventually succeeded in reaching the hearts of the Japanese people. We still may wonder though how else this evangelism may happen…

 

A Supernatural Door to Japan

One evening on April 10, 2017, I was returning to sleep after feeding my baby and I suddenly saw fire in the heavens. It seemed very far away and was comprised of many different colors. It grew closer and began to take the formation of a tunnel. I realized this could be from God and I remembered that some prophets talked about tunnels that can transfer people to different places. Immediately, I was lifted up like in a rocket into this tunnel, and as I was traveling up, I heard a broadcast. I realized I was not in a dream but instead something more like a vision.

During this encounter, I skated on wheels through a Japanese mall. I was very tall as if I had been using stilts. Underneath my stilts was a wheel. I was traveling very fast when a Japanese lady suddenly yelled to me, “You cannot skate in the mall!” Despite her chastisement, I continued on towards a door. I remember thinking I needed to lower my body so I could pass through the door without stopping.

The details in this dream left a deep impression on me. Large shopping malls like the one I was in may represent Japan’s secular society, which is symbolic of a lack of a gospel atmosphere. This kind of culture generally does not exist in Japanese society. I seemed to be walking on stilts with skates underneath. This kind of transportation strategy represents the miraculous power of our preaching of Christ. We are given the means to meet the circumstances with a supernatural delivery.

When the woman shouted, “You can’t skate at the lobby,” she was a symbolic picture of the difficulties and opposition we will face in preaching the gospel in Japan. We must keep in mind, however, that I walked through a door on stilts with wheels. This is a picture that not only demonstrates that God will give grace and means to accomplish the task of evangelism, but it also shows we need not stop. What God is doing and will do in Japan is in motion. God will open a miraculous door for us to preach the Gospel in Japan. And if God opens the door for us, no one can stop us.

 

The Love of God Equips Me To Preach the Gospel

The next dream occurred on April 17, 2017 and this is the first of the two dreams I had that night. Although in Japan again, I was now in a different place. I was again listening to something being broadcasted on the radio. I felt it was something about God and I had a vague impression that it was in a foreign language. This broadcast drew me to the next scene.

I was now fishing, but I didn’t have a fishing rod in my hand. Rather, I was picking up something from the sea with a pair of tongs like the ones used in a kitchen. From what I could tell, I was on a small island because I was surrounded by water—just as Japan is.

I met some people that looked Japanese, so I asked them to teach me how to catch the fish and other sea creatures. They were very willing to help me, but they were also strangely using tongs. After a bit, I realized my hand was hurt, so I asked one of the guys to help me. He seemed strong and tall; he was the leader of the rest of the people. I sensed he was the Lord. Suddenly, he opened a hole in his lower leg and began to pour out something from that hole that would heal my hand. It resembled sea salt. I rubbed the sea salt on the wound in my hand as this man explained that it would take a while to sterilize and be healed.

In that moment, I suddenly realized that I could not find my bag. I needed to find it though because it contained something very important. One of the guys in the group then shot out a thread-like rope and I was pushed by this rope to other places. I met more Japanese people on the road and I saw people playing basketball. As I was running and joining the game, I strongly felt a burden to preach the gospel to these Japanese people. God’s love for them seemed to have been deposited in me, which was not normal for me.

Here is my interpretation of this dream. The radio broadcasting represents God’s voice. After I heard the broadcast, I was gradually drawn to fish in the seas of Japan. Fishing on Japanese islands is obviously a metaphor for preaching the Gospel in Japan. This is symbolic of God’s call to fish for men just as he invited the disciples to do in the New Testament. I believe this speaks on behalf of us who are being asked by the Lord to embrace a calling to preach the Gospel to the Japanese.

This burden and calling for Japan comes with difficulties. It’s quite tough to preach the Gospel to Japanese people and obstacles exist. This is represented both by the injury I sustained while fishing and the obscurity of the tool I and others were using to fish, which was not ideal for fishing. Yet, we can be rest assured that God will be with those who go forth to preach, even sustaining us in our time of need as we labor. The tongs also represent God giving us supernatural and seemingly foolish means for accomplishing this task. And the mysterious man applying a salve to my wound from his wound demonstrates Christ’s all sufficiency for us. The Christ always takes from himself to meet our needs. Even the hole in this man’s leg is symbolic of Jesus’ nail marks. Jesus’ death on the cross accomplished healing for all of us. 

The fact that I found something missing may represent the sense of loss God feels toward those unsaved in this nation. Many Japanese people are lost in sin and death. They are valuable to God because they too were created in the image of God, and Jesus equally died for them on the cross. When I left that scene a mysterious thread/rope was thrown behind me. Although it was thin, it had great strength. It was able to bear my weight and even propel me forward. The rope was so powerful in propelling me that it made me run like Elijah when the hand of God was upon him. This can be symbolic of the energizing and capacitating power that results from the infilling of the Holy Spirit. God baptizes us with His love and power through His Spirit. Not coincidentally, in the scene that followed this incident, I was filled with God’s love for every Japanese person that I passed by.

Interestingly, God also often speaks to me in my dreams through the game of basketball. I believe it indicates the battle between the Gospel and darkness, between Christians and Satan. The Church is on one team and the enemy is on the other. We fight against the enemy under the leadership of our coach, Jesus Christ. When I dream about Japanese people playing basketball, I see it representing the spread of the Gospel in Japan and the opposition the enemy will attempt. Since I was filled with miraculous power and God’s love, I joined the game.

While I was having this prophetic dream, one of my teachers in the Christian Healing Certification Program at my seminary saw a vision. She saw me riding a horse while holding a cowboy’s lariat in my hand. I twirled the lasso and prepared to catch the horse. She received an impression from the Spirit that God would fill me with His love and use His love as a lasso to “catch” those whom He wants to save. What she shared and the rope in my dream expressed the same symbolism.

This does not apply to me alone, however. It’s also for the many in the Body of Christ who are willing to go. God will baptize us with His love and use it as the lasso to return the sinner back to Himself.

 

Stilts, A Wheel and A Crazy Love for Jesus

In another dream on October 7, 2017, I saw a Japanese man with tattoos on his body. The tattoos read something like, “LOVE JESUS WITH A CRAZY LOVE.” This was a very simple dream, but it conveys a very deep meaning. The words and pictures in Japanese tattoos often carry negative or dark meanings. The tattoo in this prophetic dream clearly did not. In contrast, it shows that redemption is possible for Japanese people once living in sin or out of relationship with God. The words, “crazy love for Jesus” leaves us hopeful that God’s deep love can even transform the tattoo industry!

In several other prophetic encounters regarding Japan, I was taken there to participate in spiritual warfare. It shows that God is working in Japan in the spiritual realm and the spiritual battle will eventually manifest in the physical realm. Let us pray to join hands with the saints in glory and angels to fight this spiritual warfare and usher in breakthrough.

I strongly believe the Japanese people will have encounters with Jesus and their hard hearts will melt. The love they will feel upon seeing visions of his nailed-scarred body will convince them of how He loves them deeply. I pray that the Japanese will be conquered by this love and indeed become CRAZY LOVERS OF JESUS.

My last thoughts are for the many saints in the body of Christ who have been praying for Japan. This also includes the missionaries from many parts of the world who have already gone to preach the Gospel there. As many have testified, they encounter varying difficulties. The hardened hearts of the Japanese is one of the most difficult challenges. Amidst the opposition, God will open the doors necessary to preach the Gospel there. Like the stilts and the wheel, God will give us supernatural power to prevail in sharing the excellence and extravagance of the Gospel. Let us continue empowered and encouraged!

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 31

The Salvation and Justice of God

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 31

 

One of the most disturbing stories in the entire Bible is the story of Moses’ extermination of the Midianites. Why did Moses want the Israelites to kill not only the males, but also all the boys and married women? How can we make sense of this tragic slaughter?

 

Although it is difficult to understand this passage, I believe that it points to a consistent pattern in God’s nature. When a nation remains unrepentant, God’s judgment will fall upon that nation. However, he always gives plenty of opportunities for salvation and repentance.

 

Plenty of Time to Repent

 

When God appeared to Abraham in Genesis 15:16, he told Abraham an important message about the Canaanites. God said that before he allowed Abraham’s family to inherit the land of Canaan, the people of Israel would first live in Egypt for 400 years. Why? Because the sins of the Amorites (a group of Canaanites) were not yet complete. In other words, their sins did not yet deserve complete annihilation.

 

Abraham’s descendants would live in Egypt, growing stronger and more numerous. They would eventually be used to destroy the Canaanites. But first, God would give these wicked people four centuries to repent.

 

Let’s look at a practical way that the Canaanites could have repented and entrusted their destiny to God’s plan. In the time of Joseph, there was a severe famine that affected not only all of Egypt, but also all of Canaan. Joseph’s brothers, who still lived in Canaan, went to Egypt to buy food. (See Genesis 41:56, 42:5, 29, 43:1)

 

The famine represented the discipline of God. It not only forced Jacob and his family to eventually move to Egypt, but it also forced Joseph’s brothers to come face to face with their sin of selling Joseph into Egypt many years ago. They repented of their sins because of this famine. The famine could have provided the same opportunity for the other Canaanites, but we have no record that they turned to God or repented during this time.

 

After his brothers repented, Joseph asked them to bring his father Jacob down to Egypt. Jacob and his sons arrived in Egypt two years after the famine began. Then were still five years of famine left for the entire land of Canaan.

 

The famine continued to worsen. Genesis 47:13 says, “There was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason of the famine.” Joseph sold food to the people of Canaan and Egypt. But when the money ran out, an interesting dynamic occurred.

 

Please pay attention to the following verses. “And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, ‘Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.’” (Genesis 47:15). Notice that although all the money in Egypt and Canaan was spent, only the Egyptians came to Joseph to continue to beg for mercy. Joseph allowed them to sell livestock, land, and themselves as slaves in exchange for seed to plant.

 

The gospel demands that we surrender ourselves as slaves to God. We trust our entire being to his care. Often, believers and nonbelievers alike will ask me, “Why do you entrust your destiny to a God you cannot see? Wouldn’t it be better for you to hold your destiny in your own hands?” Many people refuse to place their destiny in the hands of God by believing in Jesus Christ. It seems too risky to give up their very lives and wills to God.

 

In the same way, the Canaanites were unwilling to sell themselves to Joseph in exchange for food. They refused to acknowledge the judgment of God or repent of their sins because of this trial. They would not surrender themselves to Joseph, who was a picture of Christ.

 

• Joseph was the only one who had food, just like Jesus is the only one who can provide the food of eternal life.
• The Canaanites’ starvation and hunger represents the emptiness of people without Jesus. This emptiness should spur us on to seek the meaning of life and find a solution that truly satisfies: Jesus.
• The food signifies the Gospel. To receive this food, we commit our very lives to Jesus.
• Furthermore, we pay the price over a lifetime. Following Christ is not cheap, but he rewards us richly by supplying us with the daily food of his own presence.

 

The Egyptians came to Joseph and sold their livestock, their land, and their own bodies to get more food. This indicated that they accepted the salvation brought by Joseph. But there is no mention of the Canaanites taking any further action to get more food. The Bible doesn’t tell us what took place in Canaan during the next five years of famine. It is not difficult for us to imagine that chaos must have ensued. Cannibalism may have occurred among the Canaanite tribes. The Canaanites survived and became an even more evil race, the strongest fortress of evil spirits on the earth.

 

Salvation is the Goal

 

The purpose of the famine was not ultimately judgment, but the redemption of the people. God’s judgment is only a means to an end. God’s objective and ultimate purpose was to redeem the people. God allowed a famine in Egypt and Canaan so that the citizens of that land would repent and accept the salvation brought by joseph.

 

Trials in today’s world are also a means to an end. For example, the Covid-19 pandemic is a wake-up call that reminds people of their need for God. God’s desire is that all people would repent of their sins so they can accept the salvation provided by God through Christ.

 

However, things are not always that simple. Life’s trials can have different effects on different people, depending on their responses. When faced with a trial or difficulty, some people repent of their sins and are saved. Others not only refuse to repent, but also harden their hearts. Perhaps you’ve seen examples of this phenomenon in the believers and unbelievers you meet every day. When great suffering, disease and difficulty come upon people, some will surrender to God more and more. Their hearts will become very soft and humble. However, others will harden their hearts and become more and more rigid.

 

We can also see examples of this phenomenon in the Bible. When faced with trials, Joseph and his brothers softened their hearts, repented of sins, and received forgiveness as they trusted in God. But Pharoah and the Canaanites only hardened their hearts more and more in response to difficulty.

