Blog anniversary: ‘The Fellowship of the Secret’

Posted on Thursday, 21 April, 2016 by Richard Barker

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Funny the way things go but I didn’t realise ’til yesterday, when I started blogging more on the current theme, that a year ago today I introduced ‘The Fellowship of the Secret’, an e-book by my namesake Richard Barker.

Even ‘funnier’ are the facts I’m uncovering whilst trying to continue from what I’d jotted as of last night. I was researching scripture and drafting a post to continue and conclude my current thoughts on the Kingdom, especially about the ‘mysteries’ Apostle Paul mentions. I’d previously checked last year’s piece and found the link to Richard’s book is no longer valid. Upon updating it yesterday I found his blog Fellowship of the Secret and decided to ‘follow’.

NOW, it’s getting much ‘funnier’ – even startlingly weird and very uncanny!…(and my email provider’s playing up and not failing to connect and download! So something’s afoot).:

Fellow WordPress bloggers are familiar with our administrative screen’s options of using either ‘My Site’ or ‘Reader’, which displays the latest posts of blogs we follow on WP.

For some purposeless reason I don’t recall, soon after starting this blog I went back into an open tab and opened up Reader – LO and behold, right at the top is one from Richard timed about the same time I started this post – UTTERLY EXTRAORDINARY. It reads:

‘The Fellowship of The Secret – Introductory Essay

‘Having completed my series of posts in which I have been commenting on Old Testament passages that particularly came to my attention during the writing of my book, I have composed an essay which will replace the preface in earlier editions of the e-book and the paperback version.

‘It sets out the background to the later edition and provides more insight into what I believe the process I am involved with is leading to. It will either whet your appetite for the book (e-version now free) or put you off entirely, since it challenges virtually everyone to review their current understanding of the Apostle Paul’s writings and that of their tradition.’ (emphasis added)

To read the latest from Richard click/tap Update for Revised Edition.

Finding it far from easy to think, because I’m ‘God-smacked at nature of this ‘coincidence’! The sheer serendipity demonstrates the LORD’s HAND MUST SURELY BE IN THIS – and is perhaps answering reservations and questions over what I propose writing on the ‘mysteries’ and recent posts. IN FACT, I extracted references on Richard’s book for this post from yesterday’s draft because the book seems especially significant at this time and needs announcing once again!

So, I’m SO stunned and left feeling sluggish with heavy limbs, like when Holy Spirit falls! Have had to take a break and share with Nina and visiting friend.

MOREOVER, a year ago my coverage of Richard’s book was surrounded with several God-incidents, as in God-incidents Validate Cycles… and Surprising Endorsement of ‘The Fellowship of the Secret’. The first introduces my namesake in some depth and then describes ‘The Fellowship of the Secret’ as follows:

‘(Richard) 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 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’s put 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 prophetical icing will gain by reading my namesake’s e-book – especially in broadening our own understanding of End-times. I certainly will.’

WOW!

What is the Lord saying to us and about to reveal? I suspect it may be quite startling and take the Church into greater depths of intimacy and of revelation upon re-instating its full nature and purpose. After writing this I note Richard’s remark in the first paragraph of his Update (emphasis mine):

‘A more serious consideration reflected on during the Christmas/New Year period (2015/16) is that whatever anyone else may currently think I perceive myself to be involved in a sacred task – to make known to as many Christians who will receive it, what I understand to be God’s intentions for the currently scattered assemblies of Jesus-followers in view of what (I merely surmise) He intends to bring about within our generation (cf. Acts3:21 Greek). So in effect, the book is an expansive “prophetic insight” in which its author came within a matter of a few days to a quite new understanding of certain biblical passages and events within Church history…’

We’re getting closer to the prophesied return of the Lord. Watch out world!

Happy 90th Birthday Your Majesty, Servant of The King

Posted on Thursday, 21 April, 2016 by Richard Barker

ServantQueen

A very happy, most enjoyable birthday Ma’am.

