Bible Study With Jairus

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.

 

Bible Study With Jairus - Leviticus 15

Bible Study with Jairus - Leviticus 15

Stop Hiding: How to cleanse your heart’s infection

In Leviticus 15, we find a shockingly candid discussion of human discharges. Though our culture is often hesitant to discuss these topics, God had an urgent reason to bring this subject to our attention. God’s laws about cleansing discharges can teach us an important lesson about the cleansing blood of Jesus and the importance of spiritual sanitation.

In this passage, a few types of discharges are specifically described, such as emission of semen or menstrual bleeding. But the rest of the discharges are not clearly specified. The New Testament hints at a few other types of discharges, such as the bleeding woman who touched the cloak of the Lord and was healed (Mark 5). In modern medical terminology, we could say she might have had a bleeding disorder like hemophilia.

Discharges can also include infectious emissions, such as pus. Under the illumination of the Holy Spirit, these discharges can have important practical implications for our Christian life today. Let's dive in!

When someone receives a serious cut or wound, it’s important to stop the bleeding and keep the wound clean and dry so that it can heal. Otherwise, we run the risk of infection. During war time, many people died from untreated injuries. The wounds themselves were not life-threatening, but the infection that followed caused death. An infected wound can cause disease or even claim your life.

Both blood and water play an important role in guarding against infection. Blood cleans the wound as it flows through the damaged tissue, washing away dirt and killing bacteria. Later, it creates a scab, allowing the wound to heal.

Not only do we need blood to cleanse from the inside, but we also need water (or another disinfectant) to clean from the outside. The wound needs to be washed to remove toxins trying to enter from the outside world. Otherwise, the germs will get into the blood stream and damage the body.

The same is true spiritually. As Christians, our sins are cleansed by the blood of Jesus washing away our stains. Revelation 1:5 says that Jesus “loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.” (NKJV) His blood cleanses us as we repent and confess our sins.

However, we also need to be washed externally. Ephesians 5:26 says that Jesus wants to “cleanse [the church] with the washing of water by the word” (NKJV). Jesus washes us with his word, and we participate actively through confession and repentance. The blood of Jesus is always effective, but there are conditions for the blood of Jesus to cleanse us. We need to allow God’s word to wash us (John 13:8). We need to confess our sins and turn to him for forgiveness.

We need to wash away worldly influences in our lives. Otherwise, the infection of sin will quickly and insidiously sneak in from the outside. Before we have a chance to confess it and turn to the Lord for cleansing, sin will begin to take over every part of our lives.

When we fail to receive the washing of Jesus’ word and blood, our uncleanness can cause permanent damage to our bodies and to the body of Christ. Just like an infection can cause irreversible damage and death, unrepentant sin can also bring chastisement and discipline. The Bible makes it very clear that some brothers and sisters who ate the bread and drank the cup of the Lord unworthily, would sleep (physically die) because of their uncleansed sin (1 Corinthians 11:30).

Unhealed sins can cause a “spiritual discharge.” Just like an infected wound oozes pus, unconfessed sins cause a discharge that is difficult to cure. We must be careful not to allow sinful influences to pile up, or they will become an overwhelming force that will cause irreversible damage.

What is a discharge? The inspiration that we got from the Holy Spirit is that a discharge represents wounds that won’t heal. Whether it is the discharge of blood or hemophilia or other circumstances, these physical wounds won’t heal.

Why won’t the wounds heal? Shouldn't blood automatically be condensed into scabs and heal naturally? Yes, this is normally the case. However, if bacteria and contamination from the external environment have continuously interfered with healing, the wound will become infected. It will cause a discharge.

When there is an infection inside, it manifests in a visible way: a discharge. When our heart is not clean from sin, our actions will leak out onto ourselves and others. After hearing this presentation, one lady shared that her discharge is an entertainment program. She enjoys watching this program, even though she knows it is not good for her spiritual life. Even though she regrets the way the show affects her spiritual life and her fellowship with God, she can’t seem to overcome it. She asked, “How do I overcome this weakness?”

I can relate to this lady’s question. In the past, I indulged my propensity for a certain website full of gossip. This website has a lot of worldly content, and when I used it, I felt tainted by worldly thoughts. For a long time, I couldn’t overcome my habit with this website.

However, the teachings of Brother Witness Lee helped me tremendously. He said that if we have a weakness we are struggling with, we should not try to overcome it in our own strength. Instead, we should invite the Lord to come into this situation and ask Him to do it with us. Of course, the Lord is not willing to be shared with unclean and sinful things, so He has to remove your weakness.

I began to practice Witness Lee’s suggestion. Every time I struggled with weakness, I prayed, “Lord, I am already doing this, so I’d like to invite You to do it with me, because you promise that you will be with me every day until the end of the world. If You are not happy with me doing this, please remove my desire for it.” After a period of prayer, the Lord removed my desire for this website, and I am no longer interested in this site.

Why does this method work? The reason is simple. The book of Hebrew tells us that Jesus Christ has cleansed us once and forever through His blood. We can just come to the Holy of Holies without fear. Don’t be paralyzed by fear, thinking that you cannot come to the Holy of Holies once you have sinned. Even when you rush to the Holy of Holies with bloody sins, not only will you not be killed, but you will also be washed and cleansed by the blood. You can run to the throne of grace with repentance and without fear (Hebrews 4:16).

In order to receive the cleansing of Jesus, we first have to come to him. We have to stop hiding in fear. Remember Adam’s initial reaction after his first sin? He hid himself from the presence of the Lord God. What was God’s first reaction? He was looking for Adam, asking, "Adam, where are you?" When we sin, we are soiled by sin. But then, we are tempted to make the problem worse by hiding from God.

Brother Witness Lee explained the difference between sin and the world by using the example of a child. A child who didn’t want to listen to his parents jumped into a mud pit to play, covering his body with grime. The dirt represents sin.

But imagine that a sinister man came up to that filthy child and said to him, “You don’t listen to your parents. See, you are so dirty. Your parents will blame or punish you or won’t want you anymore. You might as well just follow me to a fun place. There are no parental constraints there. You can just do whatever you want.”

This voice represents the world. The world is a system that Satan created to trap us.  It is far away from God. When you sin, you fall into the mud pit, making your whole body dirty. If you run to your parents, they will gladly help you wash it.

But the world complicates things, because now you are deceived into the world by Satan. Not only did you fall into the mud pit, but you are also abducted.

When you are lost in the world and covered in sin, what is your parents’ first priority? To get you back home. Your parents not only need to help you cleanse your body, but they also must look for you first. The child is worried that he can’t see his parents because he’s too filthy, but his parents are primarily worried about finding the child first. It is not that they don’t want to wash him, but first they want to get him back home.