 

God prepared hell for Satan and his subordinates; yet many people go to hell. Why? Because they are hard-hearted. They would rather go to hell with Satan than repent of their sins. In other words, it is not God who sends people to hell. Instead, when people choose not to accept God’s salvation, they are choosing to go to hell.

 

In the same way, God did not destroy the Canaanites and Midianites. They had opportunities to repent and accept salvation, but they stubbornly rejected God’s salvation. Ultimately, they chose to perish.

 

God’s Salvation Offered to the Midianites

God is love, and he is also righteous. In His love, he keeps trying to save us. But in his righteousness, he will not excuse the guilty (Exodus 34:7). After giving them many opportunities to repent, God will ultimately judge those who are guilty of their sins.

 

When we fail to notice God’s loving efforts to provide a way of salvation, we may feel that God’s judgment on the Midianites may be too severe. Let’s look at the opportunities God gave them to surrender their lives to him.

 

The Bible gives us clues about how this may have happened. When Moses killed an Egyptian and fled into the wilderness, he sought refuge among the Midianites. In fact, he married into a Midianite family. The Midianites provided protection and shelter for Moses, and he gave them a chance to learn to know God.

 

When Moses met God in the burning bush in the wilderness of Midian, imagine the conversations he had that evening with his wife and in-laws. Perhaps he told them about his encounter with God. Imagine how shocked his Midianite family must have been. Should they believe Moses’ accounts? After all, Moses’ father-in-law was a priest of Midian, and he served other gods (Exodus 2:18).

 

Moses’ father-in-law was a priest, showing that he was open to spiritual things. At first, he served other gods, but he came to know the True God through Moses’ testimony. Years later, he began to worship the True God, saying, “The Lord is greater than all the gods” (Exodus 18:11).

 

The Bible doesn’t specifically record Moses’ verbal testimony to his family early on. Exodus 4:18 says that Moses kept his mission vague when he talked to his father-in-law: “Moses went back to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” (Exodus 4:18). In this account, Moses doesn’t tell his father-in-law a lot about his experience of meeting the Lord, or about God’s calling to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

 

However, Moses’ later actions and words were a powerful testimony to Jethro. After a series of confrontations with Pharaoh and a series of miracles, Moses finally led the Israelites out of Egypt. Exodus 18:1 tells us that Moses’ father-in-law was impressed by the testimony of Moses’ life. “Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.” He then brought Moses’ wife and two sons to find Moses.

 

When Moses recounted the stories of what God had done for him, Jethro was deeply moved. He acknowledged that Jehovah was the greatest of all gods, and he offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to God. Jethro accepted that Jehovah was the One True God. He received eternal life. After that, Jethro left Moses and returned to his own land.

 

What did Jethro do after returning to his country? As a priest of Midian, did he testify to the rest of Midianites that Jehovah is the One True God? We can assume that he did. A natural result of knowing God is sharing him with others. When someone is truly saved, it’s hard to suppress the urge to preach the gospel. Jethro likely shared his faith with his people.

 

However, even when we preach the gospel, it doesn’t ensure the salvation of those who hear. Paul said that we who preach the gospel are the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To one we are a fragrance of death, and to the other a fragrance of life. (2 Corinthians 2:15-16). When the gospel is preached, those who refuse to accept it will be judged. Those who accept the gospel will have eternal life.

 

It’s not God’s desire to send people to hell. He loves the world and desires that everyone believe in Jesus Christ so that they can have eternal life. However, a person who refuses to accept the Gospel rejects eternal life by his own choice.

 

Similarly, when Jethro testified to the Midianites that Jehovah is greater than all gods, the Midianites had a choice. They could either accept Jethro’s testimony and trust in the One True God, or they could reject Jethro’s testimony and continue to worship their idols.

 

Believing Midianites

The Midianites’ response to Jethro’s testimony divided them into two groups. Their response to the True God had a life-changing impact on their future trajectory.

 

Numbers 10:29 says, ”And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the Lord has promised good to Israel.” Was Moses talking to his father-in-law or his brother-in-law? The word can be translated both ways in Hebrew. Judges 4:11 also mentions “Hobab the father-in-law of Moses”. Again, the word can be translated as “father-in-law” or “brother-in-law.” I personally believe Hobab was Moses’ brother-in-law. His father-in-law had returned to his country in his old age, and Moses did not stop him (Exodus 18:27).

 

Numbers 10:30-32 records Hobab’s response. “’But he said to him, I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.’ And he said, ‘Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. And if you do go with us, whatever good the Lord will do to us, the same will we do to you.’”

 

Moses was begging Hobab to go with him here. However, the Bible clearly says that Moses did not prevent his father-in-law from leaving (Exodus 18:27). This seems to imply that these are two different people.

 

After realizing that the Lord was the true God, Jethro felt like he was too old to continue such a hard journey with Moses. Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law, also wanted to go back to his land. However, Moses promised that if he stayed with the Israelites, he would be a fellow recipient of God’s blessings. The Bible doesn’t tell us how Hobab replied. Perhaps he led some Midianites to follow Moses into the wilderness.

 

This story creates a beautiful spiritual picture. When Jethro went home to the Midianites and testified that the LORD was the true God, some people had accepted the Lord and decided to join the Israelites on their journey. These people received the benefits promised by Moses.

 

Judges supports this conjecture. Judges 1:16 tells about the first time the Israelites went to war: “And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ brother-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah,… and they went and settled with the people.” From this verse, we see that Hobab might have agreed to Moses’ request, thereby receiving God’s blessing and acquiring land alongside the tribe of Judah. Judges 4:11 says, ”Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law (or brother-in-law) of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh.” Jael, the wife of Heber, the descendant of Hobab, killed Sisera, Israel’s enemy. These verses imply that Midianites descended from Moses’ father-in-law were an active part of the Israelite community.

 

On the other hand, the Midianites who refused to accept Jethro’s testimony were unwilling to embark on a journey of faith with the Israelites. Their community became a stronghold of evil spirits. Later, the evil spirits used the Midianites to tempt the Israelites into sexual sin. The evil spirits wanted to corrupt the Israelite family tree in order to prevent Jesus Christ from being born through the Israelite family line.

These Midianites had a chance to join the Israelites, but they chose to follow evil spirits instead. There may have been other opportunities to repent that the Bible does not record.

 

 

Human Flesh and Evil Spirits

 

There is a difference between the way God treats our flesh and the way he treats evil spirits. The tribe of Moab is sometimes used symbolically to represent the flesh. The ancestor of the people of Moab was born as the result of incest between Lot and his daughter. For this reason, Moab was often used to represent the flesh. God is patient with the flesh, allowing it to slowly experience the dealings of the cross. God didn’t require the Israelites to wipe out the Moabites. Instead, he asked them to take a detour around their land (Deuteronomy 2:9).

 

However, God treated the Midianites differently. The Midianites represent the evil strongholds of demons inside us. God’s method of dealing with them was to kill them all. The reason Moses asked the Israelites to kill all Midian’s men, boys, and married women was partly because the Midianites rejected God’s testimony and cooperated with evil spirits to incur their own harsh judgment.

 

Hope for the Midianite children.

 

From an eternal perspective, we can see that there may be hope for the Midianite boys who died. Not everyone who dies physically goes to hell. Those who die await the verdict of God’s Great White Throne Judgment. All who have died will be resurrected and judged. Those whose names are not in the Book of Life will be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15). Even though these boys died physically, they may not have died spiritually.

 

In a prophetic dream, I was taken to heaven. There, I saw some children who had died prematurely. They were living happily in heaven. This scene shocked me. Perhaps the Midianite children are in heaven. By dying physically, they may have been spared the eternal destruction that their adult actions may have merited. Even Paul said that some sinners should be handed over to Satan to destroy the body so that their souls can be saved in the day of the Lord (1 Corinthians 5:5). Perhaps there is mercy hidden inside God’s judgment.

 

God is Love. When we look at this tragedy from an eternal perspective, we see God’s mercy, justice, and love on display.

 

Bible Study with Jairus - Numbers 30

 

Dedication to God

Bible Study with Jairus - Numbers 30

 

When we read Numbers 30, a question comes to mind. Why is a passage regarding vows placed right between the instructions concerning sacrifices (Chapters 28 – 29) and the story of the defeat of the Midianites (Chapter 31)? It seems very abrupt and out of place, but the Holy Spirit illuminated our minds to see that these are all interconnected. Numbers 30 leads worshipers into a deeper experience of dedication. After the Israelites learned how to offer cattle and lambs to God (Numbers 28-29), God showed them how to offer themselves to the Lord as sacrifices (Numbers 30). Dedicating ourselves to the Lord will help us to defeat our spiritual enemies, just like the Israelites defeated Midian in Numbers 31.

Review of Numbers 22-31

In Numbers 22 – 25, we learn that Balaam tried to curse the Israelites. He instigated the seduction of the Israelites into sin, which led to a plague. After the plague, the Israelites took a census of the new generation (Chapter 26). God’s justice and mercy were further revealed in Chapter 27. Chapters 28 and 29 explain the offerings Israelites should bring to God. These offerings represented communion with God, which brings joy to God and strength to man.

In Chapter 30, we learn that the natural outcome of close communion between God and humans is the offering of oneself to God. We not only offer external sacrifices, but we offer ourselves as sacrifices to God (Romans 12:1). Self-sacrifice is the highest form of sacrifice. When we present ourselves as offerings to God, God can help us achieve success over our enemies, as shown in Chapter 31.

Earlier in Numbers, we see that Balaam was unable to curse the Israelites, but he was able to convince the Midianites to seduce the Israelites to commit promiscuity, leading to God’s anger and the judgment of the plague. Why did his deceptive plan work? Who was to blame? Was it Balaam, the Midianites, the Moabites, or the evil spirits motivating the Midianites?

As Christians, we sin because evil spirits and enemies tempt us in our natural areas of weakness. Yet it is ultimately our own weakness that causes us to sin. How does God deal with our mistakes to help us overcome our weaknesses? God works in two areas. Firstly, he works to defeat the external evil forces. Second, he works to strengthen our inner man to overcome these weaknesses.

God had inflicted severe judgement on the Israelites who had sinned, in the form of a plague that killed 24,000 people. Phinehas had killed the Midianite woman and the Israelite who brought her (Chapter 25). The census in chapter 26 was a form of inspection, like a military review, where God was inspecting those who were still standing after the judgment of the plague.

In chapter 27, Zelophehad’s daughters requested possession of their father’s land. This story is a continuation of the grand narrative.  Exodus 34:7 says that God keeps ‘steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ Due to God’s just judgement, men who sinned (like Zelophehad) died. But because of God’s compassion, God asked Moses to give Zelophehad’s land to his daughters. This story reminds us of God’s words to Moses in Exodus 34.

As we’ve seen in our study of Numbers 28-29, the animal offerings discussed in these chapters represent communion with God. These offerings were fragrant and refreshing offerings to God. At the same time, a part of these sacrifices was also used as food for the priests. Symbolically, this passage reminds us that our communion with God brings joy to God, but also provides spiritual food for us, strengthening our spirits. This spiritual strength allows us to overcome our internal weaknesses and external enemies, which is the common theme that runs through Numbers’ Chapters 22 to 31.

Initially, we wondered why Numbers 30 was placed in between the passages on sacrifices (Chapters 28-29) and on the defeat of the Midianites (Chapter 31). I see a connection between these passages. I believe that when the Holy Spirit inspires a person to write, there must be a common thread of thought and logic that connects the passages. Understanding how these passages connect helps us feel excited and encouraged to read on.

Offering ourselves to God. Vows of self-sacrifice comprise the highest form of sacrifice, much more important than offerings of sheep and cattle. In Psalm 51, David says that the sacrifice of one’s heart is the best form of sacrifice. David said that God does not delight in sacrifices, but in a broken and contrite heart. This is the best form of sacrifice, an offering which he does not despise.

God loves it when we sacrifice ourselves to him. Other than presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1), the best form of sacrifice is presenting our hearts to God. External offerings pale in comparison.

When Jesus was on earth, he watched temple worshipers present their offerings at the temple. The rich donated huge sums of money out of their excess. But Jesus praised the poor widow who gave two small copper coins. Jesus praised her because she gave all she had, her entire livelihood. In other words, the widow not only gave her two small coins, but also her heart. This story demonstrates that God values our hearts more than our external sacrifices.

