Bible Study With Jairus

Bible Study With Jairus - Numbers 8

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 8

Numbers 8 has two different stories. The first story is about Jehovah instructing Moses and Aaron how to place the lamps in the golden lampstand.  Numbers 8:2 (ESV) records: "Speak to Aaron and say to him, when you set up the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand." We keyed in on the phrase, "the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand."  The lamps must light in front of the lampstand.  The second story is about Jehovah telling Moses how Aaron should offer the Levites as a wave offering.  The main verse we discussed at this meeting was verse 11 (ESV), "Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that they may do the service of the Lord."  The phrase that stood out was Aaron offering the Levites as a wave offering.

Why were the Levites presented as a wave offering?  The wave offering could be unleavened bread (ESV, Exodus 29:23) and the breast of the ram (ESV, Exodus 29:26).  Unleavened bread was to be burned on the altar on top of the burnt offering before the Lord (ESV, Exodus 29:25).  After the breast of the ram was waved, it could be returned to Aaron and his sons.  Here it said that Aaron would offer the Levites as a wave offering. We understand that this is a spiritual representation. So, are the Levites like the unleavened bread, or the breasts of the ram, or both?  Maybe both.  But why would they be offered as a wave offering from the Israelites?  Why not let other animals from the herd or the flock be offered as a wave offering instead of the Levites?

Numbers 8 mentions that when the Levites were offered as a wave offering, they needed to be sprinkled with the water of purification, to shave, and wash their clothes (Numbers 8:7, ESV). They shall take a bull from the herd and its grain offering, and another bull from the herd for a sin-offering (Numbers 8:8, ESV).  They shall use one for a sin offering to the LORD and the other for a burnt offering, to make atonement for the Levites (Numbers 8:12, ESV). The Levites shall offer them as a wave offering to the Lord (Numbers 8:13, ESV). The reason the Levites were treated as a wave offering was that "the Levites shall be mine" (Numbers 8:14, ESV) and "in place of the firstborn of all the people of Israel" (Numbers 8:16, ESV).  Because "On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself" (Numbers 8:17, ESV), "I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel." (Numbers 8:18, ESV).  Then the Levites could do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting and make atonement for the people of Israel, so that there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel come near the sanctuary (Numbers 8:19, ESV).

A man in our study asked, "What is the practical spiritual significance of the Levites' story of being wave offering to Christians today?  Christians can now approach God's throne of grace with confidence (Hebrews 4:16, NIV), and we don't need an intermediary as the Levites did."

To answer this question, we need to take a closer look at Numbers 8:11 (NIV), "Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that they may do the service of the Lord."

Aaron's work is to serve God in the Holy of Holies, which represents our spiritual life living before God to serve God Himself.  There are very few such people around.  I saw a conversation between our Heavenly Father and Anna Rountree. He asked her to eat the food in His hands and even told her that there were very few people serving Him in the Holy of Holies.

An English Christian named Margaret E. Barber greatly influenced Watchman Nee. When she read Ezekiel 44:9-26, it talked about some Levites wandering away from God; thus, they could only serve in the temple.  But the sons of Zadok never left God's sanctuary, so God allowed them to serve Him.  When Margaret read this story, she knelt and prayed that she was willing to be a person serving God forever and not serving only in the temple.  Watchman Nee told this story with the hope that fellow believers would grow in their spiritual lives, have a deeper relationship with God, and serve Him in the Holy of Holies.

It's in the Holy of Holies that one serves God.  There is no natural light in the Holy of Holies. No one can see what you've done. It's just like when you pray behind closed doors at home, seeking to serve God every day. No one would know how much work you have done for God. You also can't see how much you have achieved. But God knows because you are serving God Himself. Serving Him in the Holy of Holies is mainly to become a friend of God, have fellowship with Him and intercede for people. Serving God in the Holy of Holies represents the highest spiritual life.

The ministry in the sanctuary is divided into several layers. The descendants of the Levites, the Kohathites, were responsible for carrying the things in the sanctuary, including the ark, etc.  Although they served in the sanctuary, they directly helped the priests (Aaron and his sons)  in serving God. The Gershonites and Merarites were closer to the outer courtyard. They were responsible for carrying the things in the outer courtyard of the tabernacle.

Aaron and Zadok were also Levites. But not all Levites could serve God in the Holy of Holies. Many Levites, such as the Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites, served in the temple of God and the chosen people of God on different stages.

Aaron and the high priest, who served God in the Holy of Holies, represent our closeness and fellowship with God in the spirit.  The Levites, who served in the sanctuary,  lit the lamps, replaced the bread of the Presence, and burned the incense. The work at this stage represents the cleansing work in the soul.  The Levites who served the Israelites in the outer courtyard were mainly preparing the sacrifices such as the herds and the flocks,  which represents the cleansing of sin in our flesh.

Therefore, the different services in the Holy of Holies, sanctuary, and the outer courtyard represent the spiritual life and spiritual service of Christians in three different stages. Most people's spiritual life and spiritual service are in the outer courtyard.  The service in the outer courtyard isn't bad, because many people are needed to preach the gospel and testify of the redemption of Jesus Christ. Outer courtyard people will also help unbelievers prepare sacrifices, which include a repentant heart and a broken spirit (Psalm 51), dedicated to God so that they can be cleansed from their sins and please God. But this does not mean that preaching the gospel or serving in the outer courtyard is enough.

In addition to allowing Christians to preach the gospel and bring people to salvation, God also calls us to enter His holiness and glory, and participate in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4, NIV).  So, in addition to dealing with sins, we also have to undergo changes in the soul. For example, Romans 12:1 (NIV) Let us offer our bodies as a living sacrifice and pleasing to God, which is our reasonable service.  Verse 2 goes on to say, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will." "Renewing of your mind" is specially mentioned here. It is a change and sanctification of the soul.

The Local Church Movement, where I was saved, focuses on pursuing holiness through teaching the renewal of the mind.  I am currently a Doctor of Ministry student at the United Theological Seminary. I have come into contact with many believers of the United Methodist Church. Many teachers and classmates have a United Methodist background. They told me that John Wesley also focused on teaching holiness.  The Pentecostal Movement was also born from the "Holiness Movement," which was influenced by John Wesley.  But the modern-day Pentecostal Movement is not known for pursuing holiness.  It isn't limited to the Pentecostal Movement, but it seems like as a whole, Western Christianity does not pay enough attention to holiness. I am very grateful to the Local Church Movement for teaching us the pursuit of spiritual growth, especially the change of soul-life. I also want to thank my friends in the United Methodist Church for sharing John Wesley's teaching about holiness.

From my observation, in the United States, there are many Christians who are saved yet cannot overcome sin.  Even fewer live a holy life, never entering into the Holy of Holies to serve God. God isn't pleased with this situation. If Hebrews 4:16 says that we can boldly enter the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus Christ, why is it that many Christians have not entered the Holy of Holies in experience?

Jesus Christ has re-opened our way to the tree of life or opened our way of entering the Holy of Holies to meet God. But it doesn't mean that you will automatically enter into the Holy of Holies. Madame Guyon said that coming near to God is as natural as balloons flying in the air. But if the balloon is tied to a stone, it can't fly up into the sky. The sins in our lives and the uncleanness in our souls are just like these stones. They will prevent us from entering the Holy of Holies.  Therefore, we need to confess our sins and experience the renewal of our minds to remove our sins and uncleanness. This is a pathway to enter the Holy of Holies and draw near to God.

So with this understanding, we can say that the role of the Levites here as a wave offering from the Israelites is like "renewing the mind" or purifying the soul.  First of all, this is not merely an offering to make atonement in the outer courtyard. Those offerings in the outer courtyard are usually sin offerings and guilt offerings, but it is clearly stated that the Levites were offered as a wave offering by the Israelites.  The meaning of this wave offering is like what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:12 (NIV), "Death is at work in us, but life is at work in you." The Levites were offered as a wave offering to replace the firstborn of Israel.  When God led the Israelites out of Egypt, the firstborn of Israel were considered dead.  The firstborn of Israel were saved because of the lamb, which is a type of Jesus Christ. Therefore, they were redeemed by the blood of His Son, the Lamb of God. Similarly, the Levites were redeemed by the blood of His Son, the Lamb of God.

Here, the Levites were offered by Aaron as a wave offering from the Israelites. We, too, should experience more of being dead in the soul life.  As the Lord Jesus said, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it." (NIV, Matthew 16:24-25). Our church and Christians (represented by the Levites) must experience more of the lessons of the cross to have more power to become the sacrifice for more sinners (represented by the Israelites), allowing them to be forgiven from sins and be born again.

The real sacrifice is Jesus Christ, the flawless lamb and high priest, which is what Aaron represents. But we are brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, helping Him to serve God. It's just like the mission of the Levites was to help Aaron to serve God.  So, when we are willing to experience a change in our soul and the renewal of our minds, not conforming to the pattern of this world, we will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:2, NIV).

Talking about the experience of the cross is not a very popular topic in American Christianity today. But it is an indispensable way for our spiritual life to be deeply rooted and enter the Holy of Holies to serve God.  Therefore, Numbers 8:11 described this picture.  Aaron (who represents our spirit or Christ) needs to offer the Levites (who represent our soul) as a wave offering, which is both a burnt offering (completely burned to ashes, absolutely for God). as well as a sin offering (removing our sins).  This lesson of the cross was so that the Levites could help the Israelites be free from sin.Today, the church is the light and salt of the world.  If we won't be the light, how can the world see the light? The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV): "You are the light of the world.  A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.   Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

This is the same as what Numbers 8:2-3 (ESV) says: "Speak to Aaron and say to him, When you set up the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand." And Aaron did so; he set up its lamps in front of the lampstand, as the Lord commanded Moses."

Here the Lord commanded Moses to tell Aaron that the seven lamps shall give light in front of the lampstand, to let the light shine on those who come to the sanctuary.  Actually, the work of the Levites was to shine and let the light of God shine before others.  The service of the priest in the sanctuary includes tending the lamps, repairing the channels to the lamps, and refilling the lamps.  The purpose was to light the lamp.  We are the lamp of God.  As the Bible says, "The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all his innermost parts." (ESV, Proverbs 20:27). This verse is a better illustration of the work of our spirit (represented by Aaron), which is to search all our innermost parts (the soul is represented by the Levites).  When we are willing to let Aaron tend this light, illuminate our inner being (which is our soul), and experience the renewal and change of our soul-life, darkness is removeed in the soul and prevents obstruction for the light of God to shine in our spirit.  Our light can then shine before others (Matthew 5:16), and people can be freed from darkness and sins and enter God's salvation.

Today, the Spirit of God has lit the lamp through Aaron's work, but we, who are the Levites, need to experience the death of soul-life, the renewal, and change of mind so that His light shines through us to those we come in contact with.  They can then be convicted of sin, repent, accept God's salvation, and come into the light.

This is the spiritual significance of the two stories in Numbers 8.  These two stories are closely linked.

Only when the light of Aaron's lamp faces outside will it gradually illuminate the Levites, treating them as a wave offering. Then the Israelites in the outer courtyard will experience atonement. This is also true in our spiritual experience today.  When God is alive in our spirit, and His light penetrates our soul, renewing our minds, we will know His good, pleasing, and perfect will allowing our bodies to be redeemed. Many unbelievers will be freed from sin and become members of the body of Christ.  Believers will be cleansed from sin, which is the complete salvation of our spirit, soul and body, and a picture of the growth of the church, which is Christ's body.

Bible Study With Jairus - Numbers7

Bible Study with Jairus - Numbers 7

After our Bible meeting finished, we were still puzzled over Numbers 7. We didn’t understand some of the questions in this chapter. For example, the twelve tribes of Israel offered the same gifts twelve times. Each time, they were exactly the same. Yet, they are described repeatedly. We know that one written word of the Bible is worth a thousand pieces of gold. The Holy Spirit would surely not record unnecessary words in the Bible. However, from the perspective of efficiency, it seems a bit wasteful to repeat the sacrifices offered by the twelve tribes. This was a question that everyone had during our meeting.

The context of Numbers 7 is the story of Moses and the tabernacle. Moses finishes setting up the tabernacle and anoints and consecrates it and all its furnishings. He also anoints and consecrates the altar and all its utensils (NIV, Numbers 7:1). We noticed something unusual in this verse that we will discuss.

Brother Watchman Nee has a famous hymn. One of the sentences states, "First the blood, and then the anointing oil." This references the general order of the sacrifice. First, the priest was to present a sin offering or sprinkle blood. In fact, the book of Exodus instructs that the priest first be sprinkled with blood before he is anointed with oil. Exodus 29:21 (NIV) says, "Take some blood from the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. Then he and his sons and their garments will be consecrated." Exodus 29:36 (NIV) then says, "Sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it and anoint it to consecrate it." This second verse demonstrates that the sin offering must be offered first before anointing the altar to consecrate it.

However, Numbers 7 does not record the rule of sprinkling blood or offering the sin offering first. We should keep in mind, therefore, that Numbers 6 had mentioned the sin offering as it relates to the law concerning the Nazarites; therefore, it is likely these verses in Numbers were specifically spoken and directed towards the Nazarites after their defilement. It seems the verses in Numbers and Exodus may have no direct relationship.

Of course, the sacrifices of the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel later included the sin offering. Each leader presented a male goat as a sin offering. The total number for the sin offering was twelve. But this happened after Moses anointed the tabernacle, altar and all its utensils. Today, we will not discuss the specific numbers and spiritual meanings of the various sacrifices offered by the leaders of the twelve tribes. We will just talk about the last verse of Numbers 7 which states, “When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony. And he spoke with Him" (NIV, Numbers 7:89). How did Jehovah and Moses talk before? When Aaron and Miriam rebelled against Moses, Jehovah came to defend Moses. It was recorded that He spoke with Moses face to face (Numbers 12:8). It was also recorded in Exodus 33:11 that Jehovah spoke to Moses face to face like speaking to a friend. However, in Numbers 7 Moses heard Jehovah's words on the atonement cover, and he spoke with Jehovah in that place. So, when Jehovah was talking with Moses here on the atonement cover, was it a new way? Since the tabernacle had just been set up, perhaps a new way had been established.