The prodigal son had a similar concern in Luke 15. He worried that he would not be accepted by his father because he ate with the pigs, making him unclean. The father, however, was worried about whether his son could come back after he was lost. When the father saw his younger son come back, he hugged him first, even though he was dirty. Let's go back to the previous example. A child fell into the mud pit and got lost. If he comes back, would his parents bathe him or hug him first? We all know that parents would hug him first before bathing him.

In the same way, there’s no way that you can be washed by Christ if you refuse to come to him. You can trust that he will cleanse you willingly, without shaming you for your sin. Leave your idols and lies behind and run into his waiting arms. Then, he will wash you and make you clean.

This washing has two layers. One is washing with water. This is washing with water through the word specifically mentioned in Ephesians 5. We wash away the contamination in the world to keep away from the continuous attack of the bacteria. We fight against the world system that tries to tell us to run from God instead of coming to him for cleansing.

We also wash in the blood, which removes all our sins. The relationship between the two is dynamic and complementary. Both are necessary, but the order and application is important.

A sinful man, not daring to return to God because he is afraid of God’s punishment, will hide from Him. The result of hiding is to wander away from God into the world system created by Satan. John told us that if we love the world, love for the Father is not in us (1 John 2:15). The world system is against the Heavenly Father, and was created by Satan to entice us to wander away from God. Far from God, we will be unable to access his cleansing. Bacteria of sin will flood our system, and it will be difficult to have complete treatment and healing. The prodigal son had to stop hiding, leave his sin, turn around, and come back to the father before his cleansing could begin.

In many churches in the United States, people talk about the cleansing blood of Christ, but they still commit sins. One of the reasons is that American society is very secular and worldly. It has abundant material wealth, which has a powerful attraction for Christians. A statistic shows that 70% of American Christians that were surveyed admitted to having watched pornographic videos. In a materially developed country such as the United States, Christians face more temptations than Christians in many parts of the world. Christians in the United States face a unique challenge from the Lord: overcoming the world. If we hide from God and continue to live in an unclean environment, we will not take advantage of the healing blood of Jesus. Gradually, we will begin to suffer from discharge.

While I was reading this passage, the Holy Spirit reminded me that a discharge points to a perpetual wound that does not eventually heal. Many Christians continue to leak infectious discharge in their spiritual lives. Originally, Christians were called to be a light situated on top of the mountain to illuminate the whole city (Matthew 5). We are also called to be the salt to cleanse world. Instead, we have joined the world, like Lot’s wife. We have become a pillar of useless salt, rather than becoming salt that cleanses. Not only do we not illuminate, but the salt has also lost its effectiveness. We fail to live out our testimony as Christians, and we prevent others from knowing and believing in the Lord through our witness.

Many times, people do not believe in the Lord because we Christians have not lived out our testimony. We say one thing and do another. Instead of seeing the Lord in us, they think that we are hypocrites. This is a type of discharge as we lose our strong foundation of life in Christ.

On the other hand, if our unbelieving friends and relatives see the true power of God shining through our lives, they are more willing to believe in Christ. In 2010, we returned to China to receive herbal treatments for our infertility. At that time, my father was still very opposed to the Lord and my mother had been worshipping Buddha for many years.

In 2016, God told me that I would have a child that year, so I returned to China during the Chinese New Year. I told my family about it, but they didn’t believe it. After I got my miracle baby in 2017, my family was greatly shocked. Their hearts began to loosen up, and they gradually opened themselves up to the Lord. I returned to China in the fall of 2018 to pay them a visit, and my parents were all baptized.  

I started witnessing to my family in 2002, when I was baptized. But they weren’t baptized until 2018—twelve long years. My parents saw true miracles and divine life lived out in my life. They saw how I was sanctified, detached from the world, and healed from discharges. They believed in God because of the testimony they saw in my life.

 Let’s go back and take a brief look at the verses of Leviticus 15. Leviticus 15:2-13 is all about how to cleanse a discharge. In verse 13, God says, "When a man is cleansed from his discharge, he is to count off seven days for his ceremonial cleansing; he must wash his clothes and bathe himself with fresh water, and he will be clean." (NIV) Later, God said: "On the eighth day he must take two doves or two young pigeons and come before the LORD to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and give them to the priest. The priest is to sacrifice them, the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. In this way he will make atonement before the LORD for the man because of his discharge." Leviticus 15:14-15 (NIV)

Birds were used for sin offerings and burnt offerings to make atonement, but it happened only after washing with water. In other words, water comes first and then atonement comes later. It doesn’t mean that washing with water is more powerful than the cleansing effect of blood. Instead, I mean that it’s vitally important to stop running, turn away from the world system, and come to Christ so he can cleanse you through his powerful blood.

Similarly, Leviticus 15:16-28 says that men's emission of semen or women's menstrual bleeding must be washed with water. The pattern continues in verse 29. Two doves or two young pigeons were offered for a sin offering and burnt offering. These sacrifices include the blood that cleanses the sin. However, the washing in water preceded washing in blood.

This is not to say that water is more important than blood. No. Jesus shed his precious blood, doing a work that we cannot do on our own. God provided the blood of the Son of God to wash away our sins. We cannot do His work.

But as human beings, we play a part in coming to him for cleansing. We can detach from the contamination of the world and wash in water through the Word. We must use our free will to voluntarily draw near to God for cleansing. His blood will cleanse us from all our sins. We can come to the Holy of Holies without fear and draw near to Him.

Dear Christian friends, are you caught in an endless cycle of sin? Do you feel like your life is full of infected wounds, oozing with pus? Do you think that even the blood of the Lord cannot save you?

Like Jacob, you can remove your idols of loving yourself and the world (Genesis 35). You can come to the house of God, like Jacob went to Bethel. There, you will meet God. All your sins will be washed in the blood, and Heavenly Father will come and hug you.

Don’t hide from God. Leave your sins behind. Throw off the world’s contamination, the lies that tell you that God doesn’t want you. Rush over to meet Him. He won’t kill you. Before you even reach his presence, His blood will meet you first to cleanse you.

Bible Study With Jairus - Buddhist Mother Accepts Christ

Bible Study With Jairus - Buddhist Mother Accepts Christ
 
Have you ever tried to witness to a Buddhist friend about Christ only to hear them say they are perfectly content with Buddhism? Even if you try to argue that Jesus is the one true God, you may be met with anger. It is true that some Buddhists can be won over by a Christian who demonstrates Jesus’ love and patience, but typically this is a long process with a limited rate of effectiveness.  

In my hometown, there are a lot of Buddhist believers. I am referring to the city of Handan, China. In China, there are two main groups of people who do not believe in the Christian God. The first group are atheists and they claim to believe in no god. They think burning incense to Buddha is superstitious and worshiping Christ is a crutch for the weak and unsure. They don’t believe in God, spirits or ghosts. The other type of person believes that gods exist, but they only worship the gods whom they think will do something for them. If an idol they worshiped manifested itself or helped them at some point, their loyalty will stay with that god.