When Mary broke the expensive alabaster jar of perfume and poured it over the head of Jesus, Jesus saw Mary’s love towards God. He instructed that “wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.” (Mark 14:9). The Gospel of Christ states that, “for God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). The story of Mary talks about man’s love for Christ. The love of God toward man and the love of man toward God are two sides of the same coin. That is why Jesus asked his followers to preach these two stories together. 

Numbers 28-29 describe the different types of animal sacrifices (external sacrifices), while Chapter 30 describes vows--the offering of one’s heart and self to God. This is a higher level of sacrifice. This insight provides an important link between chapters 29 and chapter 30.

The Seriousness of Vows

Since this form of sacrifice is the highest form of sacrifice, we ought to pay close attention to it. Numbers 30:2 says, “If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.” Once a person vows to offer oneself as a sacrifice, one is obligated to fulfill that vow and not break his word.

God gives man free choice. We can choose not to sacrifice ourselves. But once the choice has been made to sacrifice ourselves to God, he takes our promise very seriously. We cannot go back on our word.

However, if your vow was made carelessly out of immaturity, God will not hold it against you. He honors you for your willingness to sacrifice and delights in one who gives out of a willing heart (2 Cor 9:7). However, if your father (vs 3 – 8) or your husband (vs 10 – 15) negate your vow, you are not required to fulfill it.

For example, if an unmarried daughter or married woman decides to give the entire family’s savings to God, but her husband or father objects, God would not hold the woman to her promise.  However, if the father (verse 4) or husband (verse 14) says nothing to the woman, her vow will stand. If the husband says nothing at the beginning, but later goes back on his word (verse 15), the husband would have to bear the iniquity of sin. However, widows and divorced women had the freedom of choice. The vows made by these people could not be negated.

Vows and oaths are very serious matters. In the historical records of the ancient Middle East, we learn that many contemporary people groups treated vows and oaths very seriously. To emphasize the importance and severity of His words, God also swore an oath to Abraham. In the same way, God requires us to strictly fulfill our vows.

The Purifying Effect of Trials

In addition, once we have offered ourselves as living sacrifices, it is as if we have been placed on an altar. At this point, it is nearly impossible to retract the vow. When you offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God for His use and purposes, you begin to realize that God will use trials and difficulties to refine your character.

Of course, God allow trials to help us mature. Bob Jones, a leader in the Charismatic movement, has a powerful prophetic gift that is desired by many. However, he shares that nobody would wish to go through the trials that he has been through to get what he has today.

In the same way, Witness Lee, the founder of the Local Church Movement where I was saved, says that many people desire his ministry; but if they were to experience the difficulties that he has gone through, they would no longer covet his ministry.

God called me to present myself as a living sacrifice to God, to allow Him to work through me. After that, various trials and difficulties appeared in my life, including 10 years of infertility. Through these difficulties, God was molding me.

After I had a miracle baby, I met with a Korean prophet, who shared that God planned to use me greatly. However, he also mentioned that I had a strong personality, which needed to be refined before I could fully surrender myself to serve God. My wife and I both recognized that the difficulties and trials were a part of God's plan for me to surrender my strong will fully to Christ. These difficulties were a form of spiritual discipline.

In many American Churches, the discipline of the Holy Spirit through trials and sufferings is not a popular topic to be preached about. However, once we offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God, God will work through the Holy Spirit to discipline us and make us better people. Many times, external trials and sufferings cause us to feel sorrowful instead of joyful. But for those who have gone through trials and emerged stronger, their lives will yield the ‘peaceful fruit of righteousness’ (Hebrews 12:11).

The Korean prophet shared with me that God not only wanted to use me for His Work to preach the gospel, but He also wanted to sanctify and purify me, so that I could be a better testimony for Christ. However, there are many weaknesses in the flesh that I have yet to overcome.

Let me share a personal example. I have an area of weakness that is difficult to overcome. I have often failed in this area. Certainly, this is due in part to the external attacks and temptations from the evil one. But more importantly, it is due to the weakness of my inner self. Because of these weaknesses, I fall to ‘the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life (1 John 2:16). 

This passage reminds me that I need to renew myself as an offering to God, to allow God to continue to purify me, helping me overcome my weaknesses, temptations, and desire for worldly things. Offering myself to God strengthens my inner man for the glory of God and to benefit those around me, and prevents enemies from attacking me. There are still worldly temptations that seek to consume me, but God has called me to let go of these desires.

This area of weakness has been a struggle for a long time. One night, I had a prophetic dream, in which I found myself stepping on earth’s surface, which was covered with dirt. In the dream, I was continuously stepping on the dirt surface to compact it, shouting, “Through Christ’s strength, I will overcome the temptations of this earth.” This prophetic dream was the Holy Spirit’s promise to me that as I rely on Christ, I will have victory.

Our victory comes through dedicating ourselves to God. On our own, we are powerless to change. By ourselves, we are unable to overcome worldly temptations. However, if we offer ourselves as sacrifices to God, God can do that for us.

After hearing my testimony, a woman shared that God has prompted her to work on an area of weakness that is difficult to overcome. Together, we prayed for God’s help in overcoming this weakness. Through our communion and prayer with God, we renewed our offering of ourselves to God and asked for God to work in us to overcome our weaknesses. We begged God to help us overcome any fleshly barriers to spiritual advancement.

Total Surrender

The most important aspect of our sacrifice to God is that we need to surrender ourselves entirely to God, allowing him to be sovereign in our lives and work in our hearts.  If we do not choose to offer ourselves to God as living sacrifices, God will respect our free choice and not interfere.

When we offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God, we display our love for Him. In Revelation 2, Jesus rebuked the Church of Ephesus for abandoning the love they had at first. He asked them to remember from where they had fallen, repent and do the works they did at first, or God would come to them and remove their lampstand from its place, unless they repented (Revelations 2:4-5).

The weakening of the American Church and the corruption of American society are caused by a lack of love. Christians have abandoned their first love of Christ. Churches are faced with internal issues, which provide an opportunity for evil spiritual forces to tempt us. To solve the issues faced by the American Church, we need to return to our first love. Though American Churches are faced with many external attacks from the enemy, these are not the root problem. The root of the problem lies in the weakness within the hearts of American believers, due to lack of dedication to God and communion with him. 

We need to offer the sacrifices of prayer and communion with God, continuously drawing close to him so he can empower us spiritually. These are the sacrifices depicted in Numbers 28-29.

We also need to go deeper in our relationship with God, to present ourselves as a joyful, living sacrifice. We need to undergo spiritual transformation in our thoughts and mind. As Romans 12:1-2 writes, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” This is what Numbers 30 portrays.

In Numbers 31, God commands Moses to kill the Midianites. While the Midianites (and evil spirits) tempted the Israelites and led them into sin, the core issue was that the Israelites had not offered themselves freely to God. As the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire. While the Israelites were in the wilderness, they continued to lust after Egypt’s leeks and onions. They had left Egypt, but Egypt was still inside of them. Today, many Christians find themselves in the same situation. We have been taken out of the “world”, but the “world” still lives in us. Our fleshly desires, coupled with worldly temptations, need to be continuously dealt with by the cross. As God disciplines us on the inside through communion and dedication to God, we grow closer to Him. Our relationship with God will strengthen us to defeat the external forces of evil.

 

 

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 23

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 23

Numbers 23 tells the story of Balak hiring Balaam to curse the Israelites. Although this story may be familiar to Christians, when we were having our Bible study, the Holy Spirit opened our eyes to receive new revelation. We realized that our prayers should be causing us to humble ourselves before God. In other words: we pray to change our mindset and attitude, not to change God's will.

God wants to bless us, but a wrong perspective, lies we believe, and strongholds built by the enemy are barriers that prevent us from receiving God's blessings. We must die to our flesh through fasting and prayer so that the enemy cannot continue to control and hinder us through our flesh. Through fasting and prayer, we can also cast out evil spirits, as well as experience and accept God's blessings in Christ.

Let’s look at Numbers 23 to understand this better. In Numbers 23:13 (ESV), Balak says, “Please come with me to another place, from which you may see them. You shall see only a fraction of them and shall not see them all. Then curse them for me from there.” A lady asked, “Why did Balak change locations to curse the Israelites?” It appears that sending a curse from Balak’s original location was unsuccessful. Does changing the location make it successful? This is a bit incomprehensible. I replied, “I need to give you an example of fasting and prayer.”

I learned a lot about fasting and prayer when I sought healing for my wife’s medical condition and the blessing of one day having a child. One thing fasting is not is a "hunger strike." We should not approach fasting with the mentality that I will fast and argue for something and if God does not grant my request, I will no longer eat. This is not prayer and fasting. This is a hunger strike, a protest. True fasting and prayer is temporarily sacrificing one of man’s biggest physical needs through a time of abstaining, in order that our flesh will be weakened and challenged to submit to our spirit. Eventually, the noise of our flesh will diminish. When our flesh is in this weakened state, our spiritual man can rise from its suppressed place. We can then rely on the strength of our spirit and God’s Spirit within us. This is what the Lord Jesus said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (ESV, 2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul also said that, “I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (ESV, 2 Corinthians 12:9).

True fasting and prayer moves us closer to God through a process of resisting our body’s demands and aligning us with God’s will instead of trying to change God’s heart and insisting on doing things our way. A hunger strike is a religious prayer and not a means of humbling oneself to get closer to God. True fasting and prayer will make our strong flesh weak and awaken our suppressed spiritual man. It can also loosen the enemy’s strongholds on us thereby making it easier for evil spirits to be cast out.

Jesus once took the disciples up to a mountain and there He was transfigured. As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus and his disciples saw a demon-possessed child. The disciples were unable to cast out the demon, so the Lord cast it out. Later, the disciples asked Jesus why they couldn't cast it out. He said that this kind of spirit does not leave except by fasting and prayer (NKJV, Matthew 17:21). We come to understand that fasting and prayer play an important role in casing out demons. Some evil spirits, for example, maintain strongholds in us through lies, deceptions, and bitterness from past hurts. These strongholds are the combination of our flesh and demonic forces. We must discipline our flesh for a time to remove the lies we once believed. This is done through fasting and prayer. Then evil spirits can be cast out.

Unfortunately, many people have experienced believing various lies and becoming bitter after being hurt. This then becomes an opportunity for evil spirits to set up strongholds in them. One of the biggest lies people believe is that God does not love them. God’s Word constantly reiterates His love for us, but when we are hurt, it’s difficult to believe this. In this kind of situation, we end up being more prone to believe the enemy than God.

A person’s upbringing may also impact one’s ability to believe in God’s love. For example, if you didn’t experience love from your parents when you were younger, when you experience suffering and harm from the world, you will be much more susceptible to believe Satan’s lies. Satan will easily feed you the lies, "you are unworthy of love" and "no one loves you."  These are obvious lies to someone who knows the truth or has experienced love from their parents, but not to the child who loses or lacks a healthy, loving relationship with their parent(s). When he or she receives these lies into their soul, they become indifferent to life and even begin to hate society. I was a reporter for a few years. I once interviewed a family in the United States whose child came from a mixed Chinese and American family. Because of his parents’ divorce, this child became extremely cold-hearted to the point of brutally killing another person. I participated in the on-site interview and felt deeply compassionate and sad when I saw this child. I thought to myself that maybe if his parents hadn't divorced, he wouldn't have ended up like that. Of course, I cannot completely blame his parents since I don't know what really happened between them, but I also do not ignore that their divorce probably hard a large negative impact on his soul. Life’s misfortunes will cause people to believe lies and distortions of the truth.

Balak, the Moabite, is another example of this. Naturally, we all hope and believe that we are the Israelites whom God has chosen and whom are the descendants of Abraham. And if Abraham’s descendants, we prefer to be the descendants of Isaac, and not of Ishmael, but the reality is often not that simple. The Moabites are descendants of the incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughter. We don't know if the society at that time discriminated against descendants of incest. If we look at humanity’s overall situation, it seems that any society would discriminate against children of incest. Perhaps, when the Moabites grew up, they inevitably faced humiliation. This humiliation and hurt became a stronghold for them.

As I mentioned earlier, in Deuteronomy 2, the Lord specifically ordered Moses not to contend with the Moabites because the Moabites were descendants of Lot and God had given those lands to the Moabites. God would not give it to the Israelites. God also specifically ordered the Israelites to pay with silver for the food they would eat and the water they would drink when they passed through Moab, and not to provoke the Moabites to war. He also reminded the Israelites to be especially careful because the Moabites were afraid of them.