Exodus 40 records that when the tabernacle was set up, a cloud covered the tent of meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not even enter the tabernacle. This chapter also talks about Jehovah commanding Moses to anoint the tabernacle and the altar and sanctify them.

Our group was left wondering why anointing the tabernacle and the altar had to be done first, only then allowing the twelve leaders to make offerings. We also wanted to understand why the Lord and Moses were speaking at the atonement cover. What is the relationship between these three?

Whether it is Numbers 7 or Exodus 40, both record details about anointing the tabernacle and that the presence of Jehovah was in the tabernacle. In other words, the twelve Israelite leaders represent the twelve tribes coming to the tabernacle to see God and enter His presence. Although they had not seen Him with a naked eye, they had entered His presence. Therefore, even though the leaders of each tribe offered the same sacrifice, the sacrifices should not be devalued and only considered repeats of the same gift. Why? Because in the eyes of God each leader and tribe they represented are extremely precious.

I once read testimonies of Anna Rountree, a female prophet in the United States. She authored the book, “The Heavens Opened.” In her book, she testifies to seeing countless prayers flying to our heavenly Father. When Father God appeared to her, she asked Him, "Are you busy? Millions of prayers come to you every second." Our heavenly Father smiled and said, "But each of my children will receive My unique attention." In another vision, Anna saw a large group of children lined up in front of the Father, each holding a flower that they picked outside. The children gave their flowers to the Father and he received the blessing of the flesh flowers from each one. He embraced them one by one. Anna was told afterward that these children in queue were all aborted babies. They were lining up to give flowers to the Heavenly Father to thank Him for giving them eternal life and for taking care of them. I was touched that each of these children had the chance to do this one at a time. It was not a mere repeat. Each act represents a sincere thanks to the Father God. I felt this picture resembles well the sacrifices of the twelve tribal leaders in Numbers 7.

Many people often feel that there isn’t a lot of God’s presence in their daily life. Perhaps the normal spiritual thing is that we need to pray and apply the blood of Jesus Christ to ourselves in order to come into God's presence. This process seems to be the same as when the priest entered the tabernacle. First, we will take our sin offering, guilt offering, and other sacrifices to be cleansed. At the same time, we present gift offerings such as a grain offering and a burnt offering. Then we will go to the basin to wash away our defilement. All of these are sacrifices are performed in the outer courtyard. After which, we enter the sanctuary and present the showbread on the table (some people say that the Hebrew meaning of this showbread is “the face of God”). Then we will go to the golden lampstand to receive light. We enter to approach the golden altar of incense to intercede and offer a pleasing aroma to God. Now we can enter the Holy of Holies and meet God. The process of meeting God is like when Moses and Jehovah were talking on the atonement cover. We can also talk to God in the Spirit like this. In the Old Testament, the blood covered and made atonement for sins. In the New Testament, the blood of Jesus Christ covers and cleanses us from our sins, making it so that God does not to look at our sins. Through the blood of Christ, our sins are covered and we are redeemed allowing us to meet with God.

But in Numbers 7, the tabernacle and utensils had to be consecrated. Why did they need to be consecrated? Because the presence of the Lord would fill the tabernacle. He is holy and everything had to be cleansed and made holy. The picture of the sacrifices offered here by the twelve tribes of Israel is a demonstration of how to stay in God’s presence and how to serve Him in His presence. It is not merely a process of how to enter into God’s presence like I mentioned.

Let us first look at the gifts that the leaders of Israel offered together. Numbers 7:3 (NIV) says, "They brought as their gifts before the LORD six covered carts and twelve oxen—an ox from each leader and a cart from every two. These they presented before the tabernacle." This means that the leaders gave such gifts in partnership. Every two leaders would give a cart, and each leader an ox. Perhaps the cart represents one’s ministry; therefore, in this case, ministry should be performed in partnership with others. But the ox represents a redeeming sacrifice, or our personal spiritual experience. Everyone must have their own unique experience of redemption with the Lord.

Next, Jehovah instructed Moses to accept these gifts and do things on behalf of the Levites. There existed specific instructions for particular groups of people. Kohathites did not receive any gifts because they were responsible for carrying the objects of the sanctuary. The Gershonites and Merarites served in the outer courtyard and were responsible for transporting the objects into the outer courtyard. The Gershonites were given two carts and four oxen while the Merarites were given four carts and eight oxen. There is a spiritual lesson here. That is, the closer our life and service are to the outer courtyard, greater will be the influence of the outside world or the flesh on our lives. But the closer our life and service are to the Holy of Holies, less will be the power of the outside world to affect our lives.

A lack of obedience in following God’s specific instructions is why God struck down Uzzah when he put his hand on the ark of God to stable it when the oxen stumbled (1 Chronicles 13:7-13). First, Uzzah is a descendant of Merari (1 Chronicles 6:29), and he himself should not have transported the ark. Second, even if the ark had to be transported, it should not have been done so by an ox cart. It must be carried by shoulder, and only the Kohathites could carry it on their shoulders. Finally, the ox cart they used was sent by the Philistines. Therefore, God killing Uzzah was inevitable. God did not suddenly strike someone down without reason. Rather, God had already explained to the Israelites many times in advance how things should be done. This verse illustrates the seriousness of the priestly order that God has set up. There is order in the service of God. Defying this order may cause us to face grave consequences.

While we all serve God, our roles in serving God are different. Jehovah explained to Kohath, Gershon, and Merari that they would assume different responsibilities. We each have different gifts and functions within the body of Christ due to our varied callings from God. For example, Paul said that God's gifts include the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (Ephesians 4:11). Each one is a different function. We cannot deny that these functions are different, nor can we deny that there is a correct spiritual order within the church of God. Paul also told us that we should not go beyond our limits (NIV, 2 Corinthians 10:13) when we look at ourselves.

But this does not mean that we have class differences. Through the ages, God's people have often committed mistakes in two areas of thought. First, the gift of God is often distorted into class differences, such as the situation within the history of Catholicism. The other area is opposition against a clergy system because of the belief that it interrupts the correct spiritual order established by God within the Church. In fact, there is still a lot of controversy among churches and leaders as to whether a clergy system is needed. In particular, the Brethren under John Darby were very opposed to the idea of a clergy system and they experienced many divisions because of this. In the end, they had not reached their goal of becoming "the pure body of Christ." It can be said of their experience that simply removing the clergy does not completely solve the problems of the Church.

I recently wrote a paper on the history of John Darby for my doctoral dissertation. I specifically quoted one author's comment regarding this kind of situation. The quote came from the book, "Plymouth Brethren," and the author is Massimo Introvigne. Introvigne wrote, according to research done by American sociologists Roger Finke and Rodney Stark, “The spirit of Protestantism, Stark and Finke claim, is in itself anti–institutional. Its protest is largely about the corruption it regards as inherent in large structures and instructional churches. Often in history, Protestants have proclaimed their desire to move ‘outside of Babylon’ and to return to the ‘purity’ of primitive Christianity. According to Finke and Stark’s model, these ‘good intentions’ normally would not last long. Little by little, the second generation of each new Protestant wave will in turn start a journey toward institutionalization.”[1]

Introvigne positively commented on the Brethren’s efforts to break away from institutional Christianity. He concluded that they had failed reaching their utopian. In my paper, I shared my experience and observations from the Local Church Movement (LCM) and I attest to Introvigne’s observation being true. The LCM was heavily influenced by the Brethren. It also attempted to break away from institutional Christianity. Unfortunately, even after years, it cannot be said that institutional religion did not still infiltrate the LCM until today. Breaking away from institutional Christianity may stem from a genuine motivation to be more holy, but often when a Christian movement reaches the second and third generations, this kind of institutionalization is inevitable.

Therefore, when commenting on this phenomenon, I said that we should neither deny people with the gift of God (such as the apostles, prophets, etc.) nor the gift of the Holy Spirit (such as healing the sick and casting out demons, prophesying, preaching, and speaking in tongues). God’s intentions are not to completely deny the clergy system since the distinct functions of Aaron and the Levites are the clergy system established by God. At the same time, God longs for every member of the body of Christ to mature and function individually because each one carries the gifts of the Holy Spirit and can receive more. We cannot completely deny the clergy system, but we must establish a dynamic and organic cooperative relationship between the clergy system and ordinary people with various gifts. For example, we need to have a basketball star such as Yao Ming to represent China’s national team in basketball matches such as the NBA. We also need to actively encourage all the members on the team to play basketball, so that everyone can stay fit and cultivate their basketball talents. This is a dynamic relationship. Without a player like Yao Ming, we cannot win international competitions. However, not everyone needs to be a Yao Ming; we must use each gifted and talented person for their purpose. Additionally, if there were no promotion of basketball for all, we might not be able to select the next Yao Ming.

I personally think that the efforts of the Brethren and the Local Church Movement to remove pastors and other traditional clergy systems in an attempt to achieve priesthood in the body of Christ, was successful to a certain extent. It brought a lot of positive influence and helped many brothers and sisters to develop their gifts. For example, in the Local Church Movement, everyone is taught to prophesy (forthtell). This teaching encourages many to develop a gift of teaching. This is nearly impossible to develop in the case of many traditional churches where pastors are the main preachers. This is because lay people are not given the opportunity to speak to the congregation in a teaching format. I personally think that the two paragraphs of Numbers 7 are talking about these two different situations. In the first paragraph, God did establish the distinct functions of Aaron, the sons of Aaron, the descendants of the Levites (Kohath, Gershon, and Merari), and their limitations. In the eyes of God, there are indeed separate roles and different ministerial functions. This is the clergy system set up by God.

The second paragraph, which appears to show the content of the sacrifices of the twelve leaders as the same, is not merely repetitive. Rather, God is pleased with everyone’s service to Him. Everyone has their own gifts from God and no one can replace what each offers to God. God also created every snowflake differently; they are not simply replications of each other. Everyone can also bring unique joy to God. This is likened to receiving gifts by your two sons. Although the gifts given to you by your sons seem to be the same, the meaning they represent is different. Each gift represents each one's love for you. If I were one of the sons, I would not allow myself to think that my gift was worthless in the eyes of my father just because my brother had brought the same gift as me. Both gifts are equally precious.

Recalling Darby, he was actually not completely opposed to the clergy system. He hoped that the church would receive the gifts bestowed from God to the body of Christ as Paul did—to serve as members of the church's clergy system. One reason Darby opposed the Anglican Church is because they required that a person be ordained by the state in order to preach. Darby pointed out that if Paul came to the Anglican Church of England at that time, Paul would likely not be able to preach because he was not ordained.

So, the correct way for order is to respect the clergy system established by God. On the other hand, we must also boldly accept all the gifts of the Holy Spirit and not just the three gifts that the traditional evangelicals are familiar with and that Darby promoted (preaching, pastoring and evangelism). We must receive all God’s gifted persons including prophets and apostles. We also need to be open to all the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit (prophesying, speaking in tongues, healing the sick and casting out demons). This will create a lively body of Christ. There are gifted people everywhere who are bestowed by God to the Church to train other brothers and sisters. Because of the bestowing of the Holy Spirit, all brothers and sisters should serve using their various gifts. Only in this way can the Church of God fulfill its collective calling as one body with many members working for the glory of God. I personally think that when we establish a dynamic relationship between these two, it will make the church more pleasing to God. God will also entrust us with more, such as releasing more prophetic words.

Let me give a final example. Samuel mentioned that when Eli was priest, the word of the Lord was scarce. It’s only when God raised Samuel as a prophet and priest that the situation gradually changed. Not only did Jehovah’s words by the mouth of Samuel come to pass and not fall to the ground, but Samuel went on to establish a school for the prophets to teach them how to serve God with their gift. This example is a good illustration. Not only did Samuel’s life serve as a gift to God, but he perfected the gifts of others in people such as in David and other ordinary people whose names are not recorded. God has bestowed both the gifted people and the gift of the Holy Spirit to His church. Their organic cooperation can change the current church. This is the inspiration I received from the pictures of the two stories regarding the spiritual order of the priest and the repeated gifts offered by all twelve tribe leaders.

Concluding, God has gifted all in the body of Christ and he expects that each one will operate in their function within the body. Also, God’s desires continual communication with believers just as he was always talking to Moses. As demonstrated in Numbers 7, God spoke to Moses in a new way and this represented a new beginning. After Moses, priests began to do the same thing and now New Testament believers also do likewise. We enter the Holy of Holies by the blood of Christ which cleanses us from all sin, but it is by God’s Spirit that we commune with the Godhead. Moses set the new example for those wishing to enter God’s presence and meet with Him.

 

[1] Massimo Introvigne, The Plymouth Brethren (Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2018), 159, Kindle.

Bible Study With Jairus - Revival is Coming to China (New Version)

Revival is Coming to China

A Message for the Body of Christ

Sean Song, March 11, 2021

 

My name is Sean Song. I also have a nickname, Jairus, which comes from the name of my ministry, Jairus Bible World Ministries. There is something in my heart that I want to share with you about a revival that is coming. Before I do that, I want to share a little background about me.

 

God Cares

I was born and raised in China in the 1970s. While there, I never dreamed of becoming a Christian. I ended up leaving my country in my early twenties to study abroad. I went to London to study at London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). While I was in London, some people preached the gospel to me and I became somewhat convicted that I was a sinner. Although convicted, I did not know how to become a Christian. I continued with my schooling.

The following year, students were given the option to finish their second year at the University of Southern California in the United States. I felt I was supposed to go, but I struggled a lot with my decision because I did not have much money. Despite a long struggle with myself, I got my Visa to the United States and decided to take a chance with only $300 in my pocket after purchasing a one-way ticket. When I arrived there, I had to face the reality that I might not be able to survive in the USA. When it was time to register for the semester, I began to panic at the register’s office thinking I could not possibly survive. I had no money to pay tuition and no money to pay rent. If I registered, I had to pay them with money I didn’t have; if I quit right then, I would have to return to China where I would try to work out a deal to finish my degree. I didn't know what to do.