I have a lot of direct experiences with people of the second group. Both my great-grandfather and grandfather are devout believers of Lü Zu. This is a god in Taoism. A local legend teaches that one day the Japanese were preparing to attack our village. Due to heavy fog, however, the Japanese got lost and were not able to enter our village. The villagers thought it was a manifestation of Lü Zu, so they built a special temple for him. The temple was demolished during the Cultural Revolution but restored afterward. After it was rebuilt, incense burned and flourished showing the power of the people’s faith and superstition. I never met my great grandfather, but I heard from my family that he was an enthusiast of the Lü Zu Temple. When it was being built, my grandfather even donated wood to it. It was clear to anyone who came to visit that my grandfather worshipped Lü Zu.

My mother, on the other hand, always worshipped Guanyin Bodhisattva. In fact, our house was built on the site of a Bodhisattva temple that was previously demolished. Villagers said that our family lived in the “West Temple.” Before my mother came to faith in Jesus Christ, one of her reasons for worshiping buddha had always been that “our family is in the West Temple.” She was not willing to offend the gods by denying this privilege and tradition. Although my mother was not on good terms with my grandfather for most of her life and she also didn’t worship Lü Zu, she still highly respected the village sorcerer of the Lü Zu Temple. This sorcerer didn’t have a good education nor did he come from an influential family line. It happened that suddenly one day, this man became possessed by a deity and became a sorcerer henceforth. Everyone often asked him questions; they treated him like a Christian would treat a prophet. He was a frequent and respected guest at the Lü Zu Temple. When I was young, he even used to visit my house. I didn’t like him at all, however. Like my father who was deeply influenced by communist education, I really hated this kind of feudal superstition.

Later in my life, I became a Christian and moved to the United States. I have always tried to witness to my family, but with trivial effect. My mom always said that we should go our own way. She stated once, “You believe in your Christ; I believe in my Bodhisattva.” Despite her suggestion, I still tried to witness to her. One year I took my parents on vacation to another city. My friend, a Christian brother, treated us to eat and witnessed to my parents. My father ended up leaving the restaurant in anger.

By 2016, my wife and I had been married for ten years and experienced ten years of infertility. In addition to seeking medical help, I prayed that God would heal us. My mother also desired that we would be healed, so she prayed to Bodhisattva, asked the sorcerer for help and petitioned children on our behalf from all kinds of idols around my hometown. In 2010, our first in vitro fertilization (IVF) failed and my wife and I were very sad. Around that time, my parents came to the United States for a short visit. I thought that maybe my mother would encounter the Lord in this time. I took her to participate in the activities of our church in New Jersey and when she saw people being baptized, I encouraged her to accept the Lord. She hesitated.

In the end, she did not make a faith confession nor get baptized. In fact, when she saw our infertility situation, she said upon leaving, “Believing in Jesus hasn’t brought blessing to you… I will not believe in your God.” After returning to China, she continued worshiping Bodhisattva, and her heart became more hardened to the gospel. We seemed to have gone back to square one: I believed in the Christian God and my mother worshiped Buddha.

One day, I said to my mom, “You worship your Bodhisattva, and I believe in my God. We are all praying for us to have children. Why don’t we play a game? Let’s see if your Bodhisattva or my God is more reliable.” This was my attempt to show her that the Christian God is the true God and powerful enough to heal my wife’s barrenness. At that time though, my faith was nothing spectacular and I didn’t have any special revelation yet from God that we would have a baby. I was simply relying on a Christian’s basic belief in God.

Six years passed by. My wife and I tried five more IVF’s, but each one failed. Finally, our doctor announced we would never be able to have a baby through natural means. He said we could never have a birth by natural means. We fell into despair. I decided to leave my Evangelical church in 2015 on a search for supernatural healing. I participated in countless Charismatic healing conferences, but we still remained without a miracle. That is until I received a word from the Lord in January 2016. I found out by accident that there was going to be a prophetic meeting called the Elijah List Conference in a small town in Oregon. Hopeful, I signed up and flew from Eastern Maryland to attend the special meeting.

One of the speakers at this meeting was Dutch Sheets. In a moment of being filled with the Holy Spirit, he prophetically declared, “You are here today to attend this special meeting. Don’t think it is accidental; God is leading you. Starting from today, you will clearly hear God’s voice like you’ve never heard it before.” Upon hearing this, I was moved and greatly encouraged in my spirit. During the break, I stopped at a store and said to God, “Please speak to me clearly today.”

I continued walking until I saw a Christian bookstore. I could see inside through the glass window. I stopped to sit on the bench outside the door. Not long after I sat down, my eyes caught the attention of a 2016 calendar which had the title, “2016 Prepare Your Family.” Suddenly, I heard God say to me: “Prepare your family in 2016. You will have a child this year.” I had never heard God speak so clearly. I was both shocked and ecstatic! I immediately called my wife to tell her.

Despite clearly hearing God’s words that day, I didn’t know what month it would come to pass. Regardless, I returned to China to celebrate the New Year in February 2016 and I widely publicized to my family that God was going to give us a child that year. My sister is a simple person. She said dubiously, “Since our younger brother said this in advance, if it is true, it seems that the God that he believes in is true.” My mother was still hard-hearted, however. Even to the point that when I prayed for the infertility problem of my two cousins, my mother commented, “You aren’t even able to solve your own problem. Don’t make a fool of yourself.”

After returning to the United States, a few more months passed, and my wife and I still hadn’t conceived. It was an agonizing time for us. However, after having a dream that indicated that we would have a baby the following month, we finally and miraculously became pregnant! When my wife was less than three months pregnant, I still had not told my mother about it. My mother, however, sensed something was different and asked if something happened. When I told her about our pregnancy, she was very happy for us, but she said nothing about God. Finally, during a video call with my mom, I brought up the topic of Jesus again. This time, to my surprise, she quickly responded, “I’m willing to believe in Jesus Christ.” When I asked her why, she promptly stated, “Isn’t the truth right before me? Your God is real.”

My mother was finally able to see that the Christian God is the true God! Both my father and mother were stunned by the wonderful healing power of God when we gave birth to a healthy baby. Our game ended. Afterwards, I got the privilege of leading my mother in the sinner’s prayer and she accepted Jesus. She repented for the sins of her parents to the third and fourth generations of our family and she also repented for ancestral worship. God also did wonderful a work in my father. He started praying over himself before going to bed every night. He did this for more than a year. Eventually, I had a prophetic dream about my parents that I believed confirmed to me their salvation.