I recall not only mother’s parents and her brother, who lived close by, but neighbours too had called at our house when I was five years old. And they were all crammed into our lounge!! Dad had recently been up at the roof to nail a weird metal frame by the gutter and point it to the sky, then trail and fix a wire down to small boxes on the skirting boards in the front and rear sitting rooms. Next he went to his workbench in the cellar and fixed another wire onto a water piper! This puzzled me and dad said it’s necessary to ‘earth’ the whole lot if any lightning hits the aerial : the electricity would go into the ground and not damage the house and the big, new, wooden-varnished box with knobs on.

With everyone seated in our larger lounge on 2nd June 1953, he drew the curtains to shut out daylight and turned a knob on that box in the far corner. Its shiny light-grey mirror then turned into a black-and-white picture of crowds in a street somewhere in far-away London.

We were about to watch the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, a princess 20 years older than this little chap in his first year at primary school. Little did I know it was the first such occasion to be televised live and watched by 27 million, over half the population. Good job they wouldn’t fit into our house!

It was an amazing and enjoyable occasion to which was added a neighbourhood party. Nationally, it marked a welcome turning point after over a decade of death, destruction, privation and real economic austerity. I didn’t succumb to becoming a monarchist but I’ve come to admire her majesty as a stalwart Christian whose faith makes a special mark as an evangelist.

Believers and non-believers alike, have much to learn from the Queen’s example of duty to God and nation. This low-cost book about the reality and practicalities of her walk with Jesus is well-worth your careful study. (For details and to buy visit CPO website.)

In view of my above remarks I note the chapter on the Coronation, in particular on ‘The Secret Ceremony’. This moment of the ceremony was too sacred to be televised because it was when the Archbishop of Canterbury anointed her as Queen. It reads in part.:

‘In that commitment, she follows the example of Christ who was also anointed, as the word ‘Christ’ means, and set apart not to be served but to serve and, in his case, sacrifice his life so we can have life which lasts forever. Royal biographer William Shawcross wrote:

‘When Queen Elizabeth was crowned in 1953 she found, like her mother before her, an almost sacrificial quality at the heart of the service…It was the moment when the holy oil was applied to her, rather than her crowning with St Edward’s crown of solid gold, that was of supreme importance for the Queen. Indeed it was the most solemn and important moment of her entire life.’

May the Lord continue to bless her and move mightily in this nation and commonwealth. May Your Spirit move mightily, that this anniversary year becomes a turning point in our history where we repent and once again become a Christian and consecrated people in Holy Revival…

‘Archbishop Cranmer’ blogs in The Queen’s 90th: Happy Birthday Ma’am.:

‘God has saved her and she has lived long. The first two invocations of the National Anthem have been and are still being fulfilled. Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th Birthday is a cause of national celebration and personal joy. It is also a time for reflection and gratitude. Never in the history of British Monarchy has one reigned so old or so long. Nor, perhaps, has one seen so much social change and sweeping transition, at least in the absence of war and glorious revolution. And rarely has one been so devoted to Christ in the service of peace and reconciliation...’

Unity across churches manifests God’s Kingdom

Posted on Monday, 18 April, 2016 by Richard Barker

Puzzle Globe and Book by Thanunkorn Here I share more insights gained since Holy Week, citing an example to prove this post’s title and looking at early church history. First, listen to Jesus in prayer:

“Father, I pray for those who will believe in Me..that they may all be one, as You Father are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent me.” (John 17:20-21 NKJV – emphasis added)

Is Jesus’ prayer about to be fully answered at long, long last? Especially for the sake of saving lost souls?

Sixty years ago many Christian denominations had scant tolerance for one another, even though a large percentage of Britons attended church regularly or, if not, would at least go for Easter and Christmas. Those who didn’t were religiously well-informed – unlike today’s spiritually unwashed masses who are religious illiterates! As a youngster I was subject to some most unexpected personal animosity between Protestants and Catholics – despite their claiming to believe in the same God!

Thus, disunity was one reason for my rejecting Churchianity and seeking truth beyond science and religion in metaphysics and mysticism (the Eastern and New Age variety).

