Monday, November 24, 2014

(11/24/2014) The Need for Prophecy Then and Now

More is shared today on the need of mankind for covenants, dispensations, exemptions, prophets, sacred operations, and special mechanisms of support from GOD that establish and maintain correct relationship with divinity.  The entire range of sacred operations in place to benefit mankind includes atonement, baptism (death of ones inborn spirit, rebirth from divine DNA, so to speak), confession, divine law, the holy writings, redemption, repentance, and resurrection.  Prophets were sent as spokespersons both to proclaim the word from GOD, and to address the Most High as a clear and unified voice from the people.  While being in the world, the prophet approaches divinity as a response from divine Creation, the world, and the universe of GOD, that has put away covetousness, pride and self-promotion to acknowledge that divinity continues as exalted above all that exists.  In word and deed, the prophet declares the name (i.e., word and deed) of GOD.  The direct and simple relationship initially in place for mankind became altered through Adam and Eve by the operations of sin, however, not as defiance, malice, rebellion or violence.  Sin operated appearing to be innocence (and therefore unseen) through attitudes and behavior expressing disobedience, disrespect, a lapse in awareness, and independent self-will opposing the sovereign will of GOD.  The work of a prophet is not the prediction of human events (we say, telling the future), the continual proclamation of condemnation and doom, or the exercise of authority to coerce, intimidate, and punish.  Rather, a prophet is to further make visible the active presence of divinity that is also expressed as dutifulness, expectation (we say, hope), faithfulness, holy boldness, law, longsuffering, love, precepts, principles, promises, and sacred truth.  Divine intent and eternal purpose for mankind have been revealed as salvation, sanctification, and life.  Thus, prophets also are an embodiment of a nation or people, who endure through communion with divinity, serve as a carnal and material evidence of continuing relationship with the Holy, and are witnesses to the integrity and righteousness of GOD.  In the same way, an eternal covenant has been established for the Jews with Moses as their prophet, the eternal covenant of Jesus Christ has been established for men from every nation with the Holy Spirit as the One sent.


THE BATTLE AXE:  Why Prophets Were Sent to Israel (11/23/2014)

1st Corinthians 14:  36-38, KJV—What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?  37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.  38 But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.

1st Corinthians 11:  3-5, KJV —But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.  4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.  5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head:  for that is even all one as if she were shaven.

Amos 3:  7-8, KJV—Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.  8 The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?

1st Samuel 3:  1-10, KJV—And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.  2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;  3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;  4 That the LORD called Samuel:  and he answered, Here am I.  5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.  6 And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.  7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.  8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.  9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down:  and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.  10 And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

1st Samuel 3:  19-21, KJV—And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.  20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.  21 And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh:  for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

Numbers 11:  16-17, KJV—And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.  17 And I will come down and talk with thee there:  and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.

Numbers 11:  24-29, KJV—And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle.  25 And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders:  and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.  26 But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad:  and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle:  and they prophesied in the camp.  27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.  28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.  29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD’s people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!

Numbers 12:  1-8, KJV—And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married:  for he had married an Ethiopian woman.  2 And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.  3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)  4 And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.  5 And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam:  and they both came forth.  6 And he said, Hear now my words:  If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.  7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.  8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold:  wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?

Deuteronomy 13:  1-5, KJV—If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,  2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;  3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  4 Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.  5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.

1st Samuel 28:  5-7, KJV—And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled.  6 And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.  7 Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.

Jeremiah 1:  1-10, KJV—The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:  2 To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.  3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.  4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,  5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.  6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak:  for I am a child.  7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child:  for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.  8 Be not afraid of their faces:  for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.  9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.  10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

Jeremiah 23:  31-33, KJV—Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.  32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them:  therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.  33 And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD.

Jeremiah 26:  8-9, KJV—Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.  9 Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.

Isaiah 54:  17, KJV—No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

Matthew 1:  18-25, KJV—Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise:  When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.  19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.  20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife:  for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.  21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS:  for he shall save his people from their sins.  22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,  23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.  24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:  25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son:  and he called his name JESUS.

Acts 2:  16-18, KJV—But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;  17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh:  and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:  18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

Romans 12:  1-9, KJV—I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  2 And be not conformed to this world:  but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.  3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.  4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:  5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.  6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;  7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering:  or he that teacheth, on teaching;  8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation:  he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.  9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

Romans 11:  2-7, KJV—God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel saying,   3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.  4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.  5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.  6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works:  otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.  7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.

Acts 3:  18-26, KJV—But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.  19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.  20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:  21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.  22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.  23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.  24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.  25 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.  26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

James 5:  9-11, KJV—Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned:  behold, the judge standeth before the door.  10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.  11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

Revelation 22:  16-21, KJV—I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.  17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.  18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:  19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.  20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.  21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

THE BLACK PHOENIX
Washington, DC

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