Some people may believe in the Lord the moment they hear the gospel. This, however, was not my mother’s experience. My mother’s process of turning away from idols was gradual and ongoing. She moved from accepting Christ to eventually stopping idol worship. She only reluctantly disposed of her Buddha statue after the local temple kindly refused her donation of it. However, I knew my mother had really come to believe in Christ when she told me I could tear down a photo of Bodhisattva that still remained on her wall. In the end, my mother, who worshipped Buddha for a lifetime, came to confess the name of Jesus Christ as the true God because she witnessed a miracle. My mother witnessed the miraculous power of Almighty God, and this is the purpose of signs and wonders—that many may come to know the Christ, the one true God.

I am grateful to Elijah List who held a conference that hosted the authentic presence of the Holy Spirit. It was there that I received both the prophetic gift to hear God and God’s prophetic promise of a child. Not only are my wife and I proud parents today, but we are ecstatic that my family has also been impacted by our miracle.

 

Bible Study With Jairus - Miracle Baby

By 2015, I had been in the United States for 13 years and a Christian for the same amount of time. In 2006, my wife and I married and like many other Chinese couples, we had every intention of building a family. In 2015, however, we also approached 10 years of bareness. We wanted a child, but we simply could not have one.

We realized something was wrong when we were not getting pregnant without prevention. From 2010 to 2014, we attempted in vitro fertilization (IVF) five times. Top medical professionals were treating us, but all our attempts failed. When we tried Chinese herbal remedies, they too were fruitless. I hit my lowest point when our doctor announced we would never be able to have a baby though natural means. Our doctor assured us that the only way to have a baby was through an egg donor. In desperation, we tried an egg donor too. I felt completely hopeless when our egg donor bailed at the last minute. 

As a Christian, the only thing I knew to do was turn to God. This was not always my approach to life, however. I am Chinese and was born and raised in China to a family that worshiped Buddha and other gods. My father was an atheist, my mother was a devout follower of Buddha, and my grandparents worshipped another local idol. Even our house was built on a former Buddhist temple. Before I came to the USA, I met the Lord during my first year of graduate school at London’s School of Economics. Shortly after, I bought a one-way ticket to the USA and this began a new kind of life for me.

When my wife and I reached the point of hopelessness, I began to consider that maybe the Lord had another way of fixing our barrenness. I decided that I would pray every day until God healed us. I desired supernatural healing and to hear prophetic words, but up until this point in my life, I had not had many encounters with miracles or prophecy. In fact, I only knew of such things because of an encounter I had years before where Jesus appeared to me in a vision during a conference and told me he would return after the body of Christ had been built up. I later came to understand this meant Christ intended for the gift of prophecy to continue.

For many years, though, and like many other persons in evangelical churches, my wife and I had no interest or knowledge in these Pentecostal or Charismatic things. We had general impressions or thoughts about Pentecostals such as, “speaking in tongues may be from the devil,” “false prophecies,” and “deceived by evil spirits.” I even heard accusations about the prophetic movement that said prophecies catered to self or ego. As in, these so-called prophecies make someone feel awesome about themselves but are from the soul or even of devilish deceit. They promote a believers' ego but do nothing beneficial for a person’s spirit and may even harm one’s spiritual growth.

My wife and I were content in our denomination where love, holiness, and knowledge of the Word of God were the focus. My perspective changed, however, when I decided to reach out to the older, more experienced believers in my denomination to help us receive a miracle. Our elders spoke kind words to us and showed concern for our situation, but they did not receive a vision or a prophetic word from the Lord to give to us. Some members said that it was the Father’s will for us not to have children, and we needed to accept it. Others said that it was God’s wisdom for us to have more time to serve Him. With all their biblical knowledge, my church elders could not prophetically nor supernaturally minister to us. I came to understand that they could not do this because they did not believe in these practices. However, I was desperate to hear what the Spirit of God was saying about my situation, so I started to search on my own. 

I gradually began leaving my denomination and turning to other churches to seek help. I began listening to Pentecostal and other healing evangelists of the past and today, and I attended as many healing services as I could across the USA. In October 2015, my wife and I went to New York to attend a healing service. Though skeptical as a medical professional, my wife assured me that if her name was called out, she would believe she would have a child. That day, the minister did call out a word of knowledge that a lady would have a child, but to our dismay, the minister said a different woman’s name. Although reluctant, I still persuaded my wife to stay until the end to receive prayer. When this did not result in anything miraculous, my wife further doubted these healing services. 

However, I still believed God would give us a miracle. In another crazy attempt to get my wife healed, I flew to Kentucky to a healing conference where I had the minister pray over an airplane pillow to heal my wife. Needless to say, nothing happened, but I persisted.

In October of 2015, I convinced my wife to join me for another trip to North Carolina to receive prayer from a well-known healing evangelist. I had read an article that this man once prophesied to a woman, and that woman conceived a year later. This man even jokingly says in his own preaching that when he comes to town, every woman gets pregnant! At the conference, both a prophetic and healing team prayed over us. It was at this meeting that a lady saw a vision of the Lord using a sword to cut off a dragon in my wife’s family line, removing ancestral curses. Later, the two main evangelists prayed over us with anointing oil. Interestingly, the prophetic lady said that whatever needed to be taken care of in the spiritual realm was complete, but that it often took ten months to a year to manifest in the physical realm.

We returned encouraged from this conference, but we were still a little hesitant. That is until we began receiving more prophecies. One Sunday, a couple months later, the senior pastor of the church we were visiting suddenly became filled with the Holy Spirit while preaching and stopped to prophesy a line of Psalm 127 over us. He said, in reference to children being a heritage from the Lord, “your quiver is full.” Not knowing our situation, he told us that God was going to give us children.

Again, I was greatly encouraged, but I desired to hear God personally speak to me that this was true. A final visit to a conference in Oregon in January of the following year sealed the deal for me. There, a well-known prophet spoke to the crowd and said, “Today, you come here not by coincidence. It is God who leads you here, and from today on, you will hear God speaking to you like you never have before.” I believed and during the lunch break, I wandered near a store and entreated the Lord to speak to me. When I sat down in a chair outside of a Christian bookstore, my eye caught a Peanuts calendar in the display. The cover said, “Peanuts 2016 Family Planner.” 
 
Suddenly, God spoke clearly to me: “2016, plan your family; you will have a child this year.” I was astonished! I had never heard God speaking to me so clearly, and He just said I was going to have a child that year! I immediately called my wife and she encouraged me to buy the calendar as a memorial. Filled with joy, I shared with the cashier what God had told me. I cannot describe that dear lady’s face, but she must have been thinking, “This crazy Chinese man thinks God will give him a baby through a calendar!” I could totally sense the unbelief in the air.

Meanwhile, I went back to China to visit my family in February 2016. My mother, who still worshiped Buddha, had been desperately praying to all kinds of idols to help us to have a baby. I had been trying to preach the Gospel to her since 2003 but with trivial effect. Since I heard God’s voice clearly saying I would have a child that year, I boldly told all my family members. I even prayed for my two cousins who could not have a baby. My mother, displeased with my behavior, commented that I should not share such nonsense with others since I could not even take care of my own family matters. I, however, guarded what the Lord said, and I continued to believe the Word I received. 