I struggled the entire day with my decision. At the end of the day, I sat down on a curb by a road and prayed a prayer. Nobody taught me how to pray, but I prayed in my deepest being. I said to God, “God, I'm such a sinner. Do you still remember me?” After this prayer, I felt peace. I decided I would find a place to buy a ticket to go back to China. Before I did, a miracle happened. A Chinese Christian from a local church group associated with Watchmen Nee and Witness Lee invited me to their campus. They had an on-campus ministry and off-campus student housing. This new Christian friend introduced me to other Christians living there and they offered me a place to stay. They even prayed with me about my school situation. This group of people led me to the Lord. They also brought me to my school’s department to talk with the program director to work out a plan for completing my degree. I was able to stay and finish my degree at USC, and this was the first of many miracles I have experienced since then. I spent 13 years in the Local Church Movement (the denomination to which this church group was affiliated), and I was baptized there in 2002.

 

Lukewarm to Zealous

In 2004, an awakening happened among Chinese speaking persons in the Local Church Movement in New Jersey. A year before this, in 2003, I overheard a testimony of a Chinese Christian man—a lukewarm one—becoming radically changed after receiving a training at a conference. I heard the Holy Spirit tell me at that moment, “You're going to go in 2004 and you will experience a radical change as well.” I listened to the voice and I went with expectation to this revival conference in 2004 in New Jersey. During that meeting, people were asked to dedicate themselves to the Lord. I struggled again because I didn't know what dedication meant; I had only been a believer for a year. I had a lot of worry and I didn't even believe what they preached—that the Lord would one day come back. Although I had a hard time believing this, the positive atmosphere there pushed me to consider dedicating myself to the Lord. That evening I knelt to pray. I said to the Lord, “Jesus, if you are coming back for real, I want you to reveal yourself to me so I can dedicate myself to You.”

That night I had a strange encounter. I was in a half-awake state, and I had a vision or a dream. I saw two persons fighting intensely for my heart, and the stronger one won. I literally felt pain in my physical heart afterward. The next day during our church service, I suddenly saw heaven open in front of me, and Jesus spoke to me. He said, “When my body is built up, I will come back.” This encounter changed me dramatically! I went from being a lukewarm Christian to a zealous follower of Christ. I started pursuing the Lord earnestly. I wanted to serve him in a greater way, but I never thought that God would call me beyond my denomination to serve him.

During my time in the LCM church, I pursued living a holy lifestyle and being faithful to God and my wife. I had been married for almost 8 years by 2014. Unfortunately, despite every attempt at having a baby, my wife and I remained childless. My wife had a fertility issue and we tried everything to correct it. We attempted IVF (in vitro fertilization) four to five times, Chinese herbs, and sought help from all kinds of doctors in the USA and in China. We just couldn't get pregnant. A lot of tears were shed during this time.

The LCM is a denomination that stresses holiness and knowledge of the Bible. They helped me immensely to mature in my understanding and application of God’s Word, but they didn't talk much about divine healing and prophecy like in Pentecostal and Charismatic churches. I tried to receive healing for my wife through my leaders there, but they just could not offer me a prophetic word or a miracle because they didn’t practice or believe in these gifts of the Holy Spirit. So, in 2014, I started secretly listening to charismatic preachers online. Gradually, I began to realize that the gifts are real and still available for believers today.

Before attending another conference held by Elijah List 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 that would spread all over their country. I was just going to the conference to receive healing for my wife, but God had much more in store! That day I received a prophetic promise directly from God that I would have a baby in 2016 (which came true); I received an anointing that day to clearly hear God henceforth; and I received the beginnings of being commissioned to be part of this soon coming revival to China.

 

A Revival Among the Chinese

I started this article by stating that there is something in my heart that I wish to share with you. It’s this: the revelation that God has given me regarding the great revival that is soon approaching. When I came home from this conference, the Lord began to speak with me more about this in the form of dreams and visions. One day I was walking the streets of Washington D.C. thinking about this great revival and suddenly, the Holy Spirit asked me, “What is a great revival?” I was surprised because I never heard him speak so clearly! I immediately replied in my spirit, “I heard that one out of 10 Chinese people have already 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. 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 go all over China to teach the Word of God and be part of this revival.” He also said that the 21st century is a century that God will use to evangelize China.

 

God Shows Me More

Although I have no idea how this great revival of China will happen, on the last day of 2017 I was taken into heaven in a prophetic dream. An old Chinese lady, whom I did not initially recognize as the Lord, appeared to me. We flew for quite a while together. Then we entered the skies above China. I was able to see houses of many Chinese people living there, but the houses had no ceiling. As we flew, I could see multitudes of people living in these houses. Then I was brought into heaven near a window. Through that window, I could see a multitude of people entering heaven by elevator. Just at that moment, a cherub flew over me and I saw the Chinese lady as the Lord. He showed me a few people and they looked like generals of the Church, probably from the past. He then asked me, “Do you want to be like one of them?” Shocked, I said, “Yes, I'm willing, but my flesh is weak.” Immediately, I started sobbing. During this encounter with the Lord, I heard a company of Chinese people singing a very beautiful Chinese hymn to us.

About several months ago, I was taken into another vision. This was the most vivid 3D type of vision I have had thus far. In it, I saw the 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. There was a Chinese lady who gave me a tour of the place and she specifically said to me that this revival is something she never saw when she was on earth. There were many people outside in this vision and in the end, I was shown that angels had bound the evil political spirit. 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.

Not only have I been shown about the future revival in China, but I was also shown that there is a great revival coming to Japan and Korea as well. In one dream, I was shown an image on a map of Korea connecting to Japan. In the natural, they are not connected, but in that dream, they were connected like they were one. In another prophetic encounter, I was taken into a future North Korean embassy in Washington D.C. It sat adjacent to the current embassy of South Korea. I saw many American people coming in and out of this North American embassy. The Lord is doing something great! Political change will come to North Korea. Revival is coming to China, Japan, Korea (North and South), and even to the United States of America.

In 2013, my wife and I had contemplated moving out of our city in Maryland. However, during a trip to New York, I had a vision of a tornado or a whirlwind of sorts. It started out small, and it grew bigger and bigger until it covered the sky. Then I heard the Lord say in the Spirit, "Do not leave Maryland; there will be a great revival coming from Maryland." That was in 2013. Sometime afterward, the Lord appeared to me again, but this time there two rivers behind him. He said, “These two rivers will converge.” Naïvely, I responded, “Well, we can probably build a tunnel in the upper stream of the two rivers, and it will create a shortcut to bring the streams together.” The Lord replied, "No, these two rivers will converge in the lower stream." Then he showed me that these two rivers will converge in the place where I lived in Maryland.

The Lord did not tell me that day what these two rivers are, but since then I have been writing my doctoral thesis on what I feel is an essential convergence that must take place within the body of Christ. That is the convergence of holiness with power.

 

Let’s Endure: We Are Part of Something Great

I never thought I’d be called to be a part of something so great as the great revival that will come to China. The point I’m trying to make is that it’s possible we are part of something great without even realizing it. If we are sleeping on a fast speed train, we may not realize that it’s moving very fast until we see another train pass from another direction. Then we suddenly realize, “I'm indeed on a fast speed train.” Likewise, dear churches and believers, know that God is calling all of you to be part of something great in this earth. The Lord has used Western Christianity in great ways to evangelize the world, but I feel we are in a certain bottleneck moment that Western Christianity can’t seem to overcome. I feel the Lord is raising up a movement from China that will be used to help American Christians. The Lord will bless America and will use America greatly to help train those who will participate in this great revival in China. At the same time, the Lord will use the momentum from China to give a push to Western Christianity to help it go deeper than they have ever been in their devotion to Him.

I hope this one final dream that I share encourages you even more to pursue the Lord. In a recent dream, I saw a big angel in heaven with a very long stick that reached to the earth. With the stick, he stirred and stirred, and I saw large waves of trouble coming in like the sea waves. It reached houses and people were running for their lives. I believe our feelings of stirring in these days are real sentiments. They are not in vain either. All the political things happening in America, and even Covid-19 are not a coincidence. God is allowing these things to happen to shake all the things that can be shaken so that people will be brought into the Kingdom that cannot be shaken. The purpose of the shaking is to wake up the churches and cause them to repent and bend their knees.

When I awaited my breakthrough before having our miracle baby, I felt the force of hell against me. I decided, however, to worship the Lord amidst my crises. I continued to keep my eyes on Him. In one particular moment before the Lord, I opened my arms towards heaven and sang, “God, the Father, you are a good, good Father and you give great, great gifts.” Soon after, my wife found herself pregnant and she gave birth to a healthy baby girl who has brought us much blessing.

I feel the Lord is going to bless His Church with a corporate baby which is the revival of the Church. We often hear that before the dawn, the darkness is the greatest. May the Church endure in intercession and prayer. Many will be brought out of “Egypt” into the Kingdom of Light and people will see miracles happening across America and China, and all over the world. Political shifts will take place and many people will turn their hearts to God. Revival will break out!

God bless you. God bless America and God bless China. God bless this coming revival.

Bible Study with Jairus - Revival is Coming to China - Short Version

I feel the Lord is going to bless His Church with a corporate baby which is the revival of the Church. We often hear that before the dawn, the darkness is the greatest. May the Church endure in intercession and prayer. Many will be brought out of “Egypt” into the Kingdom of Light and people will see miracles happening across America and China, and all over the world. Political shifts will take place and many people will turn their hearts to God. Revival will break out!

Bible Study With Jairus - Revival is Coming to China

Revival is Coming to China

A Message for the Body of Christ

Sean Song, March 11, 2021

 

My name is Sean Song. I also have a nickname, Jairus, which comes from the name of my ministry, Jairus Bible World Ministries. There is something in my heart that I want to share with you about a revival that is coming. Before I do that, I want to share a little background about me.

 

God Cares

I was born and raised in China in the 1970s. While there, I never dreamed of becoming a Christian. I ended up leaving my country in my early twenties to study abroad. I went to London to study at London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). While I was in London, some people preached the gospel to me and I became somewhat convicted that I was a sinner. Although convicted, I did not know how to become a Christian. I continued with my schooling.

The following year, students were given the option to finish their second year at the University of Southern California in the United States. I felt I was supposed to go, but I struggled a lot with my decision because I did not have much money. Despite a long struggle with myself, I got my Visa to the United States and decided to take a chance with only $300 in my pocket after purchasing a one-way ticket. When I arrived there, I had to face the reality that I might not be able to survive in the USA. When it was time to register for the semester, I began to panic at the register’s office thinking I could not possibly survive. I had no money to pay tuition and no money to pay rent. If I registered, I had to pay them with money I didn’t have; if I quit right then, I would have to return to China where I would try to work out a deal to finish my degree. I didn't know what to do.

I struggled the entire day with my decision. At the end of the day, I sat down on a curb by a road and prayed a prayer. Nobody taught me how to pray, but I prayed in my deepest being. I said to God, “God, I'm such a sinner. Do you still remember me?” After this prayer, I felt peace. I decided I would find a place to buy a ticket to go back to China. Before I did, a miracle happened. A Chinese Christian from a local church group associated with Watchmen Nee and Witness Lee invited me to their campus. They had an on-campus ministry and off-campus student housing. This new Christian friend introduced me to other Christians living there and they offered me a place to stay. They even prayed with me about my school situation. This group of people led me to the Lord. They also brought me to my school’s department to talk with the program director to work out a plan for completing my degree. I was able to stay and finish my degree at USC, and this was the first of many miracles I have experienced since then. I spent 13 years in the Local Church Movement (the denomination to which this church group was affiliated), and I was baptized there in 2002.

 

Lukewarm to Zealous

In 2004, an awakening happened among Chinese speaking persons in the Local Church Movement in New Jersey. A year before this, in 2003, I overheard a testimony of a Chinese Christian man—a lukewarm one—becoming radically changed after receiving a training at a conference. I heard the Holy Spirit tell me at that moment, “You're going to go in 2004 and you will experience a radical change as well.” I listened to the voice and I went with expectation to this revival conference in 2004 in New Jersey. During that meeting, people were asked to dedicate themselves to the Lord. I struggled again because I didn't know what dedication meant; I had only been a believer for a year. I had a lot of worry and I didn't even believe what they preached—that the Lord would one day come back. Although I had a hard time believing this, the positive atmosphere there pushed me to consider dedicating myself to the Lord. That evening I knelt to pray. I said to the Lord, “Jesus, if you are coming back for real, I want you to reveal yourself to me so I can dedicate myself to You.”

That night I had a strange encounter. I was in a half-awake state, and I had a vision or a dream. I saw two persons fighting intensely for my heart, and the stronger one won. I literally felt pain in my physical heart afterward. The next day during our church service, I suddenly saw heaven open in front of me, and Jesus spoke to me. He said, “When my body is built up, I will come back.” This encounter changed me dramatically! I went from being a lukewarm Christian to a zealous follower of Christ. I started pursuing the Lord earnestly. I wanted to serve him in a greater way, but I never thought that God would call me beyond my denomination to serve him.

During my time in the LCM church, I pursued living a holy lifestyle and being faithful to God and my wife. I had been married for almost 8 years by 2014. Unfortunately, despite every attempt at having a baby, my wife and I remained childless. My wife had a fertility issue and we tried everything to correct it. We attempted IVF (in vitro fertilization) four to five times, Chinese herbs, and sought help from all kinds of doctors in the USA and in China. We just couldn't get pregnant. A lot of tears were shed during this time.

The LCM is a denomination that stresses holiness and knowledge of the Bible. They helped me immensely to mature in my understanding and application of God’s Word, but they didn't talk much about divine healing and prophecy like in Pentecostal and Charismatic churches. I tried to receive healing for my wife through my leaders there, but they just could not offer me a prophetic word or a miracle because they didn’t practice or believe in these gifts of the Holy Spirit. So, in 2014, I started secretly listening to charismatic preachers online. Gradually, I began to realize that the gifts are real and still available for believers today.

Before attending another conference held by Elijah List 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 that would spread all over their country. I was just going to the conference to receive healing for my wife, but God had much more in store! That day I received a prophetic promise directly from God that I would have a baby in 2016 (which came true); I received an anointing that day to clearly hear God henceforth; and I received the beginnings of being commissioned to be part of this soon coming revival to China.