As well as ignoring Jesus’ expressed desire for unity and command to love one another, believers weren’t doing what Jesus did – and more – as He foretold:

“Most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do because I go to My Father.” (John 14:12 NKJV)

History demonstrates churches across the East and West hadn’t complied with Jesus’ desire. Moreover, it seems God didn’t answer His Son’s deep prayer request! Mankind’s free-will and Satan’s steering were determined to prevent its fulfillment at all costs.

Heavenly Father can ensure Jesus’ prayer gets met. No doubt He’s waiting for the right time and conditions for inspiring believers who are responsive to His Spirit; rather than to make them comply. He didn’t create robotic automatons. First, however, we need to want and allow Holy Spirit into our lives rather than deny, quench or grieve His gracious ways.

Re-born Into Christ

Consequently, it was an extremely pleasant surprise to find after being born again in 1989-90 those antagonisms had disappeared. When I was baptised in Holy Spirit in 1992 I saw Jesus healing people and so I wanted to associate with the group who’d organised that day’s event. That Circle of Prayer for Healing in the mid-Thames Valley was a mixture of Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists and independents – and all charismatics!

Thus, spiritual unity of that small group enabled Holy Spirit to flow in power and manifest the presence of the Kingdom of God – praise You Lord. Hopefully we may expect a much larger manifestation now we’re 25 years further down the road…

An increasing emphasis from those with prophetical voices and gifting is indicating Holy Spirit wants to inspire, infuse and direct our hearts and minds with Jesus’ love for fellow Christians, and to express that as a Unity of spirit and action – so the world no longer sees believers as squabbling hypocrites and realise who Jesus is and that we really do have the answers they’re desperately needing and seeking spiritually.

Hence my enthusiasm towards unity in belief and action (with the caveat of obedience to Jesus’ instructions) throughout Christendom – no doubt the intensification of secular and terrorist persecution is drawing us out of our shells and making us stand up!

So, let’s remind ourselves of recent ‘God-incidents’ focusing on Unity (as here and here).:

Extraordinary vision: “I watched as these fiery, burning and anointed ones moved together in PERFECT UNITY”.
Revelation from the Lord about angels of Revival being released and that “The body of Christ is coming alive in Jesus, in purity, in life, in love, in UNITY”.
Obedient response to: “The Rhema Word God has had for me the past few months is UNITY”.
Writing a new book for which “The major outcome theme…is Unity”.
Three years’ preparation for church-wide act of unity across the UK.

The details of the last from Malcolm Duncan warrant brief re-iteration:

“I lead Spring Harvest and for three years I have been working on an act of unity across the United Kingdom that will see all…evangelical bible conventions and celebrations declaring that, whatever our theological differences are, we are one in Christ Jesus. It is going to involve 130,000 Christians from March (Spring Harvest) through to October next year with the Festival of Life…perhaps the biggest demonstration of Christian unity that we have seen in the evangelical church in the United Kingdom for almost two hundred years – and they’ve all said “Yes” – there’s the miracle! They’re all on board, and I am sure the Bible says,

“Where the brethren dwell together in unity, the Lord commands a blessing.”

Seventeen months ago Heidi Baker brought a word about ‘A New Move of God in the UK’ which prophesied about Unity as follows (underlining added):

“…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.

“You’re going to fill Wembley Stadium. You’re going to fill stadiums, stadiums, with worshippers of the living God. And there’s going to be this holy affection where people come before the Lord. They’re not going to even know who’s speaking in the stadium, they’re not going to even know the name of the preachers, because they’re coming fixing their eyes on Jesus. It’s going to shake the nation, says the Lord.

“There’s going to be a unity even between Scotland and Ireland and the UK, that’s going to SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE. There’s going to be a shaking that’s going to bring a unity, says the Lord. 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…”

Amen to all the above.