Months later back in the USA, we continued waiting for our miracle, but I admit I began to get discouraged again. One day in desperation, I prayed, “Dear Holy Spirit, those people in Pentecostal churches always teach that we should have an intimate relationship with you. Now, I have prayed to both the Father and Jesus many times and I don’t know when this [pregnancy] is going to happen. Can you ask the Father and Jesus for me when this will happen?”

That night, shortly after this prayer, I had a dream. A woman (representative of the Holy Spirit) pointed to the back of a male figure (Jesus). She said to me, “Did He not tell you that you will have a child next month?” I woke up the next morning and told my wife about this dream. By this point, however, my wife had a tough time believing a pregnancy would ever happen. Shortly after, we ended up in quarrel that left us on non-speaking terms for two weeks. During this painful time, I remember worshiping the Lord one day with my arms raised while my computer screen played Chris Tomlin’s song, “Good Good Father.” With tears in my eyes, I reasserted my love and commitment to God whether I received my miracle baby or not.

My wife and I continued on non-speaking terms until it finally happened. One day I received a text from her that read, “You have won the lottery!” We reconciled when she found out she was miraculously pregnant on May 28, 2016. Our miracle baby girl, Elim, was born in early 2017, healthy and beautiful.

What’s even more amazing is the way God personally spoke to us with the word “peanuts.” In 2010, during our first IVF attempt, we were incredibly hopeful to have twins. My wife and I jokingly named our would-be twins, “peanuts” per Chinese and Taiwan translations of the word. When this IVF failed, my wife was devastated. Naturally, when I saw the word “Peanuts” and two small figures on the cover of that calendar, I could not help but remember our traumatic experience. Only God and my wife knew the secret meaning behind “peanuts,” and He used the very words of defeat to deliver a prophetic word that would become our miracle victory. I have come to see that God not only speaks powerfully, but he speaks intimately.

As for my family, this event became a turning point for their salvation. My older sister confessed belief in Jesus Christ. My mother was stunned and decided to turn away from her idols that she had worshipped her whole life. When I asked her why she was willing to believe now, she commented, “Isn’t the truth right before me? Your God is real.” Ten years of persuasion and preaching could not change my mother’s heart, but prophecy turned things around. In 2018, I visited China again and had the privilege of baptizing my parents into the family of Christ. Through all of this, I have come to fervently believe in the gifts of prophecy and healing, and my wife and I gladly congregate and fellowship with the “crazy” Charismatics and Pentecostals that I have now consider ourselves two of. 

Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 12

Bible Study with Jairus – Acts 12

The beginning of Acts chapter 12 discusses how after James was killed, Peter was imprisoned and then miraculously rescued by an angel.  The end of the chapter talks about Herod being struck by an angel, eaten by worms, and dying because he didn’t give praise to God.

 

Let’s look at the following verses:

12:21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. (NIV)

12:22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” (NIV)

12:23  Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. (NIV)

 

A member of our Bible study asked the question, “What exactly did Herod say that made God strike him like that?” Is it because what he said was not the word of God?  Was it perhaps the word of man which was then exalted by the people as the word of God, so he committed the sin of presumptuousness and was struck by God?  Did God tell him what to say but he didn’t give praise to God and was therefore struck down? There are many evil people in the Bible, and many of them were punished.  Herod’s demise of being struck by God’s messenger, eaten by worms and dying, is a rare case.

 

This is a difficult question to answer, because the Bible doesn’t record what Herod said, so we have no way of knowing. If we look at the train of thought in this chapter from the beginning, it may help us understand this question.

 

Aside from Herod's death being strange, James' death is also hard to understand.,  When we compare it with Peter's miraculous rescue, James died unjustly.  This doesn’t seem fair at first glance. Peter was imprisoned and magically rescued by an angel.  Then we have James, who was persecuted and killed by Herod without God intervening at all.  Peter, like us, also encountered unjust things. When the Lord Jesus was with His disciples on earth, He told Peter, “When you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” (NIV, John 21:18). This indicates the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God (NIV, John 21:19). Peter’s first question to Jesus was, “What about John?” (NIV, John 21:21). The Lord said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?” (NIV, John 21:22). In the end, there was a rumor spreading that John would not die. But John explained that the Lord was not saying that he wouldn’t die. Rather, the Lord was saying that if He wanted him to remain alive until He returned, it was none of Peter’s business. This was a matter between the Lord and John.  The Lord said to Peter, "Follow me."

 

We follow Christ on an individual basis, not focusing on other people’s lives. The most important thing is for each of us to follow the Lord and be faithful to the end.

 

Peter and James weren’t the only ones who encountered injustice.  Why are Christians persecuted and often put to death in some countries, yet in other countries, they live in peace?  Why are there Christians who endure much suffering for the Lord while others have peace and prosperity? We don’t compare ourselves with Peter, James, and John today.  We generally compare ourselves with people around us, especially those who may be better off financially or spiritually speaking.

 

Reading and understanding the Bible should be easy because it means exactly what it says.  The Bible is God’s love letter to us, and He means for us to understand it.  Why do we find it difficult?  One reason is we complicate the simplicity of it, preventing our minds from understanding its true meaning.  We must read the word as a child would and allow the Holy Spirit to interpret the meaning.

 

I’ll use myself as an example.  I left the Local Church Movement under the Lord’s direction several years ago. I was saved in this church and fellowshipped there for ten years.  I moved to a Charismatic church to observe and learn.  One of the most important things that I learned was that we are all restricted by our denomination’s theology to a certain extent.  This is why the body of Christ doesn’t operate in unity.  We all have truths that are shaped by our denominations and we have a hard time seeing any truth outside of that.  When I was going through this process,  it was painful because the identity I had formed in the Local Church Movement was being challenged.  As we grow up, our identity is shaped by our culture, ethnic group, our country, as well as our church background.  Allowing ourselves to be open and explore other denominations, and the truths they hold will help us take the limits off of our own mindsets.  This is a challenging process but well worth the effort to break down the barriers that have been formed.

 

We can look at marriage through this same lens.  Instead of looking at an issue from your perspective, try looking at it from your spouse’s perspective.  Many arguments could be avoided and problems solved more quickly if we put aside selfishness and see the other person’s view.  As Christians, if we could look past our denomination’s way of thinking and see problems from different points of view, God could use us in a mighty way for His glory.  Unfortunately, many remain stuck in their denominations thinking and are restricting themselves in the kingdom of God without even realizing it.

 

Similarly, if we can break away from our earthly thoughts and read the Bible from a heavenly perspective, many things that we don’t understand will become much clearer. It's not that the Bible is difficult to understand,  but we don’t have a clear view from where we are standing.  The Bible is written from a higher spiritual realm, and if our thoughts are limited to this world, we will have a difficult time understanding it.