 

A Revival Among the Chinese

I started this article by stating that there is something in my heart that I wish to share with you. It’s this: the revelation that God has given me regarding the great revival that is soon approaching. When I came home from this conference, the Lord began to speak with me more about this in the form of dreams and visions. One day I was walking the streets of Washington D.C. thinking about this great revival and suddenly, the Holy Spirit asked me, “What is a great revival?” I was surprised because I never heard him speak so clearly! I immediately replied in my spirit, “I heard that one out of 10 Chinese people have already 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. 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 go all over China to teach the Word of God and be part of this revival.” He also said that the 21st century is a century that God will use to evangelize China.

 

God Shows Me More

Although I have no idea how this great revival of China will happen, on the last day of 2017 I was taken into heaven in a prophetic dream. An old Chinese lady, whom I did not initially recognize as the Lord, appeared to me. We flew for quite a while together. Then we entered the skies above China. I was able to see houses of many Chinese people living there, but the houses had no ceiling. As we flew, I could see multitudes of people living in these houses. Then I was brought into heaven near a window. Through that window, I could see a multitude of people entering heaven by elevator. Just at that moment, a cherub flew over me and I saw the Chinese lady as the Lord. He showed me a few people and they looked like generals of the Church, probably from the past. He then asked me, “Do you want to be like one of them?” Shocked, I said, “Yes, I'm willing, but my flesh is weak.” Immediately, I started sobbing. During this encounter with the Lord, I heard a company of Chinese people singing a very beautiful Chinese hymn to us.

About several months ago, I was taken into another vision. This was the most vivid 3D type of vision I have had thus far. In it, I saw the 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. There was a Chinese lady who gave me a tour of the place and she specifically said to me that this revival is something she never saw when she was on earth. There were many people outside in this vision and in the end, I was shown that angels had bound the evil political spirit. 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.

Not only have I been shown about the future revival in China, but I was also shown that there is a great revival coming to Japan and Korea as well. In one dream, I was shown an image on a map of Korea connecting to Japan. In the natural, they are not connected, but in that dream, they were connected like they were one. In another prophetic encounter, I was taken into a future North Korean embassy in Washington D.C. It sat adjacent to the current embassy of South Korea. I saw many American people coming in and out of this North American embassy. The Lord is doing something great! Political change will come to North Korea. Revival is coming to China, Japan, Korea (North and South), and even to the United States of America.

In 2013, my wife and I had contemplated moving out of our city in Maryland. However, during a trip to New York, I had a vision of a tornado or a whirlwind of sorts. It started out small, and it grew bigger and bigger until it covered the sky. Then I heard the Lord say in the Spirit, "Do not leave Maryland; there will be a great revival coming from Maryland." That was in 2013. Sometime afterward, the Lord appeared to me again, but this time there two rivers behind him. He said, “These two rivers will converge.” Naïvely, I responded, “Well, we can probably build a tunnel in the upper stream of the two rivers, and it will create a shortcut to bring the streams together.” The Lord replied, "No, these two rivers will converge in the lower stream." Then he showed me that these two rivers will converge in the place where I lived in Maryland.

The Lord did not tell me that day what these two rivers are, but since then I have been writing my doctoral thesis on what I feel is an essential convergence that must take place within the body of Christ. That is the convergence of holiness with power.

 

Let’s Endure: We Are Part of Something Great

I never thought I’d be called to be a part of something so great as the great revival that will come to China. The point I’m trying to make is that it’s possible we are part of something great without even realizing it. If we are sleeping on a fast speed train, we may not realize that it’s moving very fast until we see another train pass from another direction. Then we suddenly realize, “I'm indeed on a fast speed train.” Likewise, dear churches and believers, know that God is calling all of you to be part of something great in this earth. The Lord has used Western Christianity in great ways to evangelize the world, but I feel we are in a certain bottleneck moment that Western Christianity can’t seem to overcome. I feel the Lord is raising up a movement from China that will be used to help American Christians. The Lord will bless America and will use America greatly to help train those who will participate in this great revival in China. At the same time, the Lord will use the momentum from China to give a push to Western Christianity to help it go deeper than they have ever been in their devotion to Him.

I hope this one final dream that I share encourages you even more to pursue the Lord. In a recent dream, I saw a big angel in heaven with a very long stick that reached to the earth. With the stick, he stirred and stirred, and I saw large waves of trouble coming in like the sea waves. It reached houses and people were running for their lives. I believe our feelings of stirring in these days are real sentiments. They are not in vain either. All the political things happening in America, and even Covid-19 are not a coincidence. God is allowing these things to happen to shake all the things that can be shaken so that people will be brought into the Kingdom that cannot be shaken. The purpose of the shaking is to wake up the churches and cause them to repent and bend their knees.

When I awaited my breakthrough before having our miracle baby, I felt the force of hell against me. I decided, however, to worship the Lord amidst my crises. I continued to keep my eyes on Him. In one particular moment before the Lord, I opened my arms towards heaven and sang, “God, the Father, you are a good, good Father and you give great, great gifts.” Soon after, my wife found herself pregnant and she gave birth to a healthy baby girl who has brought us much blessing.

I feel the Lord is going to bless His Church with a corporate baby which is the revival of the Church. We often hear that before the dawn, the darkness is the greatest. May the Church endure in intercession and prayer. Many will be brought out of “Egypt” into the Kingdom of Light and people will see miracles happening across America and China, and all over the world. Political shifts will take place and many people will turn their hearts to God. Revival will break out!

God bless you. God bless America and God bless China. God bless this coming revival.

Bible Study With Jairus - Numbers 17

Beautiful Word Pictures show God’s Care

Bible Study with Jairus –Numbers 17

The Meaning of Almond Blossoms

Numbers 17 tells us that Aaron’s staff blossomed with lovely almond flowers. You may be wondering about the significance of almond blossoms. Why did Aaron's staff sprout, bud, blossom, and even bear ripe almonds? Why did the budding of Aaron's staff imply that God had chosen Aaron? Why did it put an end to the grumblings of the Israelites? Even more perplexing, why did the people think they were going to die after seeing the blossoming rod?

First, let's answer the question about the almond blossoms. We want to clarify that we don't have an absolute answer, but we can share our inspiration on the passage.

When Jeremiah was young, he was called by God to be a prophet. Jeremiah’s first reaction was, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” (ESV, Jeremiah 1:6). But the Lord said to him, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.” (ESV, Jeremiah 1:7). Then the Lord began to teach Jeremiah how to be a prophet. Whether it is a prophet in the Old Testament or a prophet in the New Testament, an important part of the gift of prophecy is to see and explain prophetic visions. In Jeremiah 1:11, the Lord asked Jeremiah, “What did you see?” (ESV) The Lord gave Jeremiah a prophetic vision and then taught him how to explain the prophetic vision he saw. Jeremiah replied to the Lord, "I saw an almond branch."

The Hebrew word for almond branch sounds the same or similar to the word "watch" (take care of, help, look after). According to Stepbible.org, the word for Almond is שָׁקֵד (sha.qed) in Hebrew. While the word for Watch is שָׁקַד (sha.qad) in Hebrew. They look and sound similar. This is a pun that the Lord used to explain the prophetic vision that Jeremiah saw. In other words, the Lord showed Jeremiah the vision of an almond branch, which is in line with what He said: “I am watching over my word to perform it.” (ESV, Jeremiah 1:12).

Jamie Galloway, a Pentecostal prophet, was a teacher at the prophetic school I attended. He often uses this story to tell how prophets learn to see prophetic visions, hear the voice of God, understand prophetic visions and transmit God's words. He said that God often speaks in puns.

So although we are not sure about the significance of Aaron's staff being made of almond wood, the story of Jeremiah may shed some light on this question. It is true that Aaron was chosen by God, and that God would take care of Aaron and watch over him. God would bring fulfillment to the tasks he had given Aaron to do.

Verse 5 says, "The staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you.” (ESV) This is what the Lord said to Moses. Why would the budding of Aaron's staff put an end to the complaints of the Israelites? In verse 10, the Lord said to Moses, “Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die.” (ESV) After Moses did as the Lord commanded him, the Israelites reacted in a strange way. They said, “Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone.  Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, shall die. Are we all to perish?” (ESV, Numbers 17:12-13).

This reaction is very strange. After Aaron's staff sprouted, each of the leaders reclaimed his own staff. The Bible did not record the reaction of these leaders, but the reaction of the Israelites was recorded. Though we don’t know for sure, we can guess that the leaders were very surprised. Remember, these leaders were most likely new leaders, or at least leaders who had not participated in Korah's rebellion. In Numbers 16, we learn that the 250 leaders who rebelled with Korah were consumed by the fire of the Lord. Meanwhile, Korah and his family were swallowed up alive by the earth.

A man in our meeting shared some interesting insights on this. He said that this shows that God uses different methods of discipline for different people. Sometimes, His discipline can be very severe. For example, Korah was swallowed directly by the earth; the 250 leaders of Israel who participated in the rebellion were consumed by fire; and the 14,700 Israelites were killed by the plague. In this chapter, the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel and the Israelites were not punished, but simply warned by the budding of Aaron's staff. None of the Israelites in Numbers 17 died, but they felt a real threat of death.

This is the part that we don't understand. We can see that it was a miracle for Aaron's staff to sprout, but we don't feel that this was a threat to the lives of the Israelites. Do you feel the same after reading this?

We often say that the question we don't understand is the question that the Holy Spirit uses to disturb us. The Holy Spirit may speak to us through this question. If we understand why the budding of Aaron's staff would make these Israelites feel the fear of death, perhaps we would understand the question before us: Why did the Lord say that Aaron's staff would sprout and put an end to the complaints of the Israelites?

Our general understanding is that the budding of Aaron's staff violates the laws of nature and is a miracle or supernatural thing. Under normal circumstances, a staff is made of withered, dead branches. It is impossible for the staff to sprout, let alone bud, blossom, and bear ripe almonds.

While reading these verses, I didn’t understand why the budding of Aaron’s staff would make the Israelites feel threatened with death, or why it would put an end to their grumbling. But when I was writing this Bible study, I read this verse again and received an inspiration. I will share this inspiration here for your reference. To clarify again, I don't have a solid answer. I am just sharing my inspiration. Maybe it's right; maybe it's wrong. So please judge for yourself.

Let me ask you this. When the Bible says that Aaron's staff sprouted, budded, blossomed, and bore ripe almonds, is it describing a process or is it describing different scenarios happening at the same time? My view is that it is describing different scenarios happening at the same time. Some places in Aaron's staff sprouted, and others budded, blossomed, or bore ripe almonds. When I grow vegetables at home, I often like to grow okra.  On the same okra plant, there can be flowers, small fruit, mature fruit and a dried up blossom with seeds in it—all at the same time!

Therefore, not only is the budding of Aaron's staff a miracle which implies that God chose Aaron, but it also serves as figurative language that communicates God’s word to the Israelites. In Jeremiah, God comforted and encouraged Jeremiah by using the word "watch" that sounds the same as “almond branch.” Here, God used pictorial language to give a warning to the Israelites who complained against Moses and Aaron.

The word of warning is this: Just like Aaron’s staff can sprout, bud, blossom, and bear ripe almonds at the same time, God’s discipline can swallow Korah up, burn 250 leaders alive, send a plague that killed 14,700 Israelites, and warn the Israelites who were still complaining. Perhaps God was asking how these Israelites who complained wanted Him to discipline them. Is it enough for Him to just warn them? Or should He send a plague again to kill them? Or burn them? Or swallow them up like Korah? Through the language of this picture, God warned the Israelites who were complaining. If they didn’t stop, God would discipline them in the same way.

We often cannot understand the prophecies or dark sayings and puns God uses in the Bible, but the Israelites understood the warnings of God’s pictorial representations. They exclaimed that they were going to die, and anyone who came near to the tabernacle would die. God could have actually killed them, but because of His mercy, He didn't choose to kill them. Instead, He only gave them a warning.

This warning obviously worked, so much that the Israelites told Moses, “We perish, we are undone!” (ESV, Numbers 17:12). God’s method of speaking here is "progressive." He used the different progressive phases of almond growth (sprouting, budding, blossoming, and bearing ripe almonds) to illustrate the progression of His discipline on the Israelites in the previous chapter: Korah was swallowed up by the earth, 250 leaders were burned alive by fire, and 14,700 Israelites were killed by the plague. He used pictorial language to warn the Israelites who still have complaints about the severity of his discipline.

God Speaks through Riddles

Of course, this is just my guess, so it may not be correct. But in the Bible, God often speaks in parables, dark sayings, puns, pictures and other methods. In Numbers 12, when Aaron and Miriam rebelled against Moses, the Lord came out to discipline them. The Lord said to them, “If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream.” (ESV, Numbers 12:6). But when the Lord speaks to Moses, He speaks clearly and not in riddles. The Hebrew word for riddle is חִידָה (chi.dah) according to Stepbible.org. This word appears 17 different times in the Bible. One instance this word is used is Proverbs 1:6, “To understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles.” (ESV) Another is Psalm 49:4, " I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp." (ESV) Psalm 78:2 says, "I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old." (ESV) Here, the words "riddles" and “dark saying” are the same.

In Ezekiel 17:2, Jehovah asked Ezekiel to present a riddle and speak a parable to the house of Israel. The word for riddle is the same word. Here, the Lord compares Himself to a great eagle with great wings, long pinions, and rich, colorful plumage. He came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar, as well as some of the seed of the land, and planted it in fertile soil which became a vine (Ezekiel 17:3-8). The great eagle, the cedar, and the vine are all riddles and parables.

Samson shared a riddle in Judges 14:12-14: “Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet.” (ESV) The Bible uses the same word to describe this riddle. It is also used in 1 Kings 10:1, when the Queen of Sheba came to test Solomon with "hard questions".

The Lord Jesus often speaks in parables. He even says, "I said nothing to them without a parable." (Matthew 13:34). In verse 35, Matthew says that Jesus’ parables fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.” Here it quoted Psalm 78:2.

One-third of the message of the Bible is conveyed through prophetic dreams and prophetic visions, which mostly use figurative language. Therefore, understanding figurative language is very helpful for us in understanding the Bible. Many traditional churches, do not teach believers how to understand prophetic dreams and prophetic visions because of errors and misuse of prophetic dreams and prophetic visions. Therefore, they lack understanding of biblical pictures, riddles, and prophetic language.