The Early Church on Jesus and Unity

My meditations have been based upon Apostle John’s understanding and revelations of the glory and nature of His dearly beloved rabbi, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This meant musing upon, seeking the Lord and researching into what the disciples may have learned after the Resurrection; ‘To whom’, the physician and chronicler Dr Luke records that Jesus, ‘also presented Himself alive after His sufferings by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and (His) speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.’ (Acts 1:3 NKJV)

[THUS, after that privileged private teaching they logically concluded the Kingdom was going to be restored to Israel. That’s clearly the Lord’s action plan – they just wanted to know when to expect its execution. Had that not been a legitimate request they’d have been rebuked. But Jesus told them that’s not their – OR His – concern because it’s The Father’s prerogative! Jesus had another plan for them: transmitting the Gospel with all the consequential signs and wonders: ie. fulfillment of John 14:12 – see Acts1:6-8.]

MBarkerWebPhoto Scriptural meditations encouraged me to re-read The Hidden Tradition of the Kingdom of God – an exceptionally informative book by the Methodist Bible scholar Margaret Barker, whose Doctorate in Divinity was conferred by the Archbishop of Canterbury, ‘in recognition of her work on the Jerusalem Temple and the origins of Christian Liturgy’. (It is designated, ‘Temple Theology’.)

Dr Barker’s significant new contribution to the understanding of the New Testament opened up important fields for research.

In checking out her website I found the paper ‘Jesus the Nazorean’ most illuminating and confirming my thoughts on Paul’s many references to the ‘mysteries’ of God. On page 9 therein lies a useful insight into our consideration of Unity in the Lord (emphases mine):

“Theodotus, the second century teacher whose work survives only as quotations in Clement of Alexandria, was condemned by later generations as a Gnostic. He taught about Jesus’ role in restoring the unity, just as John’s Jesus did in his final prayer after the last supper. This is what Theodotus said:
They say that our angels were put forth as a unity and are One in that they came out from the One.
Now since we existed in separation, Jesus was baptised that the undivided should be divided until he should unite us with them in the Fullness, that we, the many, having become one, might be mingled with the One which was divided for our sakes.’

“And this is what John’s Jesus said:
”[I pray] that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they may also be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me”. (John 17.21)
Restoring the unity was a sign of divinity. But John’s Jesus also brought judgement: ‘[The Father] has given all judgement to the Son’ (John 5.22).

“Theodotus is not telling us anything different from what Paul said in his message to the
Ephesians:
’For he has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth’ (Eph.1.9-10).

“So too in his letter to the Colossians, Paul said that Christ holds all things together (Col.1.17).

“The secret of the kingdom was the secret of unity, restoring all things to their unity with God, and so Paul saw the future as the Son of God bringing all things into the kingdom – he called it subduing all things, the judgement – ‘that God may be all in all’ (1 Cor.15.28).”

Therefore, in my humble opinion, this information is well-worth mulling over. I’m especially pleased Dr Barker refers to and stresses Ephesians 1:9 (see my covering intro to God’s Eternal Purpose – and reference to Unity therein). This reinforces my interest in what Paul knew by personal revelation from Jesus Himself, as well as gained when he was caught up into heaven.

Thank you Lord that Your Spirit of Wisdom and of Revelation brings knowledge of You (Eph 1:17).

Footnote:

In discussion with a leader at a local church we visited recently I queried his opinion upon the source of Paul’s knowledge of the Last Supper and the Resurrection. He was keenly recommending a new devotional book, 40 Days With Jesus by Dave Smith of New Frontiers church. In considering the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection, the leader echoed Smith’s citing ‘compelling evidence from 1 Corinthians 15 (as) important because not only was it…written early [in 55AD] but (also) Paul’s evidence would have come from meetings with the other apostles that took place only a few years after the resurrection itself’.

This book’s a useful adjunct to my meditations, but the above remark may be playing fast and loose with scriptural data!!

Paul’s letter to the Galatians may be dated 6 years earlier, depending upon which of two groups he was addressing, or else contemporary with that sent to the church in Corinth. In stating how he changed from being a severe persecutor of believers to becoming an on-fire believer and preacher, Paul writes (Gal 1:15-16 NKJV):

“When it pleased God…to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went to Arabia and returned again to Damascus.”