 

 

 People tend to have the mindset of judging a person by his or her success or failure.  James didn’t seem to have much written about his ministry success and was killed by Herod, martyred for his faith in Jesus.  Peter, on the other hand, gets arrested and supernaturally released from prison by angels.  James’ death seems to get overlooked by Peter’s success.  It ends with Herod getting struck with worms by an angel of the Lord and eventually dying.  How do we reconcile James’ death and Peter’s supernatural escape?

 

Perhaps we aren’t taking into account what James was doing in heaven after he died. He may have been praying for Peter’s life to be extended.  Christians know that when something is said or done in the physical world, there is also something happening in the spirit realm.  For example, we are baptized by immersion in water on the outside, but at the same time, we are immersed in the Holy Spirit in the spiritual realm.  We may not be able to see what is happening in the spirit realm but we can often see the effect of that realm.  A person who is baptized may have a changed countenance or deep joy that wasn’t present before they were immersed.  Their life may undergo positive changes after baptism.  They may have a deeper understanding of the Bible than before. 

 

Our prayers are things that happen in the physical world.   What we pray can be seen and heard physically, yet at the same time, our prayers are having a great effect in the spiritual realm.  God is listening and making the impossible possible.

 

Kat Kerr, an American prophet who claims she has been taken to heaven thousands of times by the Lord, told a story about a Christian couple whose daughter died in a skateboarding accident.  The daughter’s parents were devastated and blamed God for not intervening.  The Lord allowed Kat to see that their daughter was leading a group of young people in heaven.  The Lord told her that in His wisdom, He had to decide whether it was more beneficial for this girl to stay on earth with her parents or be powerfully used in heaven with the young people there.  In the end, He decided her leadership in Heaven was needed.  The girl’s parents were so relieved to hear what Kat saw and heard.  It helped heal their sorrowing hearts.

 

Hearing stories like this may be difficult to believe, but whether you believe it or not, I think it is worth referencing.  I was baptized in the Holy Spirit in 2015 and since that time, I have had a variety of visions of Heaven.  I have encountered Chinese believers and others, although I didn’t know their names.  Heaven is not just a throne with God sitting there with people shouting, “Glory, Glory, Glory.”  You are mistaken if you believe this.  In one of my heavenly encounters, I saw buildings, someone preaching, and a variety of meetings and discussions held by groups of people in heaven.  It’s a very busy place!  In addition to God and the angels, the believers who arrive in heaven are also very busy.  In my prophetic dreams, I am often led by the Holy Spirit, going somewhere with the angels, preaching the gospel or attending a meeting.  From my limited experience, I surmise that God, the angels and believers in heaven are cooperating with people on earth.

 

Hebrews 12:1 tells us that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, which are the saints that have already passed away.  Our job is to lay aside burdens and sin and run the race with endurance that is set before us.  Those who have gone to heaven before us aren’t just lying around doing nothing but singing hallelujah all day.  They are busy doing a variety of services and operating in their gifting in heaven.  We just can’t see them.

 

Many of us think that when we die, it’s all over.  This is a very limited view and keeps us from understanding what the Bible says.  Death is not the end; it’s only the beginning.  Like the couple who lost their daughter in the skateboarding accident, we don’t always understand this.  When James was killed, it wasn’t because the enemy had triumphed over God or that God abandoned him.  James’ death was the beginning of his heavenly ministry.  God arranged it through His wisdom.  Who knows, James may be sitting at Jesus’ right or left hand.  We aren’t sure, but we shouldn’t neglect his ministry in heaven.  Jesus said that Abel’s blood continues to speak today so James’ martyrdom and testimony are doing the same.

 

It will be easier to understand Peter’s miraculous rescue and Herod being eaten by worms if we recognize James’ ministry in heaven. Although God and the angels were involved, perhaps James’ prayer, testimony, and role in heaven affected these circumstances.

 

We are not trying to contrast James’s heavenly ministry with Jesus.  Rather, we are opposing the thought that “when we die, it’s over.”  I have read many testimonies about people who visited heaven. They say that the believers who have passed away are still praying for their loved ones on earth and participating in prayer in heaven.  Let’s try to overcome the concept of time and space when looking at the Bible.  It may help us understand it on a deeper level.

 

To sum up this chapter, James died a martyr, but in his heavenly ministry, it’s possible that he prayed that God would spare Peter and save him from death.  Again, we realize that James is not equal to Jesus but rest assured that believers in heaven do pray for us and situations will change because of that.  Let’s not lose hope by only seeing one side of the story.  What looks like a tragedy in appearance may actually turn things around.  If we only focus on loss and failure, it prevents us from receiving the blessings from the other side.

 

Bible Study with Jairus -Romans 16

Bible Study with Jairus – Romans 16

The verses that inspired our bible group were Romans 16:19-20 (ESV), "For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." A brother in our group asked, “Why does Paul say be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil? What does this mean?”

I said, “First, let’s look at the structure of Romans 16.” Romans 16:1-16 consists of greetings to people in the Roman church; verses 17-20 are words of exhortation; verses 21-23 are more greetings from Paul and others that were sent to people in the Roman church; and verses 25-27 are Paul's summary of the gospel. When Paul wrote his letters, he probably wrote on parchment. In his day, there were no computers or even paper, so we can imagine it was very inconvenient to write a letter. The greetings in verses 1-16 and 21-23 are naturally indispensable in the last chapter. We can assume that what appears in the last chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans must be his burdensome words since he took the time to write more. Paul’s summary of the book of Romans in verses 25-27 seems to be very important, but why is his exhortation in verses 17-20 so important that it was placed in the last chapter?

One of the difficulties of the Roman Church was the societal conflict between the Jews and Gentiles, which may have led to the conflict between Jewish and Gentile believers within the Roman church. These societal challenges were just external causes of conflict. Those who taught differently within the church are what Paul refers to as the internal causes of conflict. Paul said in verses 17-18 (ESV), "I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive."

It is evident to us that Paul knew that some people in the church in Rome were "wolves in sheep's clothing." They did not consider the interest of the sheep or the flock as the most important thing. Rather, these persons deceived believers out of self-interest. This situation was not only present in Paul's time, but it also exists among churches today. Upon hearing of the situation, Paul’s first natural reaction was to blame these "wolves in sheep's clothing." At the same time, he reminded the innocent believers to be "wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil." The direction to stay away from evil and be "innocent as to what is evil" is easy to understand. No Christian is willing to or should do evil. But the good deeds of Christians are sometimes taken advantage of by the enemy. For example, we may recall the story of the farmer who saved a snake out of goodwill. Unfortunately, this goodwill was certainly done without wisdom because the snake bites the farmer, and he dies (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Farmer_and_the_Viper.)

