A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

To continue from part 1 on the significance of 40 and 55 years periods and how the latter had cropped up in a video on a Wednesday, followed by an insight into it on the Thursday…

Next came an astounding surprise on the Friday – making a triplet of consecutive ‘coincidences’, again!

An extraordinary confirmation

I was completely unaware on Thursday 26th March that a Richard Barker – my namesake – had emailed me. However, in the busy-ness of getting a blog published that afternoon I’d not checked incoming mail. Unusually for our regular long weekends off-line, I was ‘nudged’ to check my email on the Friday.

I was amazed to find one not only from someone with my name, but also because what he wrote covered the very subject matter I’d heard on the Wednesday evening – ie., Dr O’s brief remark about the early Church’s rejection of its Jewish roots. This was on the evening before Richard emailed me!

We’re both writers, retired Civil Servants and our journeys in Jesus have a common factor which has taken us along different paths, which have now crossed.  Taking the decisive step in 1970 to follow Jesus, Richard joined the evangelical Reformed Church. After studying the early Church Fathers, however, he became convinced the Reformers were mistaken and was received into the Catholic Church 15 years ago.

My journey went from Catholicism of my childhood to the ‘New Age’ when a young man and engaged in occultism until Jesus rescued and ‘saved’ me in 1989. Then, to provide a solid Biblical grounding, He put me in a ‘Free’ Baptist church and a few years later I was baptised in the Holy Spirit. Subsequently, I received training and practised prayer counselling and deliverance ministry, and after moving and marrying entered ‘the River’  that honours the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements, as well as the prophetic.

So, I appreciate the other Richard’s Catholic, ex-Calvinist perspective as being highly informative as well as interesting.

Moreover, Richard’s profound encounter with Holy Spirit in July 2013 introduced him to the prophetic and revelatory realm, about which he has been led to write. This brought about a deep interest in Apostle Paul and he ‘stumbled upon’ my blog in doing a search on his own name and his e-book centred on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians – and which he’d published that very day!

[It’s noteworthy that another writer blogged that same month about an exciting trend of the Spirit drawing Christians together. Also, a New Era for the church was dawning, as prophesied by many; eg. Keith Powell spoke of “2011 being pivotal” and Bill Johnson upon 1st September being a turning point in the UK – see ‘2011’ in Library.]

So it’s good that Richard can think outside the institutional box, and especially in being blessed by Holy Spirit’s direct revelation – and is being faithful to what he’s received.

My namesake has kindly allowed me to quote his email about a prophecy he believes the Holy Spirit gave him,

“…the main thrust (of which) concerns the re-unification of the churches and also the reconciliation of our Jewish Fathers of the Faith with their Gentile children (us) whom according to Paul have been incorporated into the Kingdom ahead of them to “provoke them to jealousy”  (Rom 11:11). That reconciliation I believe will be achieved when the churches (not least Rome) acknowledge misunderstandings concerning the promises to the Jews in the Old Testament (pertaining to “the fellowship of the secret” (Eph 3:9-11 Greek) which I am clear nobody has really understood including myself until my encounter with the Spirit.”

On the last point and in view of his background, Richard has probably realised that the Replacement Theology taught since the early Church is widely recognised as an error. Nevertheless, as he states, a higher revelation beyond most theological understanding could be emerging.

The concept of inter-denomination reconciliation/re-unification to which Holy Spirit has led Richard reminds me of the words Heidi Baker brought last October on a new move of God within the UK, for which this brief extract cannot do justice:

“There’s going to be a movement of unity in the UK that’s going to shake the world, says the Lord. I hear the prophetic word of the Lord. It’s going to flow through the universities and the colleges of the universities. It’s going to flow through denomination and the non-denominations. There’s going to be a move of unity within the Body of Christ.

“… There’s going to be something that the people of other faiths are going to see in this nation, as believers come together in radical love.

“… There’s going to be another historical move of God…

“…And there’s something specific happening as you start just lining up in this unity. There’s going to be a unity beyond anything the UK’s ever seen. It’s like there’s something, I feel like you’re going to become like these radical lovers of God that’s going to cross all denominations, all the barriers.” (Emphases reflect emphasis in Heidi’s voice.)

The ‘Mysteries’

Richard and I share an appreciation of the Kingdom ‘mysteries’, or secrets, as in Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus. About the time of blogging An insight into the supra-natural I searched out all NT references on ‘mysteries’ in my study Bible, highlighted and mulled over them – including Jesus’ comment to His disciples,

“To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside all things come in parables….” (Mark 4:11 NKJV)

I particularly note Apostle Paul’s quiet sojourn in Arabia where he must have deepened his relationship with the living Lord thereby beginning a life of revelations on “The Way” of Christ. There’s frequent reference throughout his letters to his personal insights.

I look forward to reading Richard’s prophetical-cum-theological ‘take’ in his e-book The Fellowship of The Secret. He describes it as identifying, “the key that unlocks an age-enduring  mystery surrounding the apparent disconnection between OT prophecy and the out-working of the Church/Gospel age.” 

This claim, however, is not so new or surprising to those who study prophetic scripture outside the confines of the Catholic or Reformed churches, especially in view of the latter’s wide consensus on the cessation of Holy Spirit’s activity after the 1st Century.

In the overview of his e-book (as above link), Richard focuses upon Paul’s statement in Ephesians 3:8-11 about his personal revelations. I especially appreciate this conclusion regarding the mutual failure in Jews and early Christians to understand one another:

“…Christendom’s part pertains to a failure to grasp the “the fellowship of the secret” – its implications to broader providence and God’s as yet unfulfilled terrestrial promises to the nation He first chose for Himself.”

Dipping into the extracts Richard makes available online, I like his hammering home on what the Church has lost and missed, and especially note the following from the first chapter ‘The Hidden Dispensation’ of ‘The Fellowship of the Secret’:

“The New Testament “elephant in the room”: the biblically unexplained and largely undebated non-fulfilment (or subversion) of scriptural prophecy regarding the terrestrial and political aspects of the Jewish apocalypse pertains to a secret disclosure, revealed to and through Paul of which I was previously unaware but now realise is the key to understanding Old Testament prophecy…”

Preceding that section Richard’s remarks are of direct relevance to recent posts on this blog about keys to and unsealing of the Book of Daniel, with emphasis added:

“In the religious sphere an on-going learning curve has been guaranteed through the intentionally cryptic profundity of Holy Scripture that was never intended to be entirely unravelled until the end of the age, for it contains at least one significant mystery (or secret) that was not to be disclosed until such a time (Dan 12:1-4 & 7; Rev 10:4,7)…”

I suspect that those who love to sink their teeth into a theological treatise topped by a prophetic icing will gain by reading my namesake’s e-book – especially in broadening  our own understanding of End-times. I certainly will.

For details on Richard’s blog click > The Fellowship of the Secret. (updated 20.4.16)

Summary

Reflecting on all this I notice the trio of ‘coincidental’ and thereby significant events, took place over 3 successive days, making an excellent example of ‘God-incidence’. That is, one that confirms and validates what I’d heard and recalled, as shared above.

All this suggests the Lord’s invisible hand is distributing keys to a complex network that connects Biblical and private prophecies and events to interweave them with historical cycles, as well as with personal destinies – wheels within wheels.

Next, we consider a 70-years period and how it points to 2017, as well as confirmatory teachings Charlie Shamp brought at the Passover-Easter conference; eg., on Daniel, the Age to Come, Blood Moons, the Temple and the Old Testament power behind Islam; taking us full circle and up another level – what else!

To be continued

Images credit:

• Digitalart, ‘Burning  Heart’.