God commanded the Israelites not to hurt the Moabites, but the Moabites still feared the Israelites. Although unnecessary, the Moabites allowed fear to take root in them and this was taken advantage of by evil spirits. Their fear became an open door that turned Balak and Moab into tools to curse and hurt the Israelites. Our fears often come from our wrong judgments of reality. If the Moabites knew the message of Deuteronomy 2, which was that God did not want the Israelites to fight against the Moabites, would they still have been afraid? Fear often makes us act irrationally. Out of fear, Balak asked Balaam to curse the Israelites.  

The Moabites—descendants of Lot—were related to the Israelites, so they were people associated with the holy and chosen people. However, the purpose of their prayers to God was not to humble themselves to move closer to God so as to receive God's mercy. Their prayers were instead like that of the Pharisees’ prayers which sought to justify themselves before God, asking God to do things according to their own ideas. Their purpose was to change God, and not change themselves. The correct way to pray, however, is like the tax collector who, beating his breast in the temple, said in anguish, "I am a sinner. Please have mercy on me.” Jesus said that this tax collector would be justified, but the Pharisees could not be justified because their motives were wrong (Luke 18:9-14). People in church nowadays can commit the same error. We should be careful to not just offer religious prayers and engage in religious activities but remain disconnected from God’s heart.

Now, the problem with Balak is actually the same problem evident in Christians in churches today. They have wrong perspectives and believe lies of the enemy, so the enemy maintains strongholds over them. I learned during my training in deliverance ministry that many people are possessed by demons. For example, some women who have been raped or hurt by men in their family carry deep wounds. Because of these hurts, they begin to hate men. The accumulation of their anguish turns to bitterness and hate, and it gradually opens the door to evil spirits. In order to cast out the evil spirits in them, they must learn to forgive. This is difficult, but it is necessary.

Rodney Hogue, one of my teachers in deliverance ministry, makes a great comparison between forgiveness and strongholds by evil spirits. He uses the example of pitons used by mountain climbers. When a rock climber cannot find or reach any spots to continue upward, they will use pitons to create one. The function of the piton is to expand within a crack in the rock, and with the force of expansion, it secures a stronghold for grabbing and bearing the weight of the climber. Unforgiveness, bitterness, and hatred caused by our hurts, etc., create cracks within us; they fracture our mind, soul, or body. Evil spirits are like pitons—they squeeze into the cracks and build strongholds there.

This is why in the Lord’s Prayer, the Lord Jesus taught us to pray, “God, forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (ESV, Mark 6:9-13). God’s intention is to bless us, but if we refuse to forgive our debtors, God will not forgive our debts.

Balak and the Moabites may have believed some kind of lie and thus were taken advantage of by evil spirits. My personal guess is that they believed the following lie: the reason they were not blessed was Abraham's fault, and not Lot's fault. We know that the Bible says that Abraham and Lot's servants were in conflict with each other, so Abraham had let Lot separate from him. Afterwards, Lot went to Sodom. Perhaps the Moabites and Balak were thinking it was the Israelites’ fault that they were not blessed. This is like children competing to be their parents’ favorites. The Moabites could have been jealous. They probably wanted God to bless them and curse the Israelites. Balak knew it was the Lord who was speaking to Balaam, and Balak hoped that God might curse the Israelites from another place (Numbers 23:27). This proves that Balak is not cursing God. Rather, he hopes that God will curse the Israelites. This is different from the Gentiles’ worship of false gods such as Baal. Balak is not changing his position. He is instead trying to change God's will through repeated attempts.

This is in line with the principle of fasting and prayer that we cited in the beginning. We cannot change God. We can only change ourselves. The evil spirits also know this. Satan and evil spirits know that they cannot change God's loving nature, but they can change our faith in God through lies. They can also attempt to prevent us from pleasing God by tempting us to sin. Thankfully, God responds by repeatedly telling us about His loving nature and that He loves us. Remember: not only does God love Israel, but He also loved Moab and all the nations. One important reason for God's choice of the Israelites was so that one day Christ could be born through them and become a blessing to all nations. God’s intent from the beginning was to make a way for all to come under his wings. Therefore, God was not going to change His mind, nor His choice of the Israelites because this choice would eventually become a blessing to the Moabites. Later, Ruth, a descendant of Moabites, understood this truth and wanted to return to Israel with her mother-in-law to come under the Israelite’s blessing. She married Boaz and became the ancestor of Christ. This is a foreshadowing of how God would later graft in foreigners and strangers of Gentile nations into God’s covenant and family which was first established with the Israelites.

Now, let’s go deeper into how evil spirits attack us. First, they attack by deceiving us and instilling countless lies in us. Because of my past experience in rural China and some family misfortunes, I believed many lies, and these lies became strongholds within me. Later, I was delivered from these lies through the power of the Holy Spirit, and the demonic strongholds were broken.

Many people also testify to a similar experience. I mentioned earlier that children whose parents are divorced or have no parents since childhood may be deceived by lies that say, "no one loves me" or "I am unworthy of love." These are all lies. They are not the truth. But if one believes these lies, the evil spirits will have an open door to build a stronghold within them.

This does not just happen to individuals. It occurs among races and nations as well. For example, the country of China has been wounded over the past few hundred years. These hurts and humiliation can result in bitterness and hatred and be taken advantage of by evil spirits. Some races have been oppressed throughout history. Their wounds from hatred and injustice fester and multiply when left undealt with. These races can become more oppressed by evil spirits henceforth. We must address the lies and wounds in our flesh in order to loosen the enemy's strongholds. In the case of nations and races, people groups and countries must repent and seek forgiveness and reconciliation with each other in order for the strongholds to be broken and the enemy to be cast out. Until then, evil spirits are being given the authority to remain and cause further oppression.

Since some of our small group members are seeking to be physically healed, it is appropriate to talk about the relationship between these categories: fasting and prayer, the lies we believe, demonic strongholds, and our healing. God’s truth is that we all receive healing through Jesus Christ’s wounds (Isaiah 53:5), but why do many people not receive physical healing? There are many reasons for this. One of the reasons is that we have not been able to receive and accept our healing by faith. Our unbelief, the lies we believe, and strongholds reinforced by evil spirits, prevent us from receiving God's healing. We must acknowledge, remove, and replace the lies as well as remove the unbelief and bitterness. This will create an opportunity for strongholds to be demolished. Afterward, we can believe for and receive God’s blessings for us including healing.

It’s just like we see in this chapter of Numbers 23. God wanted to bless Moab which included bringing peace between them and the Israelites, but the Moabites lost their opportunity to receive God's blessings because of fear. However, God's intention remained—to bless the Moabites and let the Israelites pass through Moab. If they passed through peacefully, it would have removed the Moabites’ fears and the anxiety they carried.

In the same way, God longs to bless our soul and body. The general principle we follow is that God always wills to heal our body. However, there is always something that can prevent us from accepting God's blessings. The lies of the enemy are often, "God does not heal people today;" "God does not perform miracles today;" or "You don’t deserve God's healing." Once you believe these lies, it will be difficult for you to have faith that you’ll be healed.

Therefore, the lie is the first method used by the enemy. Other lies like "God does not love us" or "God has abandoned us" leads to an orphaned spirit. Just like the Moabites here—they lived in fear, and not in love. The Bible says that there is no fear in love, and perfect love casts out fear (ESV, 1 John 4:18). Therefore, anything that makes you scared is not from God because the spirit God gave us is not a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control (ESV, 2 Timothy 1:7).

The second method of the enemy is to make us sin and leave the position of God blessing us. This is what is recorded in Numbers 25. After Balaam realized that he could not curse the Israelites, he instigated Balak to encourage the Israelites to fornicate with the Moabite women. They fell into this trap and sinned which aroused God’s wrath and incited a plague that killed 24,000 Israelites. Committing sin is often a result of believing lies and having an orphaned spirit. The thought process behind one’s motivation to sin is usually, "No one cares about me anyway; I’ve got nothing to lose." Yet, God loves us. There are also many people who love us, so we should not sin. Although God is gracious, we should avoid sin because sin still brings suffering in the form of unpleasant and negative repercussions and consequences. Even the Israelites who were so blessed by God were severely disciplined by Him for their error. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Let’s instead be holy.

We can learn from the lesson of the Moabites in this chapter. Let’s rid ourselves of our prejudices and judgements because of past hurts. Let’s change our perspective, demolish the strongholds within us, and let ourselves receive God’s love, blessings, and healing.

Written on December 14, 2020.

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 20

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 20

Numbers 20 is the story of how Moses did not follow God's command when asked to strike a rock to produce water. Instead of following God’s exact directions to hit the rock once, Moses struck the rock twice. God still acted mercifully to allow water to flow out for the Israelites. Later, however, God chastised Moses and Aaron for not believing in Him, nor upholding Him as holy in the eyes of the Israelites. Because of this, they were not allowed to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 20:12).

A man in our Bible study asked, “How do Moses’ actions show that he did not believe in God?” I replied, “You must use the former Israelite spies as a reference because they were also regarded as unbelieving spies by God.” The spies were regarded by God as having no faith because they exaggerated the height of the Canaanites and underestimated God’s promise. They regarded the enemy as able to triumph over God's promise to lead them into the Promised Land. The spies’ disheartened position in the face of enemy weakened the Israelites’ faith and led them to believe that their inability was greater than God’s promise and God’s power. They trusted more in what their eyes could see than in what the Lord had spoken. Thankfully, the Israelites inability did not overcome God’s ability. Caleb and Joshua are examples of those who believed. Since God had already promised that they would be brought into the Promised Land, they did not waiver in their belief. They put God's promise first. They said, “Let's go up for we will devour them.” Faith is putting God's promise first and not allowing yourself to be frightened by the immediate circumstances.

The same principle can be applied to Moses and Aaron. What did Moses regard as larger than God? Moses did not exemplify complete trust in the Lord. Moses was disappointed with the Israelites. His disappointment with the people’s inability surpassed God's promise and hope for them. Thus, he acted in disobedience and God regarded him as unbelieving. Although Moses believed the first time, he did not believe God the second time. Why? His discouragement affected his faith.

At the beginning of this chapter, the death of Miriam, Moses’ sister, is recorded. We can assume that Moses loved his sister. Without Moses’ sister, there would be no Moses. When Moses was put into the river as a child, it was Moses' sister who stood by watching him. When Pharaoh's daughter came to bathe, Miriam talked with Pharaoh's daughter and offered to find a Hebrew mother to nurse him. Miriam arranged for her mother to take care of him. In other words, without Miriam, Moses might have died.

In later years, Miriam rebelled against Moses and God struck her with leprosy. Aaron asked Moses to beg God to remove Miriam's leprosy. Moses prayed to God and God answered his prayer by allowing Miriam to be healed after her confinement outside the camp for seven days. We see that Moses had no resentment toward his sister. We can imagine that Miriam's death had a huge personal impact on Moses. He was likely very sad. Miriam's death also happened at a special time. It was right about the time when the Israelites had been wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. The first generation of Israelites were almost dead. Perhaps Miriam, Aaron (who dies at the end of this chapter), Moses (who dies shortly after), and Caleb and Joshua (who entered the Promised Land), were among the few people from the first generation who were still alive.

Now, we arrive at the story of Moses and the rock. The Israelites were already tired after about forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Moses was also tired. The second generation made the same mistake as the first generation. They complained again that there was no water to drink. Tired and sad Moses became irritated by the people. At first, he remained humble before God. He fell facedown just like he had when Korah attacked him. God responded and asked Moses to speak to the rock to produce water. But when Moses came before the Israelites, he reverted to being angry. Why? Perhaps when Moses went before God, he hoped that God would avenge him as He did when He disciplined Korah the last time. God did not act the same this time. My guess is that Moses’ response was a way of venting the pent-up pain and anger he had held in his heart.

Moses’ mistake is also one often made by pastors. Sometimes we feel disappointed with the people we lead and shepherd. Such disappointment must be dealt with at the cross. It should not affect our emotions and decisions. I discussed this with a classmate who is a Korean pastor. I asked him to tell me about the hardest thing he has faced since becoming a pastor. His church is not big. One time, a family that faithfully served in the church, suddenly left without giving him any explanation. I comforted him by suggesting, “Maybe God had a different direction for them, but they were too scared to tell you.  It is not necessarily that they had bad intentions by not telling you.” I tried to encourage him not to be disappointed in people, and to have faith in God. Whether it’s Moses or my Korean pastor friend, we should all have greater faith in God's ability to lead His chosen people than in the difficulties we face in the environment around us. True faith exceeds the disappointment brought by the environment. Keeping God’s promise before one’s eyes, above the difficulties, is faith. This does not mean we do not acknowledge that we will face failures in the church or in the Christians we care for.

