Current Revelations
, as of May 18, 2000 Some weeks ago, while studying Exodus, I noted that the burning bush which was not consumed was (according to scholars) most likely a common bramble bush, the Acacia, which can grow very large, but is commonly only a small bush. And in further study I found that the Ark of the covenant and the panels of the tabernacle and other pieces of the sacred furniture were also made of shittim wood (Exod. 25 and 37, and 26, 27 and 30) and that shittim is also thorn bush, most likely acacia. Less certain is the idea that the Lord's crown of thorns also was made of acacia. For this symbolism to apply it is not critical that they all be exactly the same variety of thorn bush, but these all could be the same species.
Revelation came that night suggesting that since the bush was not consumed, that therefore the thorns (symbols of sin and rebellion) were not consumed. So it seems that the presence of God, even the glory of God, by itself does not automatically separate sin from the bearer of it.
At the regular Tuesday morning meeting at Don Daniel's, Expect a Miracle Church there was a leading in the Spirit discussing the crossing of Jordan as a symbol of deliverance and for our city, leading to a discussion of the Ark, and I mentioned its construction of shittim wood - thorn bush, a symbol of sin. Don Daniel noted Judges 9:14, "Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou and reign over us." The context showing the bramble as a symbol of the sinner. During the meeting (in the strong presence of God) I further meditated on the matter. It was then clear that the thorns must be removed by the hand of man and the wood shaped in order to make each piece of the Ark, and that likely many individual pieces had to be shaped and joined together to make the Ark, suggesting the importance of agreement in the body. So man must remove the thorns and conform individuals to the larger plan of God's design before the various pieces of modified wood can make a container for the symbols of Law and grace.
It then appeared to me that the Ark was a symbol looking forward to and fulfilled in the crown of thorns worn by Jesus, (and this day 05/18 further revealed that) the crown, a symbol of man's sin, was forcefully placed on His head by the hands of man. Thus by the sinful actions of man the crown is forced upon His head, an action which He permitted and which was foreordained. And by the violence of killing the Christ, man advanced the kingdom, for by the Lord's sacrifice the power of sin was destroyed, according to His perfect plan and foreknowledge (Matt 11:12 "...the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."). The power of sin was removed enabling the new communion, that through faith God could fully enter into man.
So there seemed to be a progression from, 1) the burning bush where the hand of man is not applied and sin is not separated, to 2) the Ark where the hand of man is applied and sin (thorns) are removed and the wood is conformed to agreement with His plan and then used to enclose the symbols of Law and grace (the mercy seat being outside and above), and finally, 3) the crown of thorns as the Holy One comes into man. (This is an ongoing revelation.)
A little over a week ago during worship in service at COA, in the presence of God, came a vision of the Temple, very glorious. And the Scripture Rev. 3:14+ came saying, "he that overcomes will be made a pillar in the Temple." But when I looked closely I saw some strong and good looking pillars, and I saw some that were thin and spindly at the top and almost normal at the base, only able to support a little weight; and I saw other pillars that looked strong and stout but were so short they did not reach up to the roof. Immediately I was given the interpretation, that the first were pillars in touch with both the foundation (the Word-Christ) and with the ceiling, the covering of the Lord (the now Word of God, and now move of the Holy Spirit), that the second spindly twisted pillars were puny because of sin and little contact with their covering; and the third were well grounded in the Word and in doctrine of Christ, but had no real intimacy with their covering and the no obedience to the now word of the Lord.
On the morning of Wed. May 10, 2000, at 2:30 a.m. I was awakened with a clear vision showing a large piece of good land, with a shack in the center of it. The shack was small, and appeared like those in Mexico, made of cardboard, tin and scraps of trash. The Lord spoke clearly saying, "When the Lord redeems a piece of land there is always a shack on it, one built by man. And before He can build His glorious temple on the redeemed land, He must first tear down the shack." And I realized that we often defend the shack, resisting Him, because we think of it is all we have. Over the days since, He made it clear that this principle applies to individuals, to churches, to denominational structures, to all the constructs of man. He is in the business of building a glorious temple, beyond our understanding, any place that the land is truly redeemed. Yet in ignorance we try to hang onto our shack. (reminds me of I Cor 3, wood hay and stubble....) He is speaking to this our church, to let go, let Him destroy our shack, then He can build His glorious temple. Today, May 18, He warns that His glorious temple will not appear glorious to carnal eyes. It will not be a great building of stone and glass, but it will be a great structure of repentance, restoration, love and communion.
I awoke, Sat May 13, 2000, with a dream. At first I was in a store, like a drug store with counters near the walls (symbols of commerce). And there were several wide doors in the walls. And outside was pure white. But each doorway was closed off by chicken wire and barbed wire on a wooden frame, like in a prison camp movie. I was intent on escape form the store. But from a distance inside, the wire and wood frame seemed to make escape impossible. But I went forward anyway to one of the wire and wood framed gates. As I got closer I noticed that the frame was really two framed doors, with hinges along the left and right vertical edges, latched in the middle with three locks made of gold like metal, one lock at the bottom center of the frames, one in the middle and one at the top center. As I came closer I saw that the bottom lock was already open. Then I pushed on the middle of the frames and to my surprise both the middle lock and top lock crumbled and fell apart revealing their insides of the crudest and weakest grey metal. The gates swung open, with the locks and frames offering no resistance. And so I walked out of the gate into the white and awoke immediately.
On further meditation this to me is symbolic of the church and individuals being inclosed in what appears to be bondage to worldly finances. The outside pure white being symbolic of His Holiness.
But if we go forward in faith, trusting in Him, and truly desiring to escape from the bondage to worldly finances, then we will find that these gates can not hold us and we will emerge into the Holiness of His ways.
Some years ago when I was first at COA (early summer '97 ?) I had a life changing vision of the Holiness of God. In worship service with my eyes closed, there appeared an opening of great whiteness, looking like a region of pure whiteness a little smaller that a man's hand at arm's length. Of course there was much more to this than just what I saw, there was a enduring revelation to my innermost being of His purity and perfection, that was and is still not describable with words (very powerful).
Some weeks ago this happened again, but the white that I saw was a little smaller in size than I remembered it. To me this showed that His Holiness was a little farther away, perhaps from me and or the church. Then, on April 30, 2000, it happened again. This time the white was as wide as a man's hand in the vertical, and the width of it was three men's hands in the horizontal. And in the midst of the white, running from top to bottom was what looked like a crack with gold showing through. The crack was shaped like a stream with many gentle little curves. Both the large size of the whiteness and the presence of the crack were to me indicators that His Gory was close, and His glory was ready to burst forth. Then on Sun. May 7, it happened again, again the Holiness of God appeared white and large, and again there was the golden crack down the middle, from top to bottom. But there also appeared to be coming forth from the bottom of the crack towards me a yellow-gold stream. This to me indicated that He was already doing something either in me or in our midst, (perhaps sending forth His seed) that the breakthrough was now happening. (The interpretation of this is still not clear.)
These revelations and interpretations were written in response to the public request of Pastor Robert Pena, for he asked for all those receiving revelations to share them with him and the body.
I hope these will be of benefit to all reading them. May God richly bless You in all knowledge and intimacy with Him.
And that bring us up to date, as of May 18, 2000.