Throughout the ages, there have been many cults and heretical persons who deceived Christians. If you observe carefully, you will find that among them are also many innocent people who simply love the Lord. I will use an example from the religious cult known as the Eastern Lightening. There are many Eastern Lightening believers in my hometown in China. Once, I went back to my hometown and I heard Christians telling stories about this group. One story claimed that they kidnapped Christians, confiscated their Bibles, and then locked them in a specific place for brainwashing. As part of their brainwashing tactics, the Eastern Lightening would not beat or scold a person but rather wash their feet and care for them to falsely gain their trust. Gradually, some people became brainwashed. The believer who told me this story said that one of his relatives who had been kidnapped was a mature Christian and knew the Scriptures very well. After being kidnapped, the Eastern Lightening were not successful in brainwashing him with inerrant teaching because of his knowledge of biblical truth. Eventually, he was released. Now, I'm not sure if this group really kidnapped this man or just forced him to go with them. Hearing the testimony firsthand, however, still shocked me.

I often have prophetic dreams. One night I had a strange dream related to the Eastern Lightening. In this dream, a mysterious man drove me to a place. When we arrived, there were many young people and they seemed to be having a training of some sort, like a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) class training. In Chinese society, this kind of business model is often used as a scheme to cheat or deceive people. I later realized this training of young persons was symbolic of the evil intention of the Eastern Lightening to deceive its members, especially aiming at “innocent” as represented by the younger generation. When we got there, the mysterious man made a detour and drove toward the group. I got out of the car and went to meet these young people. During our conversation, I felt I received a revelation regarding them. While many people there were innocent, one of their leaders was not. He interrupted me in a very rude manner when I was conversing, and I understood that he came to hinder me. After some time, we left. The mysterious man confirmed what I felt—that many of these young people were very innocent, but some of their leaders did not allow them to accept help. I had not made a connection between the dream and the Eastern Lightening group until I saw the words "Eastern Lightening" written in Chinese in my dream.

Often vehicles in prophetic dreams represent ministry. According to James Goll, an American prophet, the Holy Spirit often appears in our prophetic dreams as a mysterious person with no face. I believe the mysterious person in this prophetic dream was the Holy Spirit. This prophetic dream afforded me a different perspective toward young persons indoctrinated into the Eastern Lightening. I now have a compassionate heart towards the innocent ones in Eastern Lightening who are generally regarded as heretics by Christian standards. I think that there are people in this group who are innocent in their intentions and simply without knowledge or discretion; therefore, they are easily deceived. I didn't feel particularly burdened for these people at first, but after this dream, I began to feel burdened to pray for the deceived ones within their cult. Moreover, I know God was speaking to me that I must prepare myself well and spread the truth in order to help many others who are being deceived.

I recall several verses related to this. Jesus taught us to be faithful and wise. Matthew 24:45 (ESV) says, "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?" Three examples are cited below to illustrate what it means to be faithful and wise.

The first example is found in the story of Matthew 24:47-51 (ESV). An evil servant says, "My master is delayed” (v. 48). The wicked servant begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards. The verses continue, “the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” This is an example of unfaithfulness, which is not doing what God wants us to do.

The second example is the story of the foolish virgins and the wise virgins in Matthew 25. The foolish virgins had lamps but had not brought enough oil to keep them lit for the unexpected delay that occurred. The wise virgins took both lamps and sufficient oil. The foolish virgins are neither faithful nor prudent. The wise virgins are both faithful and prudent.

The third example is a story found in Matthew 25:14-30. There were two talents and five talents given to servants. Each servant duplicated their gifts making two talents and five talents more. They were called faithful servants by the Lord. But the man who took one talent and buried the gift was called a wicked servant by the Lord and was thrown into darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

"Faithfulness" as termed in the third story includes being "faithful and wise." We know that many people are "faithful," but not necessarily "wise." For example, Paul said in Romans 16:19 (ESV), “Your obedience is known to all," which means that they were very faithful. In the latter part of this verse, however, Paul specifically tells them to be "wise as to what is good," which means that they must also be wise. In other words, Paul meant that even though separations and deceptions come to make us stumble, if the believer is obedient but still lacks wisdom to judge, the believer himself is responsible for his own deception. This sentence is an exhortation by Paul to ordinary believers urging them to learn how to judge others’ teachings and resist blindly following just anyone.

In the age we live in today, apart from being faithful to God, believers and church leaders need to be wise. Take the example of US election. What is God's will for the election? Is it Trump or Biden? This question not only tests whether we are faithful to God, but it also tests whether we are wise.

There is a well-known leader and Evangelical Christian in the United States who actively supported Trump to be elected. After the United States confirmed the electoral vote on December 14, 2020, and the media announced the news of Biden's victory, this leader announced and acknowledged Biden as the new President of the United States. Afterward, he was criticized by American Charismatic church leaders for acknowledging Biden's victory too early. Many people with prophetic gifts claim that God told them that Trump will eventually win and continue to be president for four years. In this process, there will be a great battle, but eventually, God will interfere in the US election allowing Trump and the conservative forces he represents to win. In the end, the purpose of this triumph would be so that the United States could return to its Christian foundation and continue to spread the gospel to the world.

Aside from these prophets, there are other so-called prophets who prophesied Trump's victory, but after finding out that Trump did not win, they apologized and admitted that their prophecy was wrong. These people have received criticism for following the crowd and not speaking from a place of truly hearing God.

Among Christians, different perspectives and attitudes about the election emerged. Some Christians did not clearly see that this election represented a life and death battle between God’s righteousness and the evil power of Satan. They, therefore, held an indifferent and powerless attitude. They said, "It's in the hands of God anyway. Whosoever God chooses, let it be." This attitude shows that such persons are not sure what God's will and choice are. Other Christians strongly believed the prophets’ messages that Trump is the "chosen one." That is, he is chosen to accomplish God's will for the United States and God wants to use Trump to: (1) save the United States from a falling trend; (2) bring the United States back to God; and (3) deal with other nations through his leadership so as to create conditions for the world’s greatest revival. Of course, lastly, there are some Christians that oppose Trump and support his opponent.

If you are a Christian in the United States, or if you are a Christian from another country who cares about the US election, my question for you is, “How can you demonstrate being ‘wise as to what is good’?” I believe when some Christians vote, their purpose and motive are innocent and good because their intention is to serve the Lord and glorify God. However, what we choose and whether we are ‘wise as to what is good’ will bring different results.

There was a time when Christians in the United States believed that politics were strictly politics and the church should focus only on spiritual things. They thought that participating in politics was Caesar's business, and they should let only Caesar do it. However, US leftists have taken advantage of the "unwise" attitude of the American church by gradually using democracy in American society to change the "vocal minority" into the majority, or at least to the point that it has almost an equal footing with the power of Christianity. Many people in the body of Christ experienced a spiritual awakening because of this. They realized that when the church did not participate in politics, it gave the US leftists and other groups a chance to grow. The leftists' active participation in political elections and changes in education affected a complete generation.