So why did God regard Aaron as unbelieving? It seems that Aaron didn't do anything. A man in our study commented that because Aaron did nothing, that’s why he was regarded as unbelieving. I believe he was right. Aaron was a priest. He should have interceded for Moses as well as help him to overcome his weakness. But Aaron did nothing. His inaction was unbelief in the eyes of God. During the previous judgment on Korah, Aaron took the censer to intercede and it stopped the plague. This time, Aaron didn't intercede for Moses which demonstrates that he didn't fulfill his responsibilities as a priest and thus was disciplined by God. God determined Aaron’s death before he would reach the Promised Land too.

The Bible records that Moses and Aaron did not uphold God as holy in the eyes of the Israelites in this matter (Numbers 20:12). Verse 13 (ESV) concludes, "These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and through them he showed himself holy." Why does it say here that God showed himself holy through them?

God’s judgment in Numbers 16 begins with Korah being swallowed up by the earth. The chapter continues to talk about the 250 elders burned by fire; 14,700 people killed from the plague; the warning of the budding of Aaron’s rod in Numbers 17; and the decreasing degree of judgment on the Israelites. We notice that God's judgment is more severe with those closer to the Holy of Holies, and with those who try to touch His authority. With those closer to the outer courtyard and whose spiritual lives are not as mature, God shows mercy. This is a basic principle of God. Moses did not represent God's disposition. Instead, he got angry. He should have showed mercy to the second generation of the Israelites when they immaturely complained. He should have taken pity on them instead of judging them, since mercy triumphs over judgment. This would have been upholding God as holy—upholding God’s holy character.

Let’s consider the difference. Moses also got angry when Korah rebelled, but God did not criticize Moses for this. Instead, God supported Moses, severely disciplining Korah and burning 250 elders with him who had rebelled against God. This included the death of 14,700 people from the plague God sent. This is an example of God's severe judgment. Thankfully, God's anger is temporary; His kindness and mercy are everlasting. Although God disciplined the first generation of Israel, he treated the second generation with kindness. The same principle exists for churches today. Sometimes we may need the courage from God to point out the mistakes of certain mature believers so that they can grow even more and serve God and others well. For immature and new believers, the reigning principle is love. If we are too strict with them, they will often stumble.

Of course, Moses knew this principle. Exodus 34:6-7 (ESV) records the Lord’s appearing to Moses. It states, "The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.’” God’s holy nature is characterized as slow to anger, especially for people whose spiritual lives are immature. His mercy prevails over His anger or judgment. Moses knew this was the character he should embody, so his disobedience was an act of deliberate sin. Moses was furious at the second generation of Israelites for violating God’s holy nature, but God, full of kindness, still gave the living water to the second generation. In this way, God upheld his own righteousness to the Israelites.

The following verses (14-22) record the story of Moses attempting to lead the Israelites through Edom. Unfortunately, the king of Edom did not allow them to pass through. When this happened, God ordered the Israelites not to contend with Edom because God gave Esau the country of Seir as a possession (ESV, Deuteronomy 2:5). Therefore, Moses requested of their king to let them pass through in accordance with the requirements set forth by God in Deuteronomy. Moses also offered to pay for the food they would eat and the water they would drink (Deuteronomy 2:6). The King of Edom still denied their request.

At this point in our bible study, the same man asked, “Are the pillars of cloud and fire going to lead the Israelites through Edom?” If God was leading them in this direction, why didn't Edom let them pass through? When Edom refused to let them pass through, what was God’s attitude? I read Amos 1 to this man, where it says that God judged Edom because Edom chased his brother with a sword. Amos 1:11 (ESV) says, “Thus says the Lord: ‘For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and cast off all pity, and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever.’" We can see that God was unhappy that Edom did not let the Israelites pass through. This verse indirectly demonstrates that it was God’s plan to lead them through Edom. If God knew the king would not allow them to pass through, why did God lead the Israelites to Edom in the first place? Maybe God wanted the brothers to reconcile, or maybe he wanted the Israelites to testify to the Edomites about him, telling them how much God cares for the Israelites. Perhaps when the Edomites heard this, they would exalt God’s name and return to Him. In today’s language, we would say the Israelites were being given the opportunity to evangelize. Unfortunately, Edom refused.

Israel’s journey can be likened to a planter of the gospel. They sowed the seeds of the gospel wherever they went. As Psalm 126:5 (ESV) says, “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!” This sentence refers to the Israelites who wandered and were taken into captivity. When they were in Egypt, they sowed seeds just as Joseph testified of God's greatness to Pharaoh. When they passed through the wilderness, they sowed seeds because God’s pillar of cloud and fire went before them. They also reaped. Rahab, for example, became an ancestor of Christ. The Israelites journey went from Egypt (the world, the flesh, and the outer courtyard) to the wilderness (the soul and the sanctuary) and then to the Promised Land (the spirit and the Holy of Holies). Their journey was a continuous process of sanctification for the body, soul, and spirit. However, wherever they went, they had the tabernacle (God’s dwelling place) with them.

The same is true for New Testament Christians. Each believer is a tabernacle of God. We are constantly being sanctified. Our body represents the outer court, our soul represents the Holy Place, and our spirit represents the Holy of Holies where the Spirit of God dwells. We meet with God spirit to spirit when we pray. We also take God’s presence wherever we go, and this is the process of manifesting God to the outside world. We are carriers of God’s presence. In the end, we are all sowers and reapers.

The Israelites journey and our journeys are representations of the flowing river of life that springs forth from the throne of God (Revelation 22:1). It is alive and flowing. Edom represents our flesh (the dependents of Lot and his daughter), and our flesh cannot be dealt with by spiritual warfare or deliverance. It must be slowly and deliberately dealt with by the work of the cross. As people often say, “YOU CANNOT CAST YOUR FLESH OUT OF YOU.” The Canaanites, however, represent the strongholds of evil spirits in our lives. We need to cast these out through spiritual warfare and God's help. These are not just a matter of relying on the work of the cross. Evil spirits must be cast out through deliverance. Thankfully, God is with us. We are able to deal with the flesh and renew our souls, while also driving out the enemy and breaking the enemy's strongholds.

Let’s take a deeper look at the symbolism of the incident with the rock. God stood before Moses when He asked Moses to strike the rock the first time (Exodus 17:6). This represents the work of Christ. The first generation is symbolic of one’s flesh being dealt with by the work of cross. The second generation deals with the transformation of the soul, which is the renewal and change of the soul in the wilderness. Striking the rock the first time is symbolic of our first encounter with Christ when we receive salvation and the Holy Spirit. Speaking to the rock the second time also produces water (the life of the Holy Spirit), but this is a representation of the work of the Holy Spirit in us. As we mature, we must be prepared to speak to the rock by faith so that the Holy Spirit can work in our lives. We move from a salvation experience to mature sons and daughters.

The wilderness represents a place of trials. We are reaching the end. The Israelites' journey in the wilderness was about to end, and Moses' sister Miriam had died. The trials in the wilderness and the thirst in the desert are environments created by God to cause us to hunger and thirst in our spirits. In other words, God designed the wilderness. Because of the dryness and thirst, the Israelites called on the Lord. In fact, this is a picture of what it looks like to yearn for being filled with the Holy Spirit. This is a thirst created by God. The purpose is to cause people to pursue the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Initially, Moses didn't understand this. Whether he missed this because he was in low spirits or simply impatient, Moses suffered the consequences for it.

Christians today can experience this spiritually. When your life or ministry is brought to a point where you find yourself thirsty, suffocated, disheartened and disappointed, remember that this is an environment God created for you to allow you to see that you need the living water brought by the infilling of the Holy Spirit. This living water alone will satisfy your hunger and thirst, and it will cause you to cry out for the abundance of the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, many people who carry a traditional understanding of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, fail to realize that this is a separate experience that follows salvation. Perhaps this is the mistake Moses made here. His restricted understanding toward old traditions caused him to miss out on God’s second blessing.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the second blessing Christians can receive. Many churches teach that we are filled with the Holy Spirit after we are saved, and that there is no second infilling. The Local Church Movement (LCM) teaches something similar. They believe that persons are baptized into the body of Christ once and for all because of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. They preach that it is through faith that one receives the baptism and infilling of the Holy Spirit subsequent to the salvation experience. Sometimes it’s unclear how to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit through faith. We may not clearly know what manifestations we are expecting to receive after being filled.

I tried to pursue the baptism of the Holy Spirit during my time with the LCM, but I wasn’t able to receive it. I only later received this baptism in a Charismatic church. After being baptized with the Holy Spirit, I experienced many external manifestations including stumbling (as a result of my inability to stand), speaking in tongues, receiving prophetic or other miraculous gifts, and experiencing electric currents flowing through my body. Not everyone who experiences the baptism of the Holy Spirit has the same external manifestations. I would be more concerned if there were no manifestation at all. An illustration by Derek Prince may be help us understand why this is. Prince called those who were baptized in the spirit but not speaking in tongues, elephants without a TRUNK or NOSE. It is possible that an elephant lacks a trunk due to an accident or abnormality, but the normal is that an elephant has a trunk. (After all, this is part of what makes an elephant an elephant!) In the same way, when a Christian does not speak in tongues, it does not mean they have not been baptized in the Spirit, but it should be natural that a believer can and will speak in tongues after they have been baptized. Speaking in tongues is proof that God’s Spirit has come upon them (as He did at Pentecost), and it’s important proof that one has been marked by the Spirit just as having a trunk is the marker and proof that one is an elephant. Of course, we can still tell if an animal is an elephant by seeing its big ears, big body, and other dominant characteristics, but the complete package is that an elephant has all these elements.

My experience even surprised me. When I was baptized with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit came upon me in such a way that I took a dozen steps back and fell to the ground. As I mentioned, I also experienced electric currents flowing through my head for several months. I received miraculous gifts, and I believe I can now more keenly discern things in the spiritual world. I also often have prophetic dreams of being taken to heaven and paradise. I believe that there is a second blessing Christians can receive called the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I personally believe that we receive the Holy Spirit upon faith in Jesus Christ and this marks the regeneration of a person’s spirit unto eternal life. This is what is referred to in John 20:22 (ESV): “And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” However, we only receive power from on high when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit as recorded in the book of Acts. I also believe we can receive different degrees of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in various stages of our lives. It is even possible that we were baptized in the Holy Spirit without us realizing it or showing signs of any manifestations including speaking in tongues. I do encourage people to practice speaking in tongues after one is baptized in the Holy Spirit. Thankfully, if you haven’t received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you can yearn for it and you’ll be able to receive it. This experience will completely change your Christian life.

At the end of our meeting, we prayed that God would strengthen us so that we would be able to face the various trials in our lives. May we receive God’s strength and the filling of the Holy Spirit for all kinds of trials—from Egypt to the wilderness and on to the Promised Land. Let us become sowers and reapers, and never stop preaching the aroma of God’s gospel wherever we may go. The aroma lets those who reject God’s gospel to die and those who accept God’s gospel to live (2 Corinthians 2:14-15). We also pray for the Holy Spirit to fill us so that we can not only deal with the flesh but break the enemy’s strongholds. It is difficult for us to break the enemy’s strongholds without the baptism and infilling of the Holy Spirit. I encourage you to pursue this today.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                   

Joseph‘s Branches Over the Wall - God‘s Hidden Plan for America

I have been fervently praying for America. There is a fierce spiritual battle going on in this country, and it often appears that the dark forces are winning. I am convinced of a different reality, however. Defeat is not the future of America. Though our natural eyes see a bleak situation, our eyes of faith allow us to see a spiritual reality of hope and restoration. Through countless dreams, God has shown me that a great revival is coming to many countries, including America and China. The intense spiritual battles that are going on around us are the enemy’s attempt to stop these future revivals, but God’s plans will not be defeated.

 

A few weeks ago, I was invited to lead an online Chinese Christian Bible study. This group had been reading the book of Deuteronomy and learning about Moses’ prophecies regarding the Twelve Tribes. The group didn't understand the meaning of these prophecies, so they invited me to share my perspective. The Holy Spirit led me to compare Moses’ prophecies with Jacob’s prophecies in Genesis 49. Both passages offer prophetic visions about the Twelve Tribes. I believed that comparing these two chapters would give them a better understanding. As we were talking about Jacob and Moses’ prophecies of Joseph, the Holy Spirit spoke though my mouth. I began to proclaim that America is the Joseph of today and that her branches run over the wall. Each Christian who is fighting for America can also be the Joseph of today. When countless “Josephs” strengthen their bows to resist the enemy, God will begin to save the world. The difficult environment that America is currently facing will be a catalyst for change. Countless Josephs can arise making America, the collective Joseph, even stronger.