When I was learning how to interpret prophetic dreams in the Pentecostal Movement, Job 33:14-17 was frequently quoted in order to explain the importance of prophetic dreams. These verses say:

 “For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, while they slumber on their beds, then he opens the ears of men and terrifies them with warnings, that he may turn man aside from his deed and conceal pride from a man.” (ESV)

In other words, God speaks to us in various ways. But because of our stubbornness and dull mind, we cannot understand what God is saying. When we are sleeping, our soul is quieter. Therefore, God will bypass our minds and directly speak to our heart and spirit through the language of pictures or animations. Psalm 46:10 says: “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations.” (ESV)
Sometimes, God keeps reminding us of a certain danger, but we don’t take it seriously. We may have had a dream about a dog lunging at us and almost biting us. We wake up from the dream, startled. By heeding God’s warnings, we are able to avoid danger. I have had these dreams many times. God warns me about dangers which later prove to be true.

Ever since I was baptized with the Holy Spirit in 2015, I started to have many prophetic dreams. But I didn’t quite understand a lot of these dreams. For this reason, I focused on learning how to understand and interpret pictures. I also tried my best to pursue the gift of prophecy and the gift of dream interpretation. Although I still have a lot to learn, I found that my understanding of the pictorial language in the Bible has indeed made some progress. This progress has helped me understand the Bible in a deeper way.

We need to have a balance towards understanding the Bible. On the one hand, we have to look up the meaning of words, research its history, and learn from the exegetical predecessors. On the other hand, we cannot ignore the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit. If we pay too much attention to searching for the meaning of words and researching and studying exegetical works, we will often become too dogmatic. We must look to the illumination of the Holy Spirit at the same time. The place where the Holy Spirit needs to illuminate us is our knowledge of Biblical pictures. Of course, we also need careful study to balance us. We can’t just do and say whatever we want, and then pretend it’s the enlightenment and illumination of the Holy Spirit.

Even so, I still said that I am not sure whether my explanation is correct. But this is an inspiration I received when I was reading that verse. One way the Holy Spirit often speaks to me is by highlighting a certain word or portion of Scripture. When reading a certain chapter of the Bible, I will suddenly notice a verse that I had not noticed before, or a point that I hadn’t been aware of. In the practice and use of the gift of prophecy, people often see a picture or animation. They try to explain what God wants to say by interpreting this picture.

When I was reading Numbers 17:8, "On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds, I felt that the Holy Spirit suddenly highlighted this verse. He especially reminded me to ask myself a question: Is this verse describing a progressive sprouting, blossoming, and bearing fruit, which only leaves behind ripe fruit? Or is it describing a scenario in which sprouts, buds, blossoms, and ripe fruit exist on different parts of the branch at the same time?

I seemed to see a picture of Aaron's staff with these situations happening at the same time. I received an inspiration that this picture was highlighted to the Israelites at that time. I think God spoke to the Israelites through this picture, saying he could treat them as severely as he treated the people in Numbers 16. He could directly swallow them up, or he could kill them by fire or plague. God used this progressive picture to warn the Israelites. Thus after they saw it, they told Moses, “We are going to die!”

This is a way the Holy Spirit often uses to speak to me. So I think this is an inspiration I received from the Holy Spirit. Because I never thought about this aspect, and never saw this picture in the past.

But even if my explanation is wrong, it doesn't matter. I hope my discussion can lead you to learn how the Holy Spirit uses pictures, parables, riddles, and puns to speak to us. May you be eager to receive the filling and outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and to activate your prophetic gifts, to better understand how God uses pictorial language to speak to you. Or you can help more people in the future to better understand the Bible and release the word of God. May the Lord bless you.

 

Bible Study With Jairus - Numbers 16

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 16

Moses’ prophetic word

Numbers 16 tells the story of Korah's rebellion and the discipline God sent as a result. When Moses spoke out about the earth opening and swallowing these imposters, did he know in advance what God was going to do? Or did the prophecy come to him in that very moment, before he had even realized it?

Numbers 16:30 says, "If the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.”

I don’t believe Moses knew in advance what he was about to say. Instead, I believe he released prophetic words in that very moment. When a prophet speaks, things start happening to fulfill his words.

When I first learned about releasing the "word of knowledge", the teachers in my prophetic class proposed many ways to receive the word of knowledge, including "hearing", "seeing", "feeling", "dreaming" and "speaking out."  When those who have the gift of prophecy use this spiritual gift, they speak out first and only later realize that what they said is not of themselves, but of the Holy Spirit.

These practices are not preached about or exercised in evangelical churches, so many evangelicals lack such experience. But in the Pentecostal Movement, which pays more attention to the use of prophetic gifts, there are many such examples. For example, Chuck Pierce, a Charismatic prophet, was prophesying at a meeting when he suddenly found himself saying that Bin Laden would be caught within a few hours. He recalled that he felt regret and fear immediately after saying this, because if this thing did not happen, he would be convicted as a false prophet or a prophet who gives false prophecies. However, it turned out that Bin Laden was indeed caught within a few hours.

I had experienced the filling of the Holy Spirit which made the prophetic gift possible. I tried my best to pursue the gift of prophecy, but I have never experienced the ability to predict future events. However, when I am sharing the Lord's words in meetings, I often find myself saying something I had not previously planned on saying. Other times, someone asks me a question about a verse I don't quite understand, and I suddenly get an inspiration about its meaning. Sometimes, I give the explanation quickly, before my thoughts and understanding can catch up. After experiencing the filling or outpouring of the Holy Spirit, I frequently have experiences like this while serving the Lord.

This kind of spiritual inspiration not only lines up with real, lived experience, but also with the truths of the Bible. The Lord Jesus said, “When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (ESV, Matthew 10:19-20). The Holy Spirit can speak through or even control our tongue. But this does not happen naturally. We must dedicate ourselves to God and experience the filling and outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We must give the Holy Spirit freedom, so that he can use us in this way. Under normal circumstances, the Holy Spirit respects our free will.

There are many differences of opinion regarding the prophetic gifts in the Old and New Testament. But if we assume that many of the prophetic gifts in the modern church are real, then the same Holy Spirit speaks through the mouth of the prophets in both the Old and New Testaments. Understanding prophecy in the Old Testament will shed light on the gift of prophecy in the New Testament.

Since I left the Local Church Movement in 2015, I have tried my best to learn about and pursue the gift of prophecy in Pentecostal churches. I have had many experiences of seeing prophetic gifts in use. My doctoral dissertation at the United Theological Seminary compared the practice of prophecy in the Local Church Movement with that of the Charismatics.

Let’s explore some of the differences between prophecy in the New Testament and the Old Testament. One big difference between the New Testament and the Old Testament gift of prophecy is that the Holy Spirit’s way of prophesying through prophets in the Old Testament is visitation. Once the Holy Spirit comes upon on a certain prophet, even Balaam or Saul, he will give a 100% accurate prophecy. But New Testament prophecy is "habitational", which means the Holy Spirit dwells in us. The Holy Spirit will inspire us to speak, but the word will be mixed with our own words and the prophecy will not always be completely accurate. Due to a lack of understanding of the differences between Old Testament and New Testament prophecy, many people deny that there are true prophetic gifts in the New Testament.

Most Christians understand that priests are no longer limited to a certain group of people as they were in OT; instead, every believer is a priest of God today (1 Peter 2:9). The same is true of prophesy. In the Old Testament, a select few were prophets of God. Now, God has poured out the Holy Spirit on all flesh so that everybody will prophesy (Joel 2 quoted in Acts 2:17-18). Paul also echoed this idea saying that we all can prophesy (1 Corinthians 14:31). Despite this shift, many people still hold an Old Testament view of prophets.

Hebrews 1:1-2 explains that in ancient times, God spoke to the Israelites through the prophets at many times and in many ways. Now, in these later days, God has spoken to us by His Son (Jesus Christ). We all know that the Lord Jesus lives in us through the Holy Spirit, so the Lord and the Holy Spirit who live in us can also speak through our mouths.

It is wrong to think that there are no prophets in the New Testament. First, the New Testament gives examples of prophets in the New Testament, such as Agabus (Acts 11:27-28), Judas, and Silas (Acts 15:32). Second, throughout the ages, there have been people who have had the gift of prophecy. Although it is very rare to have such people in the history of Christianity after the apostolic era, and though some people with such gifts have a mistaken theological understanding, they have not been lost completely. Instead, they’ve only been buried for a time.

Remember how the truth of justification by faith was buried for many years? It was not restored until Martin Luther was enlightened. Similarly, the gift of prophecy has been restored considerably through the Pentecostal Movement. Though I don’t have time to go into detail on this topic, I wanted to touch on the issues surrounding prophecy in modern Charismatic churches.

One of the biggest questions and concerns is the errors in the prophecies in the Pentecostal Movement. This requires understanding the difference between the gift of prophecy in the New Testament and the Old Testament.

Yes, we certainly hope that every New Testament prophet can be like the Old Testament prophets in terms of giving infallible prophecies. But we also see that the difference between the Holy Spirit’s word in the New Testament and the Old Testament is by God’s design. The prophets in the Old Testament did not have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, so they would envy us who have the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, living in us every day.

It was important that the Old Testament prophets produce error-free work so they could compile the infallible words of Scripture. The Bible is like our driver’s manual and handbook, a guide to the Christian life. It was important for it to be accurate.

But today the Bible has already been completed. This guide is already in our hands. We are all learning and applying this Bible (guide), whether through exegesis or prophecy, with the purpose of helping others grow spiritually.

When pastors or preachers interpret the Bible in preaching, their understanding is not always accurate. However, many believers are very tolerant of the errors preachers make when trying to express their understanding of the Bible. But with regards to the gift of prophecy in the New Testament, these believers expect 100% accuracy as it was in the OT. Otherwise, they will consider those who prophesied to be false prophets.

On the one hand, this is understandable, since prophecies are supposed to be true. On the other hand, they are applying an Old Testament understanding to a New Testament phenomenon. Many modern prophets make errors in interpreting and applying the revelation from God, even though these revelations are genuinely from God.

In my real-life experience of learning the gift of prophecy, I have observed true prophecies as well as false prophecies. Overall, although there are some problems with the gift of prophecy and the practice of prophecy in the Pentecostal Movement, these prophecies also have many advantages. They encourage believers and build churches.

Many prophetic errors in the Pentecostal Movement, with the exception of deliberately false prophecies, are due to spiritual immaturity in the prophet, or the person’s mistaken interpretation and application of the vision or message given by God. Sometimes, a person may be inspired by the Holy Spirit; sometimes they may be inspired by their own feelings. There is a mixture of truth and misinterpretation. Instead of rejecting all prophecy outright, we should have a more balanced approach. We should neither accept all prophecies nor reject all prophecies. Instead, according to Paul’s words, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” (ESV, 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22).

There are similarities between the way the Holy Spirit speaks to New Testament prophets and the way he spoke to Old Testament prophets. We need to distinguish between what a person says when he is inspired by the Holy Spirit and what he says when he is not. For example, if you read David's Psalms, you will find that many times he is simply pouring out his emotions, the feelings in his heart. Suddenly, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit comes and he is speaking from God in first person. When the inspiration of the Holy Spirit passes, he continues to express his feelings. This is a common occurrence in David's Psalms, as well as other psalms.

This may be also the case when Moses was speaking in Numbers 16. Although we are not ruling out the possibility that God told Moses in advance about the earth splitting, my personal guess is that what he said during that time was inspired in the moment by the Holy Spirit.

Moses’ Differing Roles

In Numbers 16:1-3, we learn that Korah and 250 leaders of Israel rose up against Moses and Aaron. When Moses heard it, he fell on his face. He told Korah and all his company that in the morning, the Lord would show who was chosen by God (vs. 4-6). He suggested that everyone take the censer to burn incense.

In verse 7, Moses said, "You have gone too far, sons of Levi!” (ESV) He blamed the Levites for coveting the priesthood and not being satisfied with their service in the tabernacle (Numbers 16:8-10). Moses called Dathan and Abiram, but they didn't come. Instead, they accused Moses of bringing them up from Egypt, a land flowing with milk and honey, to die in the wilderness (Numbers 16:12-14). Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, “Do not respect their offering.” (ESV, Numbers 16:15). Moses was expressing his true feelings.

On the second day, when Moses and those who rebelled were gathered together, the Lord appeared and said to Moses and Aaron that he would destroy all the Israelites except for the two of them. Moses and Aaron begged the Lord not to be too harsh. The Lord agreed to honor their plea, and he agreed to only kill Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Numbers 16:19-27).

It is at this juncture that Moses says, "Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord. If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me.  But if the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord. And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods.” (ESV, Numbers 16:28-32).

Regardless of whether or not Moses knew in advance how God would discipline Korah and his company, the shift in Moses' role can be seen here. First, Moses is just a human, angry and praying for God’s help. Then he becomes an intercessor, praying that God would not destroy all the Israelites. Finally, he acts as a prophet, the representative and judge of God’s authority. In this role, he declares and accomplishes God’s chastisement on the people.

A person used by God often has multiple roles. This role transformation is often a very important link in the biblical narrative. Understanding this concept will help us better understand the Bible.

 

Aaron’s Intercession

After the Lord disciplined Korah and his company, many people were still complaining. This time, they were accusing Moses of killing them! They gathered again to rise up against Moses and Aaron. The Lord told Moses and Aaron to destroy these Israelites, and Moses and Aaron interceded for the Israelites yet again. But it was too late. God's wrath had broken out, causing a plague. Moses asked Aaron to take the censer, put fire on it from off the altar, lay incense on it and carry it to the congregation to make atonement for them. Aaron’s prayer stopped the plague, but 14,700 people still died because of the plague (ESV, Numbers 16:41-50).

Today, we are just as sinful as the ancient Israelites. Just as Aaron's intercession stopped the plague, Christians’ prayers can stop God's wrath. Even though God’s wrath was already poured out on Jesus on the cross, God still sends his discipline on believers. He still punishes those who do not accept his free gift.