In about 62 AD, Dr Luke completed his careful investigations of early church history. He wrote, ‘In his account to King Agrippa Paul states, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision but declared first to those in Damascus…(to) repent, turn to God and do works befitting repentance” (Acts 26:19-20). Earlier, in recording post-conversion events of Paul in that city, where Paul regained his sight through Ananias, Luke states ‘Then Saul spent some days with the disciples in Damascus. Immediately he preached the Christ in synagogues…’ (Acts 9:19-20).

Therefore, if Saul didn’t receive full revelation personally about the Last Supper and the Resurrection whilst blind, then wouldn’t he have got the basics from Ananias’ group?

Coming soon: Living Letters

Posted on Monday, 18 April, 2016 by Richard Barker

Intriguing timing here! This was posted the day before the original of my re-blog ‘How the Church Lost The Way’ on the need to reclaim our Hebrew heritage. So this makes a suitable follow-on – thanks Justin.

‘How the Church lost The Way…’ – book review

Posted on Saturday, 16 April, 2016 by Richard Barker

The following information received today is very useful preparatory reading for my follow-up to The Four Faces of God and Unity. It appears courtesy of PROPHECY TodayUK (click for original).

Paul Luckraft reviews Steve Maltz’s ‘How the Church Lost The Way…And How it Can Find it Again’:

How the Church Lost the Way In this engaging and entertaining book, the author is very clear about his agenda: “to restore the understanding of the Hebraic roots of Christianity that has been lost, since the early days of the Church” (p 43). Equally clear is that in this book he has succeeded in making a considerable contribution towards what is an immense but vital task.

Maltz’s style is chatty, but not trite. He pulls no punches – he admits he may not just be upsetting the occasional sacred cow but disturbing the whole herd – but his aim is analysis, rather than attack. Certainly at every point he makes you think, and feel, and search for a proper response.

His title is apt in two ways, suggesting a straying from a correct path, but also reminding us that the early Christians were originally called The Way (Acts 9:2, 24:14), rather than the Church. Maltz points out that there has been a process of stripping out every trace of Jewishness from the established Church, starting early in its history and developing over time. The Body of Christ was meant to be One New Man (Eph 2:15) with both Jewish and Gentile elements in balance, and without this it is greatly diminished and largely unfulfilled.

How We Wandered

In Part One, the author tells ‘a tale of two summits’, taking us to two important councils: Jerusalem in AD 49 and Nicaea in AD 325. In an entertaining fly-on-the-wall (or rather peering-round-the-pillar) account, Maltz contrasts these two occasions, the former advocating the inclusion of Gentiles into the Church, the other the exclusion of Jews.

The most telling quote is from Constantine’s letter circulated to churches throughout the Christian world concerning the timing of Easter: “Let us then have nothing in common with the most hostile rabble of the Jews” (p48).

In chapter 2, Maltz provides a fascinating potted history of the main Greek thinkers: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, highlighting their ‘big ideas’ and the equally big consequences of those ideas on Church history. He demonstrates how the early Church fathers reconstructed Christianity in Platonic terms, mixing the Bible with Platonic thinking.

As we are shown the long slide away from our Jewish roots into Greek dualism we are given excellent summaries – neither too long nor too short – of Philo (and allegory), Origen, Augustine, and Aquinas. In each case there is just enough detail to convince us that “the great doctrines of Christianity had become a philosopher’s playground” (p42).

This may only be an introduction to a very large topic, but the main point comes across clearly. The Church is “far more Greek in its outlook than people could ever imagine and this is not a side issue, but very much a key battleground for the truth” (p60).

Reclaiming Our Heritage

Part Two is largely comprised of a series of vignettes highlighting different aspects of the Hebraic worldview that we need to reclaim.

Maltz starts by looking at the Bible itself and how it should be interpreted from a Hebraic perspective, and then goes on to examine the Hebrew language, family life and marriage, the Sabbath and especially the Jewish festivals and calendar. This latter section is the longest and most informative. The Jewish biblical festivals are “so instructional, so rich in meaning, so bursting in Jesus, that it can do us nothing but good to be aware of them” (p106).

Part Three revisits the idea, mentioned earlier in the book, that the body of Christ is meant to be One New Man. Here is a fascinating discussion on what this should entail, namely a balance between the two distinctive elements of Jew and Gentile. Not a blurring into one but a partnership, and a preparation for heaven!