 

I felt the Holy Spirit on these words to the group. In fact, I felt as if these were God’s hidden plans for America. As we examine this prophecy deeper, it becomes obvious that the Spirit was using pictorial language based on the biblical images of trees and branches. First, I was led to Genesis 49:22 which says, “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a fountain; His branches run over the wall.” The Holy Spirit explained this metaphor: Joseph represents America today. She is a fruitful bough. Her branches run over the wall, bearing abundant fruit all over the world. Although the archers (49:23) tried their best to attack her, her bows will be unmoved, and her arm will still be agile (49:24). God will certainly rise to help her (49:25) and bless her greatly. What a great thing to hear about the condition of America! God’s calling for America is also represented by Moses’ prophecy over Joseph: “His horns are the horns of a wild ox; with them he shall gore the peoples, all of them, to the ends of the earth” (Deuteronomy 33:17). This verse prophetically speaks about America’s role. They should continue to play the role of the “horns of the wild ox.” That is, they should spread the gospel to every country in the world and “gore” the people and nations who resist the Gospel.

 

Joseph Is A Fruitful Vine

Let’s look deeper at the prophetic implication of these verses in Genesis. The Bible says that Joseph is a fruitful bough. He’s a lovely vine by a fountain; his branches run over the wall (Genesis 49:22). Using the same metaphor, the Lord Jesus told us, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Joseph was a branch that depended on God as his vine. Joseph was the fruit of the prayers of his mother, Rachel, after an extended period of infertility. He was his father’s favorite, a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Joseph embraced the God of his fathers and his roots were Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham. He was firmly attached to the vine of God. Even after a series of life hardships, Joseph still flourished like a vine because he was deeply rooted in the soil. We don't know how Joseph spent his years in prison, but it is not hard to imagine that Joseph stayed connected to God through prayer. Hardship and the prayer it inspires, help us root our lives and identities in God.

 

Joseph’s Branches Run Over the Wall

One of my hobbies is planting fruit trees. I also enjoy reading articles about effective horticulture. On the internet, I saw pictures of a fruit tree planted close to the neighbors' yard. A heavy bough, laden with fruit, was hanging over the fence into the next yard. In many cases, tall courtyard walls hide the branches that spill over the wall into the next yard. Because of this, the owner of the fruit tree may not be able to see the fruit hanging on the branches in their neighbor's yard.

 

Joseph originally lived in Canaan with Jacob and his eleven brothers. Suddenly, his brothers attacked him, sold him to the Ishmaelites, and brought him to Egypt. Metaphorically, we can say that the archers (his brothers) attacked him. Later, Potiphar's wife (who was another archer used by the enemy) falsely accused him of rape and sent him to prison. Genesis 49:23 describes this series of tragedies: “The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him severely.” Why? Because Joseph had God’s calling on his life. God wanted to save the world through him. Because of God's calling on his life, evil spirits used humans to vigorously attack Joseph. These “archers” tried their best to attack Joseph. Psalm 105:18-19 says of Joseph, “His feet were hurt with fetters; his neck was put in a collar of iron; until what he had said came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him.”

 

But this suffering did not knock Joseph down. On the contrary, God was with him wherever he went. God helped him, strengthened him, and turned his life into a beautiful testimony of salvation. Through Joseph, the world was saved from famine. Because of his godliness, Joseph received the firstborn rights which the eldest son, Reuben, lost because of his immorality. Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, received double portions of the land and became two separate tribes of Israel. This fulfills the prophecy of Genesis 49:24: “Yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel).”

 

These words of prophecy were not solely heartfelt words of blessing from Jacob to his son Joseph, but they were also words inspired by God. Jacob went on, “By the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents, up to the bounties of the everlasting hills. May they be on the head of Joseph, and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers" (Genesis 49:25-26). In the life of Joseph, we see an example of God’s wishes for America.

 

America, A Modern-Day Joseph

If we as Christians are rooted in the Lord, we can become like Joseph, a fruitful vine that extends over the wall. Joseph does not just represent individuals but also countries that are called by God to witness for Him. In the Old Testament, Joseph represents Israel. God wanted Israel to be His witness to the nations in order to attract them to Him.

 

Today, Joseph represents America. America was founded so that Christians could worship Jesus freely. Modern-day America is like Israel in the Old Testament: a city on a hill, a light to the world, and a witness for Jesus Christ. I have often heard it said that since its founding, America is responsible for sending more financial aid and missionary witnesses than any country in history. America is a modern-day Joseph. Her branches run over the wall, bearing fruit outside her borders.

 

I came to the United States in 2002. Although there was a Gospel revival in China at that time, most of the revival took place in rural areas where the Chinese government’s control was less strict. In cities and universities, intellectuals have almost no or little chance to hear the Gospel. So, God created an environment, allowing many Chinese scholars to study in the US. It is estimated that half of the students from mainland China who came to the US received the Gospel. Almost every campus in the US maintains campus fellowship groups to preach the Gospel to Chinese students. These groups include Chinese Christians and Chinese churches but also American Christian campus ministries such as Campus Crusade. I was saved in one of these campus fellowship groups in Southern California.

 

Without America, I may not have received Christ. After I was saved, I continued to study Christian literature available in English. I am now currently finishing a Doctor of Ministry degree program. As I have studied, I realized that the richness of American Christianity rooted me more firmly in America and in the Christian traditions of Europe and the ancient church. Although we are all rooted in Christ directly, we are also rooted in our Christian traditions through our language and culture. Many Christian works have not yet been translated into Chinese, and I would not have been able to access this information were it not for English translations available in America. Through the English Christian classics, I have become rooted in thousands of years of Christian tradition.

 

Just like Joseph was rooted by the fountain, the United States is rooted in thousands of years of rich history of European Christian civilization. Their roots go all the way back to Paul's gospel work in Europe, which can be traced back to the ministry of Jesus Christ on earth. God has called America to be rooted by the fountain, like Joseph, and send her fruit-bearing branches over the wall to many nations. As a result, however, archers are attacking America severely. Evil spirits are finding numerous ways to shoot at her, seeking to lure her into sin. Through the sins of the flesh and of the worldly nations that are against America, evil spirits attack her simultaneously from both the inside and the outside. Their purpose is to cut down America, the expansive vine that is rooted in God.

 

America Will Not Be Taken Down!

After I received the revelation about America being like Joseph, I exclaimed, “Now, they are cutting America off from its roots, which is the same as cutting me off from my roots. They absolutely can’t do that! Not on my watch!” I explained to the Chinese Christians in the meeting why I felt so strongly to resist the opposition with my proclamation, “Not on my watch!” It’s not because I’m arrogant. Instead, it’s because I’ve made up my mind to become a modern-day Joseph. No matter how hard the archers try to attack us, we must remain unmoved. Our arms must remain agile because the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob will help us. He will bless us. He will bless America, just like he blessed Joseph. The all-sufficient God of Jacob will bless Joseph with blessings of heaven from above, blessings of the deep that lie beneath, and blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

 

Each Christian has the opportunity to stand as a modern-day Joseph. Meanwhile, America is the collective modern-day Joseph. Jacob’s blessings to Joseph surpass the blessings of Jacob's ancestors, reaching the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills; these blessings will be on Joseph's head and on the crown of the heads of those who are separated from their brothers (Genesis 49:25-26). These words are for Americans today. Although I thank God for using President Trump, he is not our salvation. Our salvation comes through the rising of the Church as every Christian becomes like Joseph. As each of us rises to become like Joseph, rooted in God, our branches will bear fruit, run over the wall, and make an impact on people outside the church walls. Our relatives, friends, and those who have not yet believed in the Lord will be reached by our low-hanging branches of Christian fruit and testimony.

 

Therefore, I said, “Don’t lose hope.” I encouraged the Chinese American Christians in that meeting. Because of the current difficulties, some of them were believing the lie that America was about to be defeated and abandoned by God. “God will not abandon America,” I said. America will not be defeated. America is Joseph. Although the archers are trying to attack her, her bow remains unmoved. As American Christians wake up, they will use their agile arms to fight back. The God of Jacob will help us. This is Jacob's prophecy to Joseph and it’s the Holy Spirit’s words for America today. If American Christians ever needed encouragement, it’s now. We Chinese believers are fruits of America’s branches that ran over the wall. America’s branches have borne countless fruits and have run all over the world.

 

I don't know about the rest of the world, but I know that in America and China alone, there are millions of Chinese Christians praying for America. We stand like Aaron and Hur, who held up Moses’ hands and prayed while Joshua was fighting his battle against his enemies. There are countless Christians in other countries praying that America (Joseph) will be able to fight her battles well. This battle will end with victory. God will definitely help America because God is the Shepherd and the Stone of Israel (and America as well) (Genesis 49:24).

 

Horns Of A Wild Ox

Moses’ prophecy to Joseph has some similarities to Jacob’s prophecy. In it, Joseph received all the blessings in heaven and on earth (Deuteronomy 33:13-15). Like Jacob, Moses described Joseph as a “prince among his brothers” (Deuteronomy 33:16). In addition, Joseph was described as “a firstborn bull—he has majesty, and his horns are the horns of a wild ox; with them he shall gore the peoples, all of them, to the ends of the earth; they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh” (Deuteronomy 33:17).

 

Joseph had authority and power. He was the steward in the house of Pharaoh in Egypt. His brothers bowed before him. Joseph dealt harshly with his brothers, even throwing Simeon in jail. In the end, he led his brothers to repent of their sins. Likewise, a modern-day Joseph will not only bring the Gospel of Life to the world but will also be a majestic bull with the horns of a wild ox. America is like Joseph in this respect as well. God has blessed her, and she has become the most powerful country in the world. She upholds justice and spreads the Gospel to the ends of the world. America will fiercely gore the nations and people who resist God and the Gospel, with the horns of a wild ox. This is why nations unite to try to knock America down. Unfortunately for them, God has already ordained Joseph's future and thus America’s too.

 

Written by Sean Song on October 19, 2021. (All scriptures are quoted from English Standard Version.)

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 26

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 26

Numbers 26 tells the story of the second generation of Israelites being counted. After the counting, God divided the Promised Land by lot. Why had the land already been divided when they hadn’t entered the Promised Land yet? God’s planned time had come and the Israelites had already been wandering in the wilderness for forty years. The first generation of Israelites had already been judged, so the second generation was tired and discouraged. God's grace and mercy were manifested at this time. He led them into the land He had promised. Although they had not yet entered the Promised Land, there is no concept of time to God. Thus, God divided the land by lot before they entered the Promised Land. Also, this time was a great encouragement to their faith, helping them have more faith in fighting against the evil spirits that occupied the Promised Land. Today, we will discuss God's perfect timing and sovereignty in the lives of both generations of Israel and in our own lives today.

God’s Promises vs. Our Experiences

This chapter starts with the Lord asking Moses to count the people of Israel a second time. The first count was in Numbers 1. At that time, the number of the people of Israel was 603,550. This time, the number of people was 601,730. These were two generations of Israelites. Both generations had a chance to enter the land the Lord promised them. But after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, the first generation fell in the wilderness because of unbelief. The second generation also had God’s promise that they would enter the Promised Land.

We must look at the problem from the perspective of the second generation. Like the first generation of Israelites, the second generation also experienced all kinds of unbelief, weakness, and failure. They might have thought, “The first generation also had the promise of God, but because of their unbelief, they were not able to enter the Promised Land. We have God's promise, but we also have failures, weaknesses, and unbelief. Will we also be disciplined by God and not be allowed to enter the Promised Land like the first generation?” It’s very normal to have this kind of thinking. For example, after God sent the flood to wipe out all humanity except Noah's family, He made a covenant with Noah with the sign of the rainbow, saying that He would never send a flood again to wipe out the earth. From here we see that God knows that people understood His warning. He made this covenant so that people would not fear His judgment by flood every time it rains. Similarly, the failure of the first generation of Israelites had a negative impact on the hearts of the second generation of Israelites.