Sometimes, his discipline includes plagues and disasters. The book of Revelation records disasters that are an outworking of God’s wrath. Similarly, Coronavirus could be both an attack from the enemy and an expression of God’s discipline. (I am speaking in a general sense. I am not condemning people who got the virus. Many people who fought against this disease, like many medical workers, are in fact victims or even martyrs in a sense. May God heal everyone who is sick because of this. Nobody is immune to the virus. But God will protect and heal His people.)

The coronavirus was brought about by the rebellion of the world, but our prayers play an important role in stopping the virus. When we repent in our hearts, and beseech God’s mercy through practical physical actions, he may choose to take the coronavirus away. God wants us to do more than pray about the virus; he wants us to repent and turn to Him. Instead of simply praying that the Coronavirus is removed, we should pray that we repent and turn to God through this coronavirus. When everyone repents and turns to God, the coronavirus will naturally stop.

As a prophet, Moses was God’s representative in administering discipline to those who rebelled. When Aaron interceded for the people, he represented spiritual intercession. Korah was a Levite who served in the sanctuary, and the people who died served in the outer courtyard. God sent his cleansing discipline to these areas, and Aaron’s intercession stopped the plague.

In the same way, God sends his discipline to purge away the sins of the flesh. The intercession of the church, as well as the blood of Christ, provide a powerful intercession that stops the wrath of God.  

In the Old Testament, the golden incense altar was located the sanctuary, near the veil that divided the sanctuary and the Holy of Holies. The high priest entered the Holy of Holies only once a year to offer a sacrifice for the people’s cleansing. On the cross, the Lord Jesus removed the veil that divided the sanctuary from the Holy of Holies. Through His blood, we can all draw near to the Holy of Holies with confidence and receive God’s grace and mercy (ESV, Hebrews 4:16).

Not only does Christ intercede for our forgiveness, but we as believers are also allowed to offer prayers that ascend to God from golden censors (see Revelation 8:4). Often, we need God to purify us from sins of the flesh before we can offer effective prayers (1 Peter 3:7).

As our lives are purified by God, our prayers become more powerful (1 Peter 1:22). God will continue to cleanse us as we grow closer to him. When we sin, however, God disciplines us to restore his relationship with us (Hebrews 12). A plague may arise to purify and cleanse our souls from sin. Lack of prayer may cause lack of healing from the plague (James 4:2).

In the New Testament, the golden incense altar is counted as a part of the Holy of Holies (Hebrews 9:4) because the veil that separates the Holy of Holies and the sanctuary has been torn apart. In the Old Testament, Aaron’s prayers are effective despite the veil that separates him from the Holy of Holies. How much more powerful are the prayers of Christians in the New Testament! God has removed the veil, tearing it apart through the work of Christ on the cross. We must repent of sins of the flesh and rebellion in our soul, so that the fragrance of our prayers may reach God.

We must pray for the sins of the world. The effect of intercession is very powerful. We not only pray that the plague may stop, but for sinners to repent and turn to God so that the plague may stop.

In other words, the outbreak of the coronavirus is not only caused by the sins of the world, but it also reflects the lack of prayer in churches. If we prayed with fervency and power, perhaps God would bring an end to the coronavirus or prevent it altogether. The pandemic not only requires sinners to repent, but it also requires churches to humble themselves through prayer.

Recently, many people have begun to pray powerfully to God. I pray that the pandemic may soon come to an end. The pandemic is a precursor of coming revival and awakening in the US and all around the world. God is preparing our hearts by cleansing us. Soon, He will pour down His blessings from heaven. Let us not lose hope. May God open our eyes to see this blessing in disguise. Let us pray before the incense altar and come to the throne of grace.

Bible Study With Jairus - Numbers 13

Bible Study with Jairus – Numbers 13

Overcoming evil through faith.

Many Christians are familiar with the story of the twelve spies who explored the land of Canaan, the promised land that God had promised to give to the Israelites. Numbers 12 explains that ten of the spies gave a bad report. Caleb and Joshua, the last two spies, believed they could overcome their enemies and take the land. God was pleased with Caleb and Joshua. Forty years later, when the people of Israel finally entered the Promised Land, these two were the only spies that were allowed to inherit the land. The other ten evil spies died in the wilderness because of unbelief.

Numbers 13, however, introduces some themes that we don’t often hear about in church. For example, Numbers 13:33 gives a cryptic reference to some lesser known people, the Nephilim. This verse clearly states that the descendants of Anak came from the Nephilim. Genesis 6:4 introduces us to the Nephilim: "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God come in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown." ESV

Christians disagree about the identity of the “sons of God" in this passage. Some believe they were evil spirits, that is, fallen angels. When they married the daughters of man, they gave birth to "Nephilim.” "Nephilim" means "giants" in the original text.

According to this interpretation, these people were a combination of evil spirits and man’s flesh. They precipitated the worldwide flood of Genesis 6 that wiped out all human beings except Noah's family. We know that Noah is a descendant of Adam, not the "Nephilim.” So shouldn’t all the "Nephilim" have been wiped out by the flood? How were there still "Nephilim" surviving in the Promised Land?

Some people say that the "sons of God" in Genesis 6:4 is a reference to the son of "Seth". We have no way of knowing this. Even if this interpretation were correct, these so-called "Nephilim" should have all been wiped out in the flood. All human beings should be the descendants of Noah. Therefore, it seems logically impossible for the "Nephilim" in the Promised Land to be the descendants of the "Nephilim" in Genesis 6.

Did the evil spirits unite with humans to produce giants a second time? We have no way of knowing this, either. If so, it provides an extreme example of what evil spirits can do to humans. We do know that evil spirits can indeed control and possess people. The story of the Lord Jesus casting out demons, as well as countless stories about casting out demons in modern churches, tell us that evil spirits can indeed possess people. No matter how the "Nephilim" came into being here, they were obviously possessed by or united with evil spirits.

When Abraham was first called by God to go to the Promised Land, he lived east of the Euphrates River. God did not allow Abraham to take root there. Instead, He led Abraham's descendant, Jacob, on a roundabout, circuitous path. Jacob and his descendants first went south to Egypt, where they spent 400 years. Then they headed north. In the words of the Lord to Abraham, "They shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." (ESV, Genesis 15:16) The "Amorites" referenced here are related to the Canaanites. If these "Amorites" represent the seven Canaanite nations, we understand this passage to refer to the sins of the Canaanite nations in general. Later, the Lord explicitly instructed the Israelites to exterminate all seven of the Canaanite nations (Deuteronomy 7:1-2).

On the surface, the conquest of Canaan was a battle between people, but in reality, it was a battle between God and Satan. Many people don't understand why God wanted to exterminate the seven Canaan nations. They think this is very cruel. But if you look at this situation from the perspective of the spiritual world, you will see that there was more at stake. This was a battle between God’s kingdom and Satan's kingdom. The Canaanites were victims who were used by the evil spirits, and God had given them plenty of time to repent. On the one hand, the 400-year history of the Israelites in Egypt provided time for the Israelites to gather strength. On the other hand, it also provided time for the Canaanites to repent. But now the 400 years had passed, and the Canaanites still refused to repent. Their iniquity was full, so God instructed the Israelites to exterminate the seven Canaanite nations.

The Israelites failed to take the land of Canaan because it was possessed or controlled by evil spirits. Rather than seeing God’s will and leading, they only saw the strength of the seven Canaanite nations. They disregarded God’s power and saw themselves as grasshoppers (Numbers 13:32-33). Their lack of faith was a great insult to God.

They not only lacked faith, but they also refused to comprehend God’s spiritual work in Israel through Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and others. In the words of Paul in the New Testament, “The spiritual man judges all things, but the natural person is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” (ESV, 1 Corinthians 2:14-15). The ten spies represented carnal and fleshy people who could not discern spiritual truth.

Because they did not have faith in God, they could not enter the Promised Land. The Promised Land represents the presence of God, the Holy of Holies, and the Spirit of God. Instead, they could only wander in the wilderness of trial and tribulation for forty years. The Israelites would have to bear their iniquity for 40 years, a year for each day they scouted out the land (ESV, Numbers 14:34). The book of Hebrews specifically mentions that the dead bodies of the Israelites fell in the wilderness because of unbelief (Hebrews 3:19, 1 Corinthians 10:5).

Just like the spies faced a test of faith, we as Christians also face a challenge to our faith. The Lord Jesus said that He would come soon, but He still hasn't come after such a long time. We struggle to believe his words are true. Just like God’s promise to give his people the Promised Land was reliable and truthful, Jesus’ promise to come back to earth can be trusted. But we need faith and spiritual maturity to grasp and believe it.

 The journey from Egypt to the Promised Land only takes 11 days of travel at a normal pace, but it took 40 years for the Israelites to arrive. Why? Because of their unbelief. The wandering of the Israelites in the wilderness represents the Christian’s spiritual journey. After we are saved, we are set free from the sins of Egypt and the uncleanness of the world. God enables us to enter a life of faith through the Spirit, just like the Israelites entered the Promised Land. He gives us the opportunity to worship God in spirit and truth (ESV, John 4:24). But many of us are still wandering in our souls. Just like the Israelites in the wilderness, we are lost and alone, unable to enter the life of the Spirit and reach spiritual maturity.

Why doesn't God make things easier for our faith? Why didn’t he make Israel’s enemies less scary, less formidable? Why did they have to be so enormously terrifying? God wanted to use the enemies of the Israelites as a footstool to boost their faith in him.

The Bible tells us that the enemy is our footstool (Psalm 110:1). Metaphorically, we are princes learning to ride a horse. We need a footstool to climb onto the horse, and Satan is this footstool. He is a step stool that creates an opportunity for us to boost our faith. In Him, we have authority to trample on all enemies and evil spirits, as well as scorpions and snakes on earth (Luke 10:19). As we trample on our spiritual enemies, we have a way to climb upwards in our faith.

Today, both China and the United States face many evil spirits. We should rely on God's strength to overcome them. Just like David approached Goliath with faith, we must exercise trust in God as we move forward against the spiritual enemies of our day.

Too often, instead of imitating David’s faith, we imitate the Israelites’ attitude towards the giants in the Promised Land. In the face of a difficult environment and rampant evil spirits, we forget God's promises and the good works, signs and wonders He has done in history. We lose our faith, just like the Israelites did in Numbers 13. Let’s learn from history and avoid making the same mistakes.

Sanctified Imagination

In Israelites society, each clan had a leader, or representative. The leader’s spiritual state reflected the faith or lack of faith of the tribe of Israel they belong to. The spies were not the only Israelites who failed to trust God. When the spies reported the bad news about the giants in the Promised Land, the congregation also wept loudly (ESV, Numbers 14:1). The people were just as cynical and pessimistic as the spies were.

Moses had instructed the spies, “See what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land. It was the season of the first ripe grapes.” (ESV, Numbers 13:18-20).

The spies not only brought back an objective report about the land (good or bad, rich or poor, trees or open land). They also brought back their own interpretation of the facts.

I am reminded of a story told by an American Charismatic pastor, Mel Bond. Bond tells of a church member who owned a red Ferrari. One day, this individual came into church and heard that a red Ferrari in the parking lot had been crashed into. He experienced painful feelings, but he later discovered that the crashed vehicle was not his. The sadness, anger, and regret he had experienced existed only in his imagination, due to his own interpretation of the situation.

Pastor Mel Bond used this example to illustrate the importance of imagination. We can create a false world with imagination. This example also applies here. When Caleb and Joshua interpreted the facts through the lens of faith, they used their sanctified imagination to envision a world in which they could easily overcome their enemies.

On the other hand, the ten spies exaggerated the enemy's strength when they saw the facts through a lens of unbelief. With their natural imagination, they saw a hopeless picture of disaster. Perhaps the "Nephilim" they saw in the land were not really the half-demonic "Nephilim" of Genesis 6. In their unbelief and ungodly imagination, they had exaggerated the enemy’s strength.

People from mainland China are familiar with the debate over "materialism" and "idealism." When I was young, I knew a pair of brothers named "Material" and "Ideal". The teaching of "materialism" is that the material world is all there is. When a person dies, the material body and soul will be gone. But "idealism" believes that there is more to the world than what you see. There is a world of perception beyond the material.

Even though these two groups live in the same world, they perceive it very differently. The world seems very different for those who see a realm beyond the material. The same is true for Christianity. The Bible tells us that the world we can see does not last forever, but the things we cannot see are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). How we interact with the world depends on how we see it: with natural eyes or with spiritual eyes of sanctified imagination.

Our thoughts and imagination create our perception of the world we live in. If we live by faith and by spiritual vision, we will gradually create a living space like the Promised Land around us. Not only is there milk and honey here, but it is also filled with God’s presence and joy.

But if we live by unbelief and by eyes of flesh, we will gradually create a dark environment, so that we can no longer see God’s presence and working in our lives. The sun of God’s love still exists, but the dark clouds of unbelief have covered the sun. Let’s use our faith-filled imagination to live in God’s truth and imagine the amazing things that he can do in our lives through his power.

If you choose to see things from the perspective of faith, if you choose to see the enemy from the perspective of God's promise, you will be able to defeat the enemy and enter the Promised Land. But if you choose to use the perspective of unbelief to see the enemy and the difficulties in the environment, those difficulties can defeat and devour you.

In other words, whether you or the enemy are a grasshopper depends entirely on how you perceive yourself and how you perceive them. If you see yourself as a grasshopper, you will gradually create an environment of unbelief for yourself, and eventually you will be swallowed by the enemy. But if you see yourself as a good soldier of God, your confidence will continue to grow, and you will eventually defeat the enemy.

 

Living in the Light

In The Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis tells a story about a bus that goes from hell to heaven daily. Most people who take the bus from hell to visit heaven choose to return to hell because they find that heaven is not suitable for their living habits. In heaven, they cannot curse or complain. They can’t handle the intensity of the bright light in heaven.  

In other words, C. S. Lewis emphasizes that it’s not so much that God created hell to torture unbelievers, but that people did not choose God's presence. They are unwilling to live in the light. They choose to live in the darkness, which is hell. Hell is a range of darkness beyond God and His light.