The church was caught off guard by this group and began to pray eagerly to God about it. Over the years, I have followed this intercessory fasting movement in the United States. I believe I have a very clear understanding of these people's prayers for repentance and confession for the United States. I believe that it was because of this prayer movement, including both repentance and confession, that God raised up Donald Trump. As he became the President of the United States, expectations were confounded. Many like myself believe that Trump’s initial presidency was a result of God's answer to the prayer of the American church.

Eventually, many American churches pushed beyond the limitations of the past that said, "churches do not participate in politics." Now, believers have begun to actively participate in American politics. Of course, we Christians also engage in spiritual warfare; therefore, intercession, fasting, and repentance remain the foundational pieces for fighting to bring things to pass. However, this does not mean that churches and Christians should not participate in politics. The United States is a democratic society and politics require democratic participation. Your non-participation is equal to you giving up your opportunity to influence others.

I believe the most critical thing that helped bring this shift to the American church is when it started to repent and call for God's help, and God responded to this call. God has given me and many other Christians words and prophetic dreams that indicate there will be a great revival in the United States, China, and in other countries around the world. I personally reside among the group of people who still believe God will supernaturally intervene in the post-election process and bring Trump back to the White House. I believe this is part of God's plan for America and the world. I also believe that Trump's re-election is just the tip of the iceberg. God still has so many things to do and I think God wants to use Trump to continue to accomplish more things in the United States. This includes strengthening the country’s Christian foundation in order to rebuild and revive American churches. At the same time, the United States must remain salt and light and act as a role model for the world in matters such as protecting Israel and exporting the gospel.

My belief in Trump’s return is not only based on what I have heard others say about Trump and his re-election. Surprised by the election results on November 4^th, I prayed asking God what was happening. On the early morning of November 5, I had the following dream about fishing. I saw a fish hooked on the end of a hook. A mysterious man and small child were playing with the fish by swinging the fishing lines. Then I heard something in my spirit: “They will continue to play for a while until they catch a bigger fish using this fish as bait.” My interpretation is that God still has everything in his hands, but there is a purposeful delay. My dream led me to believe that God will still turn things around.

While I believe that these are things God will do in America, He will also continue to expose deeds that are being done in darkness thereby getting rid of forces that oppose Him. This can be likened to when the Israelites were chased to the Red Sea. They were in despair, but God parted the waters for them to cross while drowning their Egyptian enemies. The current political situation in the United States is the same. Many people, including those with prophetic gifts, do not know exactly how God will bring His will to pass. Yet, many of us carry a certainty in our Spirit that God will turn things around. We should live in God's peace now and celebrate God's victory before we see it.

A brother in our group commented that his own experience is like this. He feels he is not very aware of the political situation in the United States. He falls into the category of persons that verse 19 refers to: “obedience is known to all." However, he lacks being "wise as to what is good." After evaluating himself, this man concluded that being "wise as to what is good" is not simply a matter of good and evil but whether one can clearly hear God's voice and understand what God's will is.

He is right. The following story about David illustrates the importance of hearing God’s voice and obeying. The wives and children of David’s men were taken captive by the Amalekites. When David and his men returned and found out about this, they wept loudly. David's two wives were also taken captive. Because of this, David's men wanted to stone him to death. The Bible does not record David's reaction in the flesh, but it does say that "David strengthened himself in the Lord his God" (ESV, 1 Samuel 30:6). Through the ephod brought by the priest, David inquired of the Lord if he would be able to overtake the enemy. The Lord said, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake and shall surely rescue” (ESV, 1 Samuel 30:8). David, therefore, brought people together to overtake the Amalekites in war. On their way, David ran into an Egyptian who had not eaten food or drunk water for three days and three nights. David gave him food to eat and water to drink and revived him back to life. It turned out that this man had been a slave to the Amalekites and was abandoned because he was sick. David promised to guarantee his safety, so the man took David to the Amalekites. God gave David favor and set the circumstances to bring him directly in confrontation with his enemy. In the end, David’s strategy to inquire of the Lord and obey was his reason for success in defeating the Amalekites. This is what it means to be wise—to inquire, hear, and obey.

In fact, the Bible tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and that knowledge of the Holy One is insight (ESV, Proverbs 9:10). The Bible also instructs believers in this way: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (ESV, Matthew 7:7-11). If you are humbly seeking God's will for yourself and this age, God will reveal himself to you. In most cases where a person is unsure, it is not likely that God is unwilling to reveal things to you but that you may not have sought enough.

Now that we have looked at what it means to be both wise and innocent, let’s discuss the rest of the verses of Romans 16 that talk about crushing Satan and living in peace.

Verse 16:20 (ESV) says, “the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet.” Note that it says, "under your feet." Our God of peace does not only crush Satan under his feet, but also under our feet. When we are confronted with societal conflicts and it seems that Satan is winning, we must remember to live with God’s peace. God’s peace is the greatest weapon believers have in this world. As God shakes the world, his purpose if to move people's hearts to be open to the gospel thereby bringing many people into His Kingdom. In this shaking process, believers should be steadfast people who know God's will and live in God's peace. They should not be swayed by rumors and tides like people in the world who go up and down like the waves. Christians should persevere in the face of obstacles just like the Lord Jesus did. A state of peace and rest does not indicate sleeping, however. Instead, Christians should work vigorously to impact society and have an external influence; in their interior, they live in peace by the Spirit of God that dwells inside them.

We may live this way because we know that God will prevail and will prevail greatly in the end. Romans 16:25-27 describes how Paul was able to live in peace and sincerely believe that the God of peace would crush Satan under his feet. Paul received God’s revelation that he would be entrusted with the gospel, so much to the point that he could even refer to it as "my gospel." This mystery of the gospel—the message of the work of Jesus Christ—was a revelation hidden from many in past times but revealed to the prophets and apostles such as Paul. As Paul learned of his mission to preach Jesus Christ, he himself learned to live in peace amidst the many crises he encountered completing his mission.

While it was a shock for many that Biden was inaugurated on January 20^th, some prophets still believe God will intervene and change this. We will observe what happens. I told the brothers and sisters attending our Bible Study that if I am wrong, then many of us who claim to believe in modern prophets including myself, will need to reflect on ourselves to consider if and how we have misheard God’s voice. If we are right, however, that Trump will be re-elected or brought back to the White House supernaturally, many Christians who do not believe in modern prophets would do well to reflect on how these prophets heard God’s voice, but they did not hear and believe their words. The final verdict regarding the upcoming election is a test for American society and a test for the prophetic movement and the gifts of prophecy.

Written by Jairus Bible World Ministries on December 20, 2020 and updated on February 5^th, 2021.