Similar ideas have also emerged in the 2020 US election. Many Christians believed the prophecies of some prophets, saying that God chose Trump to be the President of the United States for eight consecutive years. But so far (as of March 11, 2021), this has not been fulfilled. Two attitudes emerged at this time. One attitude says that these were false prophecies. Some of the prophets who made such prophecies apologized and admitted their mistakes. Another attitude says that the prophecy was not wrong. Trump was indeed elected, but the election was stolen. These people believe that God is working behind the scenes to miraculously bring Trump back to the White House.

There is a further breakdown of beliefs among the Christians who believe in the prophecy that God chose Trump. One side believes that we didn’t repent enough, so God didn’t intervene. He handed us over to the enemy so that we would repent more. Many of God’s prophetic words are conditional. For example, God wanted to destroy Nineveh. But if Nineveh repented, God would change His mind. Similarly, God promised the first generation of Israelites that they could enter the Promised Land, but because they failed to meet the conditions of having faith, God did not bring them into the Promised Land.

Others believe that we do have enough people to repent. If Sodom had had ten righteous people, God promised to not destroy it. Currently, there are more than ten people in the United States who are repenting, and there are Christians all over the world who are praying for the United States and Trump. Because the United States has been a major light for the gospel, Christians all over the world hope that the United States can continue to be ruled by those who support Christians and the gospel. Therefore, it is not that God does not interfere with what happens here on earth, but that He has greater wisdom. He does not “play chess” according to our time and thinking. God's prophecy to save America this time is not conditional, but unconditional. The time of God has come. God wants to release a great revival in the United States and in the rest of the world. His interference is unstoppable.

Conditional vs. Unconditional Promises

Is the prophecy about the second generation of Israel entering the Promised Land conditional or unconditional? Let’s consider this in detail. First, let’s review. When Moses struck the rock the first time, God was angry and punished Moses, saying that he did not uphold Him as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel. When Korah and others rebelled, God severely judged the first generation of Israel. But when Moses hit the rock the second time, the second generation of Israelites were the ones who wanted water. God was unwilling to severely judge the second generation of Israelites because they were spiritual infants, and God's grace and mercy were far greater than His judgment on them. In our spiritual experience, the first generation of Israelites represents our old man, while the second generation of Israelites represents our immature life in Christ. Both have weaknesses and flesh, but the natures of the two are completely different. In this matter, God definitely abided by His prophetic words and brought the second generation of Israelites into the Promised Land.

It is precisely because of this, and the fact that there is no time to God, that God divided the land by lot in the wilderness for the second generation of Israelites before they entered the Promised Land. This was to increase their faith and ability, and for them to be able to fight and defeat God’s enemies when entering the Promised Land. The time of God had come. He had commanded the Israelites to wander in the wilderness for forty years. Therefore, regardless of the second generation of Israelites’ weaknesses, God had to lead them into the Promised Land. In other words, God’s promises to the first generation of Israelites were conditional. They were not united by faith with those who listened (Hebrews 4:2)^[1], and therefore could not enter the Land God had promised. But this prophecy was unconditional for the second generation, because God's sovereignty arranged them to enter the Promised Land at that time.

The Location of the Second Counting

After looking at God's timing, we will look at the importance of where they were. Let's look at two scriptures that the Holy Spirit illuminated to me as I studied this passage. The first verse is Numbers 26:3, "Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with the Israelites in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho…" This verse talks about the place where Moses and the priest counted the Israelites. Similarly, verse 26:63 repeated this phrase and said, "These were those listed by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who listed the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho." We all know that one written word of the Bible is worth a thousand pieces of gold. The Bible is written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. If it is not absolutely necessary, it was not recorded in the Bible. The apostle John said, “If every one of the things which Jesus did were to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25). From this point of view, the words repeated in the Bible must have a very important meaning. Otherwise there is absolutely no need to repeat them. Therefore, from this principle, it is very meaningful that Numbers 26 repeated the place where the counting happened.

Moab is the descendant of incest between Lot and his daughter. It is a representation of our flesh and sins in the flesh. Jericho is a city occupied by the Canaanites, the enemies of God. It represents the evil spirits and the strongholds that the evil spirits build in us. The Jordan River is a dividing line that separates the wilderness from the Promised Land. The Israelites had to cross the Jordan River to leave the wilderness and enter the land promised by God. In our spiritual experience, crossing the Jordan River represents our spiritual victory of overcoming the world, our flesh, and sin; being able to enter the abundant spiritual life God has prepared for us; being able to break the evil spirits and the strongholds built by the evil spirits in us; and defeating our spiritual enemies. This spiritual representation applies not only to the spiritual experience of individual Christians, but also to the collective spiritual experience of the Church.

Therefore, the place where the Israelites were counted has a very special spiritual significance. We can imagine ourselves as the Israelites here. They had been wandering in the flesh and in the wilderness for forty years. They were full of failures and weaknesses. But they also had God's promise and His presence. On the one hand, the place where God wanted to lead them was the land He had promised. But on the other hand, it was occupied by the enemy. The fear and lack of faith of the first generation of Israelites led to God’s anger and discipline, preventing them from entering the Promised Land. The Jordan River was also in front of them. Although the Jordan River is not as big as the Red Sea, they didn't know if God would perform miracles and dry up the Jordan River for them to cross over. They had seen their parents fail. They were also tired and discouraged, not knowing whether God would bring them into the Promised Land according to what He had promised them.

Not only do many Christians in the United States feel this way about the election, but many individual Christians also have similar situations in their lives. How many people have God's words, but are still unsure if God will fulfill His promises? This includes personal prophetic words, or universal prophetic words in the Bible (for example, “by His stripes, we are healed”). Many people believe that God will fulfill His promises, but the fulfillment is delayed. I think this is many people’s experience. In this US election, some people who believed in the prophetic words about Trump’s reelection feel this way. Is it true that God promised that Trump would be re-elected? If God really promised this, is it a conditional promise or an unconditional promise? Many people are confused.

I personally feel that God’s promise to the second generation of Israelites here is an unconditional promise. In God’s sovereignty this was the time, arrangement, and place He had planned. So, no matter the weaknesses and failures of this generation of Israelites, God would sustain them as they entered the Promised Land. He does the same for us in situations we face. We may be bound by our flesh, but He brings us into His promises and helps us defeat the enemies that lie ahead. 

How God Encourages

God's comfort and encouragement were very important at this time. God had to let the second generation of Israelites know clearly that it was His sovereign plan to bring them into the Promised Land. As God was with Moses, He promised to be with them and also with Joshua. The goal of prophecy is upbuilding, encouragement, and consolation (1 Corinthians 14:3). Prophecy is not to prove how accurate someone prophesying can be or to prove that we are able to foresee what God will do. The goal of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus Christ because His testimony is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10). Prophecy is the light in the darkness. Peter said, "We have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;" (2 Peter 1:19).

When people who prophesy focus on themselves, they often make mistakes because the focus of prophecy should not be on us, but on Jesus’ testimony and on consolation, upbuilding, and encouraging the discouraged.

For example, let’s look at modern day prophecies. Although the prophecies about Trump have caused a lot of controversy, many people who prophesy have apologized for their “false prophecies”. Unfulfilled prophecies do not mean that we should no longer prophesy or pay attention to God's prophetic words. On the contrary, we need to pay more attention to God's prophetic words and the people who share them. But what we must focus on is Jesus’ testimony and strengthening, comforting, and encouraging others. When we prophesy and release prophetic words, we must understand God's heart and His love. When we rebel against God in the flesh, God will discipline us. His promises may be delayed because of our unbelief and rebellion. In this case, the prophecies seem to be conditional. It is about whether we have faith or not.

Even if we are weak in the flesh or are discouraged with ourselves and reality, God's faithfulness and power will give us strength. Although God disciplines us, His purpose is to love us and help us be spiritually mature, not to make us fall. Therefore, when we are weak, He stretches out His steadfast hand to give us support. In the end, we will win spiritual battles not by relying on our flesh, but by the mercy and faithfulness of God, who will sustain us to the end. Whether it is a Red Sea moment for the first generation of the Israelites or a Jordan River moment for the second generation of the Israelites, the prophecies are unconditional. It is about God’s faithfulness to us. Remember that the Bible tells us, “If we are faithless, he remains faithful.” (2 Timothy 2:13)

In the Flesh or in the Spirit?

So, it is not a question of true or false prophecies, but a question of whether we are in the flesh. Similarly, it is not the law’s fault, but whether the person who obeys the law is of the flesh or the spirit. If we set our mind on the flesh, it is death, but if we set our mind on the Spirit, it is life and peace (Romans 8:6). God’s prophecy for the first generation of Israelites was not wrong. But because the Israelites were in the flesh, full of unbelief and rebellion, they were not united by faith with God’s promise. So, this promise could not be fulfilled. But the flesh of the second generation of Israelites had already been dealt with to a considerable extent after forty years in the wilderness. Although they still had their flesh, God's mercy and faithfulness held them back, allowing them to manifest God’s strength and power when their flesh was weak.

As David said, "The battle is the Lord's" (1 Samuel 17:47). 2 Chronicles 20:2 records the Moabites and Ammonites attacking Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. If the Jews represent our spiritual person, and the Moabites and Ammonites represent our flesh, we can see that the disturbances and harm of the flesh toward our spirit lasts for a long time. Even after we arrive at the Promised Land, we have to face the evil spirits and strongholds (represented by the Canaanites). We also need to face the bondage of the flesh. Faced with such a situation, Jehoshaphat said to the Israelites: "Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed." (2 Chronicles 20:20) Jehoshaphat led the Israelites to pray and praise the Lord, and they won the battle. We also need this in our spiritual journeys today.

In summary, when the time of wandering in the wilderness had passed and it was time for the second generation of Israelites to cross the Jordan, God confirmed His promise to them and brought them into the Promised Land. The spiritual meaning of counting the Israelites is like when the angel measured the temple in the Old Testament (Ezekiel 40:5). The purpose of it was to check and inspect the spiritual condition of the Israelites. Only God can measure us. In God’s eyes, when David counted the Israelites, he sinned seriously. When God was there to count the Israelites, the spiritual condition of the Israelites was measured on the scale. The Canaanites' sin had also reached its full measure, so God's time had come. Therefore, the scale has been tipped toward the judgment of darkness and evil. You can see this picture again in Revelation 8. When the prayers of the saints collected on the golden altar became full to a certain extent, the judgment of God poured down. We also know everything has a season (Ecclesiastes 3:1). The season of chastising in the wilderness was 40 years and it was fulfilled. So, God brought them into the Promised Land.

At the beginning of the Book of Numbers, God did a counting. That counting manifested the result of God's power in saving the Israelites from Egypt. The second counting manifested the result of God’s power in dealing with the Israelites in the wilderness for forty years. The former represents saving us from sin; the latter represents saving us from the world and our flesh. The last two verses of this chapter say: "But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. For the Lord had said of them, ‘They shall die in the wilderness.’ Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.” (Numbers 26:64-65) These two verses show what we have discussed. In the eyes of God, the first generation of unbelievers had already died in the wilderness, and Aaron had also died. It was Moses and Eleazar the priest, the son of Aaron, who counted the Israelites this time. God's anger had also subsided. His faithfulness and mercy led the second generation of Israelites into the land He had promised them. The spiritual meaning of it is that our flesh has been crucified with Christ (crossing the Red Sea) and has been disciplined by the Holy Spirit (wandering in the wilderness and crossing the Jordan River).

Dear Christian, are you discouraged today by the situation of the world, politics, and the state of the church? Do you question whether God's promises will really be fulfilled? Do you think your weaknesses and flesh are greater than God's promise? I personally feel that the church has reached the end of flesh today, just like the end of the wilderness. God will lead us to experience a breakthrough, which is leaving the wilderness, crossing the Jordan River, entering the Land He promised, and defeating His enemies. The great revival is coming, and the political situation of the world is going to change drastically. Everything is for the development and effectiveness of the Gospel. Fellow believer, don't be disappointed and discouraged. God's faithfulness and mercy will never change. When we are discouraged and weak, He gives us His support and manifests His power. If we wait in prayer, praise, and belief in God and His prophets, we will surely triumph in the final battle. The battle is not ours, but the Lord’s!