There are different degrees of darkness outside of God’s light. Hell is the epitome of darkness and separation from God. There, sulfur and fire burn constantly without reprieve. Some people will go to hell after judgement while some people will go to heaven because they have repented.

But there are many other levels of darkness between heaven and hell. These degrees of darkness can be compared to valleys, darkened by mountains of varying heights. Though this concept is not mentioned in the Bible, several people have had prophetic dreams about this theme.

In a prophetic dream, the Holy Spirit carried me on his back and flew for a long time. After arriving at a very deep and very dark valley, we saw a Chinese man there. He told me that he had lived in this valley since the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD). I saw him smoking a modern cigarette. In this prophetic dream, I told him that I could not believe what he said, because there were no such modern cigarettes during the Han Dynasty. He said that this was brought to him by a person who went there later.

Later, I realized that smoke in the prophetic dream represents some people who do not go to hell, but must be disciplined in the dark. This concept is not specifically mentioned in the Bible, so these prophetic dreams are for your reference only.

From the dream, I understand that some people live in deep darkness while some live in less darkness. Some people live in lower light while some people live in higher light. It is a process of gradual transition. The more you are filled with God’s light, the more you will live in His light. If you are filled with darkness, the more you will live in the darkness, far from God.

 

Future Revival

As Christians, we are good soldiers called by God to lead countless people to salvation, just as Moses and Joshua led the Israelites out of Egypt. God's revival is coming to China. Hundreds of millions of people in China may be saved. The Holy Spirit has given me this promise many times through prophetic dreams and direct communication. I saw in a vision that after the great revival of China, worship of God in various parts of China will be in full swing. There will be great changes to all aspects of Chinese society.

In the present, however, we only see lots of hardships and the unbelief of many relatives. When I told these prophetic dreams and visions to my relatives, I was ridiculed and mocked. But we must see the world through the lens of faith in order to produce results.

This revival will spread beyond China. God’s great revival is also coming to America. In a prophetic dream, I saw countless Americans watching a movie in a pool. The water got deeper and deeper. Later, when we returned, we saw the great revival coming. Many people were worshipping God on the stage. There was a huge crowd of people on the scene.

Water represents the Holy Spirit, and the increase of water represents the continuous increase of the Holy Spirit. God uses various circumstances, including the coronavirus pandemic, to perform the work of discipline and cleansing, to prepare people and let them repent. When the people are ready, the great revival will come. We must prepare ourselves.

In another prophetic dream, I saw an angel stretching out a big stick from the sky to the ocean. He began to stir. The churning waves of the ocean caused many houses to collapse. People began to run in fear. I and several others escaped by swimming away. I felt in my spirit that God has allowed us to face a turbulent environment. But if we want to live in the Spirit (represented by swimming), we can rely on God’s power to survive this difficult environment and we can prepare to welcome the coming of God's great revival.

In a difficult environment, we must see through the external appearance to perceive the essence. We must see God’s good purpose, and view reality through the lens of faith. When we view the world through the perspective of God’s promises, we can enter the Promised Land promised by God. If we cannot view the world through faith and God's promise, the promised revival may not come true. May the Spirit of God wake us up!

 

 

Bible Study with Jairus - Numbers 12

Entering His Presence

Numbers 12

Does God still love me, despite my past? Can I really experience a personal relationship with him? Why do my sinful desires keep tripping me up? Numbers 12 has some fascinating metaphors that will help us understand our relationship with the Lord.

 

God’s unconditional love for all people.

 In this chapter, we hear a puzzling piece of news: Moses has married a Cushite woman. Why did he marry her? Is his current wife dead? Did he have more than one wife, like Jacob? Did he marry her out of greed? The Bible doesn’t tell us, so we have no way of knowing.

We also are left wondering why Miriam and Aaron spoke out against Moses because of this (Numbers 12:1). Verse one says that Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because he married a Cushite woman. But in verse 2, what they really said was this: "Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?" (ESV)

Is this really what they wanted to say? Why didn't they just come out and say it directly: "Why did Moses marry a Cushite woman"? Biblical scholars generally believe that the Cushites are black people, based on Jeremiah 13:23, "Can the Cushite change his skin?" (CSB) Psalm 68:31 also says, "Nobles shall come from Egypt; Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.” (ESV) Stepbible.org explains that Cush is in the area of modern-day Ethiopia, so the word “Cushite” means “black.”

When we are dissatisfied with people, we often fail to say the real reason for our dissatisfaction. Instead, we find some of their shortcomings or mistakes to blame. This seems to be human nature.

Why did Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses saying, "God did not speak only through Moses," just because Moses married a Cushite woman? The essence here is the rebellion of Miriam and Aaron - to challenge Moses' leadership. As a result, God punished Miriam with leprosy. What is the spiritual meaning of this story?

A lady who was leading our Bible Study asked these questions. I prayed for God's help, and suddenly I got an inspiration in the Spirit. This inspiration came in the form of a question: "Think about where this black woman came from before coming to the wilderness." Immediately, I was inspired. I felt that there was a close connection between this chapter and Numbers 11.

Numbers 11:4 tells us, “Some foreigners among the Israelites had a strong craving for other kinds of food. Even the Israelites started crying again and said, ‘If only we had meat to eat!’” (God's Word Translation. GTW) The complaints of the Israelites and the strong craving of the foreigners brought the discipline of the Lord. His fire even burned some outlying parts of the camp. That place is called Taberah, and the word means "burn," because the fire of the Lord had burned among them (Numbers 11:3). In the end, the Lord struck some people with plague. That place was called "Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had the craving" (ESV, Numbers 11:34). ("Kibroth-hattaavah" means "graves of craving.”)

The Cushite woman is a black woman. She probably was not an Israelite, but a part of the foreign crowd mentioned in Numbers 11. After God disciplined the cravings of the foreigners and the complaints of the Israelites, some foreigners and others may have repented. They became sincerely willing to join the journey of the Israelites. But it was not easy to assimilate with the Israelites.

Why were Miriam and Aaron dissatisfied with Moses' marrying a Cushite woman? The Bible does not tell us whether Moses' wife Zipporah was still alive, so we have no way of knowing. But from the perspective of God’s defense of Moses and His punishment of Miriam, Moses may be innocent in His eyes.

Is it possible that the reason why Miriam and Aaron were dissatisfied with Moses' marrying a Cush woman was because of racial discrimination? If so, it shows the narrow-mindedness of Miriam and Aaron and the humility of Moses. If the Cushite woman represents the repentant foreigners, and her act of marrying Moses represents their willingness to unite with God’s chosen people, then rejecting her would be an act of profound arrogance.

God loves the Israelites, and he also loves those who live in Israel as sojourners. An obvious theme of the Old Testament is that the Lord is willing to be the father of orphans and to take care of the poor, weak, humble, widows, the elderly and the sojourners. God hates social injustice. Since Moses loves God, he also loves all those who are willing to choose God. If the Cushite woman is willing to marry Moses, and Moses humbly and willingly accepts her, their marriage creates a picture of God’s love.

In the United States today, interracial marriage is common. But in the 1970s, interracial marriages faced more significant discrimination and pressure. Moses’ interracial marriage must have faced intense opposition; even his own sister and brother were against him. Despite this struggle and pressure, Moses willingly accepted the Cushite woman. He was not racist, and he exhibited great humility.

We can compare Moses to the Spirit of God, and the Cushite woman to our sinful past. As Jeremiah 13:23 says, "Can the Cushite change his skin, or a leopard his spots? If so, you might be able to do what is good, you who are instructed in evil." (CSB) Just as Moses was willing to accept the Cushite woman who loved him, God’s Spirit is willing to accept repentant sinners. Even if you have committed a heinous sin, Heavenly Father will not despise you as you come to him in repentance. He will not think you are unclean because of the blackness of your sin.

Even though God will never reject his people, despite their sinful past or racial background, many religious people can and do reject their fellow humans. People often despise others for fear of defiling themselves. Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan vividly depicts religious and racial discrimination. The Jewish religious elite, the priest and the Levite, both avoided the half-dead man who had been beaten by the robbers. This half-dead man represents the scarred people who are dominated by sins in the world.

Only the Good Samaritan crossed cultural and religious lines to care for the wounded man. The Samaritan did not despise him. He gave oil and wine to the half-dead man, helped him heal, took him to the inn, and promised to pay those who cared for him. The Good Samaritan is a portrayal of the Lord Jesus and the Father himself; he heals us, welcomes us, and carries us home to his body, the church.

My seminary teacher, Tom Jones, told a fascinating story. He and his team often go to Brazil with Randy Clark to preach the gospel. Once, their team was preaching to some prostitutes on the street. One of the prostitutes came to know Christ and attended a church activity the group had recommended. But when the prostitute walked into that particular church, she was refused entry because she was improperly dressed. When she came back, her face was wet with tears. She felt very ashamed of the fact that the church people thought she was dirty.

After this incident, Tom Jones and their team continued to preach the gospel to these prostitutes. The next time they saw them, they specially prepared some lovely, fragrant roses. They gave each prostitute a rose, hugged them, and told them, "Your Heavenly Father loves you. In His eyes, you are as beautiful as this rose."

I have heard Tom Jones tell this story countless times, but I am still very moved each time I hear it. In the summer of 2019, he told the story again at a summer intensive class at the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. The principal of the seminary was so touched that he asked the staff members to buy a lot of roses. He passed them out to each person in attendance, and asked the giver to say to the recipient, "Heavenly Father loves you. In His eyes, you are as beautiful as this rose." There was a lot of crying that day, and everyone was deeply moved.

If my guess is correct, God was greatly offended after Miriam and Aaron opposed Moses’ marriage to the Cushite woman. God is certainly the God of the Israelites, but he is also the God of the Gentiles. God is not racist. God loves all people in the world because they all were created in His image.

 

Submitting to the Spirit.

Miriam and Aaron masked their racism by asking a question about Moses’ authority. Their inner rebellion and ambition were exposed, so the Lord came out to endorse Moses.

Why did God stand up for Moses at this time? We know that strong leadership is essential to a powerful army. In order to keep up the morale and win the battle, a leader should get rid of dissatisfaction in the army. It is the same here. Before leading the Israelites to fight with the enemy, God first unified the team under the leadership of Moses.

The Israelites made 42 different stops in the wilderness, representing the trials that the Israelites went through. The trials at each station have spiritual significance. God dealt with the cravings and complaints of the foreigners at Taberah (“burn”) and Kibroth-hattaavah (“graves of craving”). Here, he cleansed the congregation.

From Kibroth-hattaavah, the people of Israel journeyed to Hazeroth and lived there. "Hazeroth" means "settlement". Next, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in Paran, which means "place of caverns.” (Numbers 12:16). At Hazeroth, God dealt with the internal rebellion of the leaders of Israel. Aaron called Moses “my lord” (vs. 11), and Moses was established as the absolute leader before moving on to Paran. In the very next chapter, the twelve spies began to scout out the Promised Land. It was important to establish leadership before God led the Israelites into battle with the enemy.

Metaphorically, this chapter represents the Christian journey. After receiving salvation, we leave the bondage of sin (Egypt). We pass through many trials in the wilderness of life. First, we’re tempted by fleshly desires, represented by the cravings of the multitude in Chapter 11. Next, God cleanses the rebellion and the hidden sins in our souls, represented by Aaron and Miriam’s rebellion. God is humble and gentle, like Moses was in this passage. But our souls often disobey the leading of God’s Spirit in our hearts, like Miriam and Aaron rebelled against Moses. Our flesh and soul often bully and even resist the Spirit in us (Galatians 5:17).

Rather than obeying Moses and Aaron, Miriam took the lead in rebelling against Moses. Miriam’s name is mentioned first, indicating that she was the ringleader. Aaron seems to have repented in the end, calling Moses “my lord” (Numbers 12:11). Miriam represents the flesh and the hidden sins inside our hearts. Just as she influenced Aaron to rebel against Moses, our flesh influences our soul to rebel against God’s Spirit.

God specifically asked the three of them to come to the tent of meeting. He came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and spoke to Aaron and Miriam. Aaron, as High Priest, should have been able to meet with God in the Holy of Holies in the tent of meeting. But because of his rebellion, he could only meet with God at the entrance of the tent.

Similarly, God punished Miriam by sending her outside the camp for seven days. She could only come in after being cleansed. The presence of God inhabited the tabernacle, and especially in the Holy of Holies. Not only could Miriam not enter the Holy of Holies, but she was even excluded from the sanctuary, the outer court, and the entire camp of Israel.

This story points to the New Testament reality that sin breaks our fellowship with God. Even though we don’t lose eternal life when we sin, we forfeit our sense of peace and rest in him. We must repent and experience God's cleansing before we can re-enter His presence and rest.

The story of Aaron and Miriam can teach us an important lesson about our flesh and our relationship with Christ. After coming to Christ in salvation, our old man is crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20). The person living inside is no longer me, but Christ. Just like Miriam and Aaron prevented Moses from ruling, our old life prevents the new life in Christ to rule in our souls. God disciplines us, just like he disciplined Aaron and Miriam. He allows the old life in our soul to be crucified so the new life can live in us. In this way, we can win the battle against the enemy.

 

Experiencing the Presence of God.

As we repent of our sins and re-enter his presence, we can experience a personal relationship with God, like Moses did. God gives an astounding description of his relationship with Moses: "Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” (ESV, Numbers 12:6-8).

Did Moses see God with his own eyes? In Exodus, God said that Moses could not see God’s face, or he would die. God placed him in a cleft of the rock and covered him with His hands so that Moses could only see His back. In this verse, the Bible states that Moses spoke with God face to face and saw his image. Are these two verses contradictory?

The same dichotomy appears in the New Testament. The apostle John said, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.” (ESV, John 1:18). But the Lord Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (ESV, Matthew 5:8).

Regardless of whether people can see God with the naked eye, I believe people can meet God in the Spirit. Hebrews 4:16 tells us that because of Jesus’ blood, we can come to God’s throne of grace without fear and meet with Him. Ephesians 2:18 also tells us that we have access in one Spirit to the Father through Him. As we conquer the flesh, yield to the Spirit of God, and know his unconditional love for us, we will enter personally into the warm, tender embrace of our Father.

 

Bible Study with Jairus - 1 Corinthians 1

Unity in the Chinese Church

The Chinese church, like all churches around the world, has struggled with unity for many years. Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 1 provide encouragement and hope for any church in its fight against conflict and disunity.

Several years ago, I met a young lady who had been saved in a traditional Chinese church. After encountering Charismatic practices in my ministry, she opened herself to speaking in tongues, signs and wonders. In need of personal healing, she participated in some special meetings associated with supernatural healing. Her church tried to persuade her not to participate in these activities, saying that she was church shopping. They told her she should only attend gatherings at their church instead of running around.

However, this lady has a different opinion. She has noticed that praying in tongues has benefitted her spiritually. I agree. I’ve watched her fear diminish and her faith grow stronger. She believes that if pastors omit these vital teachings from God’s word, believers will become spiritually malnourished over time.

In addition, she noticed that her evangelical church struggles with legalism. The church asks believers to recite the Bible and teaches them to condemn themselves for not confessing and repenting enough. Over the years, this Christian lady has beat herself up and condemned herself many times. Now, she realizes she has freedom in Christ. She sighs, “All these years, I have unnecessarily condemned myself so many times.”

I was saved in the Local Church Movement (LCM) and have attended its gatherings for many years. When I met this lady, I was still in the LCM and had no contact with the Pentecostal Movement. At that time, some members and I tried to persuade her to join our church, but she refused. One of the reasons she gave was that she could not accept Brother Watchman Nee.

Most Chinese churches outside of the LCM generally support Brother Watchman Nee and oppose Brother Witness Lee. The church that the lady was in was influenced by Pastor Stephen Tong, who is also against Watchman Nee. I read some of Pastor Stephen Tong’s criticisms of Watchman Nee online. He discusses theological disagreements and differing theological views.

This lady mentioned a book to me - My Uncle Watchman Nee by Pastor Stephen C.T. Chan, Watchman Nee's nephew. She recommended this book because the book points out some of Watchman Nee’s shortcomings, remind us that Watchman Nee is not perfect. The LCM speaks highly of Watchman Nee, overlooking his shortcomings. Many outsiders criticize the LCM for idolizing Watchman Nee and putting him on pedestal.

At that time, I chose not to read the book. I have read a lot of Watchman Nee's books and found them to be very helpful. Personally, I don’t think the LCM idolizes Watchman Nee. They are simply valuing and appreciating the spiritual riches he has to offer. However, it is true that people in the LCM generally do not criticize Watchman Nee or mention his shortcomings. When teaching spiritual truths, they find it difficult to break through the teaching of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee; they don’t dare criticize these great men.

Recently, I skimmed the first dozen pages of the book, My Uncle Watchman Nee, on the Internet. In the book, Pastor Stephen C.T. Chan affirms his uncle Watchman Nee’s spiritual achievements, but disagrees with Watchman Nee’s belief about local churches. Watchman Nee has a strong belief that each city should have only one church, so that everyone in that city can be unified in the same local body. Pastor Stephen believes that this overly strict local church belief leads to a closed denomination that does not come into contact with other Christian groups. When I was in the LCM, I learned that it attaches great importance to the concept of having only one church in each locality.

In 2015, God led me to the Pentecostal Movement. I was determined to learn from the Pentecostal Movement, but I dealt with a lot of struggles. In the end, I obeyed God's leading. I overcame emotional attachments and the principles accepted in the LCM (including one church for each locality), and gradually left the LCM. Many elders and friends in the LCM disagreed with my choice. But most of them were loving and understanding and didn’t condemn me.

After that, the Lord appeared to me in a prophetic dream. There were two rivers behind Him. The Lord told me that these two rivers would converge, but He did not tell me specifically which two rivers they were. As I pondered this question, I began to see that it represents the convergence of spiritual life and spiritual gifts. The LCM values spiritual growth, but do not learn about spiritual gifts. Charismatic churches focus more heavily on gifts, but they need to maintain a balance of seeking spiritual growth as well. Spiritual maturity and spiritual gifts cannot be separated, and they can both be maintained simultaneously. For example, Paul not only advocates for spiritual growth, but also for spiritual gifts.

God gave me a burden for the Chinese churches to become unified. A prophet prophesied that God would use me to bring together groups that would never otherwise come together. God has also given me prophetic dreams many times, telling me that the LCM will accept spiritual gifts and will be filled with the Holy Spirit in the future. These prophecies and prophetic dreams have not yet been fulfilled, but they have directed my prayers.

Today, Chinese churches are not unified. Pastor Stephen Tong is strongly against Charismatic churches in addition to the LCM. He has been a big influence among Chinese Christians, leading many believers to form a negative attitude towards the LCM and the Charismatics. Although both the LCM and the Charismatics are worthy of criticism, I think Pastor Stephen Tong's criticism is too harsh and negative, preventing many believers from learning and understanding the richness of the LCM and the Charismatics. My personal experience in these two groups shows that they each have a lot of richness worth learning about by the evangelical churches, especially Christians and church groups influenced by Pastor Stephen Tong.

The gospel was brought to China by Western missionaries. The missionaries came from various denominations in the West. The denominations’ thinking patterns also came from the West. When Western missionaries came to China to preach, they brought denominational division into China. As a result, a lot of conflicts formed among Chinese Christians.

Watchman Nee hoped to find a way to solve the denominations’ problems. In the end, he proposed that "one church for one locality" is a biblical principle, hoping that this method would solve the problem of division between denominations and churches. After 100 years, the LCM has still not achieved this ideal.

Moreover, many other Chinese and non-Chinese church groups still do not accept the LCM and its principle of one church for one locality. The LCM also does not accept the truths practiced by some other groups, such as the truths and practices of Charismatic churches.

The main cause of division is the disunity of truth. This disunity has two aspects. The first aspect is that some groups teach truths that other groups do not accept. For example, the truth about speaking in tongues, taught by the Charismatic movement, is not accepted by the LCM and other evangelical groups. The LCM teaches many truths and practices related to spiritual growth, but other groups condemn them as heretics and refuse to accept the light they received from the Lord.

Another aspect is that we know about truths, but we still don’t understand them well. We need more light from God so that we can understand the truth better. Once we reach a clear understanding of truth, we can shine that light to others as well. All the churches have room for growth in their understanding of truth.

I personally think that one of the reasons why the LCM’s “one church for one locality” principle has not been accepted by the Universal Church is that it is just a method. Though many criticize the methodology behind this principle, I don’t believe the problem lies with the method. Unity does not spring from a particular method, but from our knowledge of the truth and our maturity in Christ. If churches are still living in the flesh, they will lack unity—no matter how biblical their methodology may be. Unity is the result of reaching a certain degree of maturity. Aside from maturity, no method or human movement can bring oneness in the church.

Historically, the LCM has had many interactions with the Pentecostal Movement. But due to the Pentecostal Movement’s immaturity at that time, and the mistakes and false prophecies of some Pentecostal leaders, Witness Lee (one of the leaders of the LCM) rejected spiritual gifts. He himself studied speaking in tongues for two years, but gave it up because Watchman Nee objected.

After Witness Lee came to the United States, he visited the Charismatic Church. He had reservations about Charismatic prophecies such as, "Thus says the Lord.” He noticed that many prophecies made in the name of God do not come true, including predictions about the California earthquake. This reinforced his prejudice against the Pentecostal Movement.

However, he did not deny that the Pentecostal movement is from God. The main reason why he did not accept the Pentecostal movement is that he found that many people who pursue spiritual gifts were unwilling to pursue deeper spiritual growth. Therefore, he regarded the pursuit of spiritual gifts as a hindrance to believers' pursuit of spiritual life and growth.

The Church in Los Angeles was the first LCM church in the United States. The church was formed from a group of evangelical Christians and a Charismatic group who was willing to accept the principle of one church for one locality. However, there was no agreement on the topic of speaking in tongues. In the end, the two groups separated. Brother Witness Lee seemed to adopt a neutral attitude towards this. He encouraged everyone to tolerate each other, but he did not achieve the beautiful ideal of encouraging everyone to gather in unity.  

Is speaking in tongues a truth in the Bible? Paul said, “Do not forbid speaking in tongues.” (ESV, 1 Corinthians 14:39). Nonetheless, the LCM and other evangelical groups never speak in tongues, which means that speaking in tongues is actually forbidden. This violates the teaching of the Bible. I’m not saying that everyone should speak in tongues, but Paul said, “When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.” (ESV, 1 Corinthians 14:26). Please take note that Paul said that each person has their own gift: one may have a tongue, one may have a song, or a lesson, or a teaching. He did not say that everyone should speak in tongues. Rather, it’s a gift given only to some. But in many evangelical churches, tongues are forbidden, despite the Bible’s teaching. In practice, many evangelical churches have violated the teachings of the Bible.

Through studying in the Pentecostal Movement, receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit and my experience of speaking in tongues, I have learned that speaking in tongues is definitely not as insignificant as many people thought. Speaking in tongues is a very important truth, and is very important for the spiritual growth of Christians. Because this gift is so important, Satan hates this truth and tries his best to stigmatize it. When I wrote my doctoral thesis, " Pursuing Holiness and Gifts of the Holy Spirt: Combining Local Church Movement and Charismatic Practices to Prophesy," I mentioned that if speaking in tongues is the least important gift, why is it that this insignificant gift causes the greatest division?

I was saved in the LCM, but I never received teaching about the truth of speaking in tongues. After 13 years, God used my wife’s ten-year infertility to force me to seek help from the Pentecostal Movement. God personally led me to experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. I have read a lot of books on this subject and have listened to many people’s teachings regarding this. I finally realized the importance of speaking in tongues and I started to practice it every day. I have recorded more than 30 episodes in Chinese to tell about my experience and insights. This can’t be explained in just a few words. Those who are interested in learning more can listen to my recordings. If you humbly pray for God's help, He will enlighten you.

It is said that there are 600 million believers in the Pentecostal Movement. I don't know whether this number is accurate or not. Many of them have experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. You can't simply dismiss all these experiences by saying they are all deceived by evil spirits. It is possible that people in the evangelical church and LCM simply do not know these truths. We need to be humble and not be dismissive of others’ beliefs and experiences. We need to acknowledge that we may not know everything.

No matter how much the LCM insists on “one church for each locality,” people will not attend gatherings with them because they are ignorant of the truth of speaking in tongues. At least 600 million Charismatic Christians will not give up the truth they know about speaking in tongues because of the so-called “one church for one locality” principle.

This example shows that true unity does not lie in our desires and methods, but in our lack of understanding of truth. Although all people in the Charismatic Movement know the truth about speaking in tongues, not all of them live in unity. True oneness in the church requires spiritual growth, not just outward agreement. Disagreements and different understandings of the truth are the first obstacles to oneness.

This is the picture Paul paints in 1 Corinthians 1. Paul opens his letter with words of greeting and encouragement. Then he jumps into a discussion of unity. In verses 10-17, Paul states that he has heard from Chloe’s household about disputes and divisions in the Corinthian church. Some Corinthian believers say, “I follow Paul”; others say, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” (ESV, 1 Corinthians 1:12).

 

Throughout the ages, people have tried to achieve oneness through various wise teachings. Ultimately, they have been unsuccessful. But Paul states that wisdom is not enough to bring true salvation, healing, and unity. He explains, “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:17-18 ESV)  In these two verses, Paul compared "words of wisdom" and "word of the cross".

Paul goes on, “For it is written, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’” (1 Corinthians 1:19, ESV) God wants to destroy man’s wisdom. When man’s wisdom finally reaches its limit, God will begin to release His wisdom to help us.

The verse that especially inspired me is 1 Corinthians 1:21: “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” (ESV) The church has attempted many times to achieve oneness through various types of wisdom, but it has not succeeded. The reason is because man’s wisdom cannot achieve oneness.

But one day, God will release His wisdom. God’s wisdom may seem foolish, but it is powerful enough to save believers. I was particularly inspired by the word "faith", which is the basic principle of the Bible. Our salvation is not accomplished through human effort, but by our "faith" in God. What is true of our salvation is also true of our victory and oneness.

The main problem of the church is not its sin or worldliness, but its lack of faith. We need faith to please God and experience the truth of God’s word.

The same is true of unity. The degree of our faith determines the degree to which we can experience the truth of God’s promise of oneness. When our faith increases, our knowledge, understanding and experience of the truth will also increase. When our faith increases, our maturity in Christ will also increase. As our maturity grows, we will reach unity in Him (Ephesians 4:13).

When you are sick, an internal disease or infection manifests in many outward symptoms. If you just treat the external manifestations without finding the root cause of the disease, it will be difficult to cure the disease. Similarly, the division and disunity of Christians are just an outward manifestation of the church’s internal illness. The root cause is a lack of faith and spiritual growth. Therefore, when you just heal the symptoms without addressing the root problem, and when you seek oneness for the sake of oneness, you will never achieve true unity.

First Corinthians 1:22-25 says, “For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (ESV) Christ is the power and wisdom of God. The foolishness of God is much greater than man’s wisdom. Paul goes on to mention that God chose many foolish people to shame the wise (vs. 26-29). Here Paul compares those foolish people who trust God with the so-called "wise" who do not trust God.

We must give up some of our wisdom, which may be the Bible teachings we think we know, or the Bible truths we think we see. In the parable of the blind men and the elephant, each man was accessing a different part of the huge reality of the elephant. One church may understand one aspect of the spiritual life, just like the blind man who was touching the ear of the elephant. Another denomination may see another aspect of God, like the blind man who felt the legs of the elephant. None of us has the whole picture. We are bound to make mistakes when we try to describe the whole elephant without having the whole picture. This is man’s wisdom.

"And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’” (ESV, 1 Corinthians 1:30-31). Here, Paul is referring to Jeremiah 9:23-24. “Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.’” (ESV)

 We need to know more about God before we can boast in the Lord. And Christ is the wisdom that God gives us. We must try our best to know Christ. As we do, the church will grow in maturity and achieve oneness. We must be willing to unlearn what we know and be humble enough to learn what others know. We must not insist on own ways of doing things since we don’t have the whole picture. If we are humble enough to learn from others, we take the first step towards true unity.