We are entering a different age that God has planned for us to walk into. It is beyond a worldwide revival. Some people call it the third Great Awakening (as compared to the previous two Great Awakenings in the history of American Christianity). Others say that it is the second Reformation movement (as compared with the history of Martin Luther’s Reformation movement). It has been over 500 years since the Reformation. I personally believe that God has shifted us into a second reformation movement which may comprise a great revival in the church and societal transformation worldwide. Nothing can stop this as this is God’s sovereign plan. In prophetic dreams, God has shown me many details about the future revival of China and how it affects the world. After this revival, China will become a democratic nation that worships God. God has also made many personal promises to me about my role during the coming great revivals in both China and America. I have been preparing for this all my life. Don’t tell me they are not coming, as I have seen them in the spirit many times. In my view, the prophecies about Trump and American politics are unconditional. Though it looks backwards in the physical world right now, it is a setback that the enemy sent. It is NOT ABOUT Trump or politics. It is about stopping the coming revivals and reformation. I don’t know how or when God will change American politics to an administration who promotes God and the Gospel. But what I do know is this will happen. If you have an administration who promotes unbiblical values, it is like a train going in the wrong direction. The purpose is to stop the coming of this revival and reformation. I know this revival is unstoppable. The direction of this train must change. Please watch and see how our God will do the impossible.

Written by Jairus Bible World Ministries on March 11, 2021

 

 

 

[1] All Scripture quotations are taken from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.

Phinehas’ in Today’s Church Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 25

Phinehas’ in Today’s Church

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 25

While preparing for tonight’s bible study, the Holy Spirit suddenly highlighted Numbers 25:4 (ESV) to me. I was drawn to the part where the Lord asked Moses to kill all the chiefs, but Moses asked the judges to kill all the idolaters instead. The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the Lord, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.”

Phinehas Stops the Plague

Details about how Moses and the judges killed people were not recorded. Instead, the Bible records Moses and the people of Israel weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. We assume that the plague had already occurred by this time. Suddenly, Phinehas came and killed a Midianite woman and the leader of a Simeonite family. It’s only at this moment that the plague stopped. I mentioned that the current COVID-19 outbreak is also a plague. There have been many sins committed throughout American history. These include abortion, homosexuality, the African slave trade, the Indian massacre, people straying from God, and schools not allowing the Bible to be taught. These sins bring God's judgment. The "Phinehas’" of the Church must stand up against these and say no to injustices and all kinds of wickedness. We must not allow authority to be given to evil spirits. When we strongly stand in opposition, God's anger and the plague will stop and His blessing will come.

We know from previous verses that the anger of the Lord broke out against Israel when the Israelites indulged in sexual immorality with Moabite women and when they worshiped the idols of the Moabites. However, I never noticed that the Lord asked Moses to kill all the chiefs in daylight so that the anger of the Lord would be averted.

Since the Holy Spirit had highlighted this verse, I continued reading to find out more. I realized that Moses did not kill all the chiefs, or at least it was not recorded here. Rather, he asked the judges of Israel to kill all those who joined in on worshipping idols. Strangely, the verse also does not record that the judges of Israel publicly executed the people as the verse indicates. We only read that Moses and the whole congregation of the people of Israel wept at the entrance. My guess is that neither Moses nor the judges could kill their loved ones. Since the plague may have already broken out by this time, perhaps many Israelites had already died because of the plague.

Right about this time, unexpectedly, an Israelite man brought a Midianite woman to his family “right before them.” The Bible uses the words "and behold" in the sixth verse of this chapter to describe the man’s action. In modern spoken language, this means this man was asking for trouble—he was flaunting his sinful act with the Midianite woman openly. When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation. He immediately took a spear and killed the Israelite and the Midianite woman. Then, the plague stopped. The Lord said that because Phinehas was jealous with God’s jealousy for the Israelites, the Lord would not consume the Israelites in His jealousy. That is, Phinehas’s zeal for God’s people to be holy was sufficient to halt God’s need to execute his jealousy. Therefore, the Lord blessed Phinehas and gave His covenant of peace to him and his descendants. The Lord stated, "It shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel" (ESV, Numbers 25:13).

The Covid-19 Plague

I mentioned to our group that thousands of people have died from COVID-19 in the United States. Shouldn’t this already be considered a plague? On one hand, this plague is an attack from the enemy. I believe this is from the enemy as an attempt to limit church gatherings and hinder the coming of God's revival. On the other hand, since God is allowing it to happen, it also shows that God's judgment is somewhere in it. How can we stop this plague?

Many people’s attitude towards this plague is one of blame. They want to blame certain people for poor leadership, and/or blame other countries. While some people may be responsible, this perspective focuses on the problems pertaining to the physical realm and not the spiritual realm. The root cause of the plague, on a spiritual level, is that people in this era, both China and the United States, have committed spiritual fornication. Therefore, in the physical realm, we suffer for it. People must wear masks, maintain 6 feet of social distance, and be injected with the coronavirus vaccine. Meanwhile, they ignore the spiritual root of the plague. If the spiritual root is not removed, it will be difficult to eradicate COVID-19. The spiritual root of COVID-19 is the same as the story in this chapter of Numbers. The world and churches, including the American church, have fallen because they have committed the sin of spiritual fornication.

But you might say that this virus came from China, so China should be blamed. Again, this makes sense in the physical realm, but not in the spiritual realm. Why? Because it would not be right to say that one nation would suffer for the sins of another. We can say that because of China's sins, idolatry, and its resistance to God, the plague came to China. However, if the United States was a country that lived in God’s perfect will, and Americans and churches lived free from spiritual fornication, then God would protect America from the plague because Psalm 91 tells us that those who take refuge in the Lord are people that have no fear of the terror of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday (ESV, Psalm 91:6). If we live according to God’s will, God will send His angels to protect us and He will not let us strike our feet against a stone.

America Has Sinned

We must admit that America has committed many sins. Some of these sins have penetrated society and become so-called "political correctness." Christians do not dare to speak against them. They even say that tolerating and accepting all people, even homosexuals and transgenders, is part of American culture. We are told we should love everyone. While we should love homosexuals and transgender people, as Christians, we should not accept immoral behavior. Many Christians dare not to speak up, and they continue giving in to the status quo. When we continue to compromise with fornication, evil, rejecting God, not allowing prayer and study of the Bible in schools, and aborting babies, we gradually join these people in worshipping idols.

There is a spiritual battle behind abortion, just as it was described in the Old Testament when Pharaoh wanted to kill all the Israelite boys and Baal wanted to use children for sacrifices. Satan and evil spirits come to steal, kill, and destroy. Child sacrifice is often demanded by certain evil spirits. This is just an example, but many Christians do not dare to say "no" to secular culture and cultural things that are unbiblical like abortion. Jesus described what would happen. Over time, the salt loses its taste and usefulness. Salt is meant to disinfect and cleanse. Phinehas acted as salt and his action made atonement for the Israelites.

The fundamental problem in American society is that the Church has forfeited its authority and place of influence. Therefore, when God comes to deal with America, His first method will be to deal with His Church. As the current plague judges the United States, there is a need for the Church’s "Phinehas" to stand up and intercede by saying "no" to spiritual fornication and idolatry. This Phinehas must strongly stand for what is right and be jealous for God's Church and His chosen people. Only by courageously challenging evil and sinful practices and structures, even challenging the churches and believers who have sinned, may we please God. If many Phinehas’ in the Church would stand up, we would be able to make atonement for the Church and American society. This would please God and stop the plague.

Many Christians who yearn for the return of the United States to its Christian foundations, support Donald Trump as a president because they see that Trump acknowledges God and supports and agrees with certain Christian values and principles. Many Christians were disheartened and disappointed when the election results surfaced, myself included. On January 5, 2021, I was very surprised seeing the election results. Yet, I had a dream that morning. I dreamt about a person fishing. This mysterious person held a fishing rod, but I couldn't see who he was. A fish had already been hooked, but the person holding the fishing rod was sliding the fish. A child in front of him held the line to help slide the fish. Fish-sliding is a common method in fishing. After a fish is hooked, the fish is not taken out of the water immediately. One should first slide the fish so that the fish's strength gradually diminishes. Only then does the fisher find a suitable opportunity to bring the fish up. If you bring the fish up immediately after the fish is hooked, it is easy for it to get off the hook and swim away. The revelation I received from the Holy Spirit regarding this dream was, “Do not be anxious, the fish has already been hooked, but you should slide it for a while before you can bring it up.”

I think this relates to the recent election. Many people were disappointed after Congress certified Biden's electoral votes and inaugurated him on January 20^th. Christians across the US prayed for Trump to be re-elected, but when he failed to win, they began to wonder whether it was really God’s will for him to be re-elected. They began to even criticize the prophets for making false prophecies. Many prophets even apologized afterward for making false prophecies. However, some other prophets and Christians did not. They still firmly believe this battle is not over. They look forward to the time when God miraculously intervenes and brings Trump back to the White House.

Recently, I was listening to a program on the Victory Channel called Flash Point. The host interviewed Pastor Bill Johnson and his wife Beni. Beni mentioned that when she prayed and sought God about the election, God told her to wait. Many prophets, including her and Kat Kerr, believe this battle is not over. Kat Kerr even said that God took her to the future where she saw that Trump had eventually won and God's chosen people went out to the streets to cheer. She also said that God told her to eat cake and celebrate this victory.

When Trump was in the White House, many people were against him and betrayed him. Things didn’t go smoothly. Although God raised him up to help Christians and help America return to faith in God, Trump couldn’t then and cannot now solve all our problems. Let’s consider his re-election: if Trump is successfully re-elected, and if the leftists still make things difficult for him, how much will he be able to do in the next four years? Or, if Trump is successfully re-elected and the Church is not revived after four years, won’t those on the left side continue to oppose God? Won’t they get stronger? Unfortunately, Trump cannot be president another four years after that, so who can American Christians rely on? We have to turn to God. Trump was and is simply a judge for a time. Like in the Old Testament, he was raised up by God to free God’s chosen people from control and turn their face back to the Lord. We certainly have to thank God for raising up the judges because the judges were greatly used by God for saving the Israelites and for bringing justice. But let’s not forget the fundamental reason why the Israelites were handed over to the enemy. The fundamental reason is that they turned away from God and worshipped idols. That’s why God handed them over to the enemy.

Let’s review. When oppressed by the enemy, the Israelites called for God's salvation. God helped them in the form of judges who were sent to bring justice and reverse the oppression. However, after they were saved, the Israelites returned to committing idolatry. Trump for a time served America and sought to put God back into the conversation of law and society. Now that he is no longer president, will American Christians continue to fight for what is right or will they surrender? It is not that God does not want to intervene, but God is using all these circumstances to cleanse the church and raise up Phinehas’ among the Church.

So, the Lord asked Moses to kill all the chiefs, but Moses did not take any action. Moses asked the judges to kill all idolaters, but the judges did not take action either. But Phinehas took action, and he killed the adulterous Midianite and the Israelite. His action greatly pleased God. Not only did it stop the plague, but it also moved God to promise him and his descendants a covenant of peace.

Where are the Phinehas’ Today?

What does the United States need today? You are making a mistake if you are putting all your hope in Trump. I still choose to believe that Trump will miraculously come back and fight on behalf of the Christians in the political realm, but if each believer in Christ does not learn to fight and become a Phinehas, Trump alone will not give us the results we want. However, Christians together can stop the plague and receive a covenant of peace from God. What action can we take for this to happen? We need to be the Phinehas of today's Church. Every Christian should rise and be salt. We should not compromise our commitment to God’s Word by mingling with the world, fornicating, committing sin, and worshiping idols. We should dare to say "no" to things that are not in line with the Bible. My advice is that we should be zealous for the churches in the United States with God’s jealousy, presenting churches in the United States as a pure and innocent virgin to Christ. When each of us rises and does this, it will greatly please God. God will then remove this plague and make a covenant of peace with America.

Dear American Christians: do not keep your eyes fixed on Trump. Rather, keep your eyes fixed on God. Pray, repent, and reflect on these things before God: Is there sin in our churches and among ourselves? Are we compromising the teachings of Christ? Have we been submitting to darkness? Do we testify about Christ anytime and anywhere in our daily lives, or are we afraid about what others think of us? I don't know when and how God will intervene on our behalf, but I know that we must be strong to be the Phinehas’ of today's church. I will no longer compromise with the world, nor submit to darkness. I'm not encouraging everyone to use violent methods—I am talking about the prohibition of spiritual fornication. It’s not a battle in the flesh but a battle in the spirit.

I prophesied that many Phinehas’ would soon rise up from our churches to overturn the curses and make room for God’s blessings. Behold, the victory is coming soon. As God told Kat Kerr, “Celebrate and eat cake!” The great victory will soon appear, and on the horizon are countless Phinehas’ arising. You can be one of them!

Written by Jairus Bible World Ministries on January 31, 2021