No Apology Needed

At one point towards the end the author seems to apologise that he has meandered all over the place (though he adds hopefully, not randomly). In fact, there is no sense of meandering as you read through this book. It can be taken as a whole, or in parts. Although there is no index, there is an appendix of recommended further reading, helpfully arranged to coincide with the chapters of this book.

It covers its main themes well, and also ends with a plea for each Christian believer to take personal responsibility to examine the Bible through the eyes and experiences of the early Jewish believers, rather than the contact lens of Greek philosophy. (Amen: emphasis RB)

If we all individually re-evaluate our image of God and attitude to worship and fellowship then, as the subtitle suggests, the Church can find The Way again.

‘How the Church Lost The Way’ (190 pp, paperback, £10) is the first of Steve Maltz’s three books on the state of the Western church which are available from Saffron Planet Publishing. His website is Saltshakers. (Update: see Comments re availability on Kindle.)

Steve’s work will be featured in Prophecy TodayUK over the next few weeks. For more about Steve on this blog see my introductory remarks about ‘God’s Signature’ in Holy Treasure of ‘The Open Door’ (reading from sub-heading ‘A Deep Insight From Hebrew’).

Although I haven’t yet read this book on the Church I’m sure it’s as easy, enjoyable reading as ‘God’s Signature’.

PS: see also Jeff Benner’s brief intro’ on errors in Bible translations, About the Ancient Hebrew Research Centre (thank you Nelson Walters at The Gospel in the End-Times).

7th April: The Four Faces of God and Unity

Posted on Thursday, 14 April, 2016 by Richard Barker

A week ago today things happened that have since made me think, “Could Jesus’ prayer for all believers, as in John 17, at last be answered in our day?” Perhaps Father is already releasing indicators on this by scattering pieces of a puzzle for us to complete. As with most jigsaws it’s best to find and lay corner pieces and edges before tackling the larger picture, especially when the full picture isn’t as clear as we’d like it to be. But we can at least make a start on this ‘invisible jigsaw’…

After days of enquiring about overseas deliveries and as told in my footnote to this post, I was informed on 7th April that a copy of the out-of-print book ‘The Four Faces of God’ had been dispatched. It so happens – definitely not a coincidence – last Thursday, the 7th day of the 4th month of 2016, brought a quadruple focus upon a very specific theme.

First, two sisters in the Lord published related prophetic words from the Lord on 7th April.:

1 > Veronika West on the ‘Emerald Isle’ had a vision of ‘A Firestorm, Four Whirlwinds and Four Faces of God’ and in which she describes how it progressed:

“…I watched as these FIERY, BURNING AND ANOINTED ONES MOVED TOGETHER IN PERFECT UNITY, there were none greater than the other, shoulder to shoulder, and shield to shield they advanced and moved forward as ONE MIGHTY ARMY…” (emboldening added).

(Upon learning about the ‘God-incidence’ between the date she posted it on Facebook and the book’s despatch, which was absolutely nothing to do with her, she wrote that she was “truly blown away”.)

2 > For some ‘strange’ reason I got TWO copies of an email notification of what had been written earlier that day around the world and ‘down under’ by Lana Vawser:

‘While I was in the USA the Lord spoke to me about the visitation of a REVIVAL ANGEL that is being released across the earth that is marking the season we are in. We are in a season of revival and it is beginning to build and sweep across the earth. The Lord was certainly highlighting the magnitude of the revival that will be seen on a global scale, yet I felt a real emphasis from the Lord on the body of Christ and individuals. As I sat with the Lord pondering what He spoke about this angel of revival, I was surrounded by the need for reviving, refreshment and rejuvenation within the body of Christ. As I sat with the Lord He spoke to me about encounters with the angel/s of revival that is going to increase more and more in this season, where the Lord is going to send these angelic hosts to minister to the people of God. “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14) We do not worship angels, we worship Jesus, but we must recognise that angels are ministering spirits that are sent to us. As I saw this angel of revival that had been sent to the earth, there were many, many other angels who were accompanying him and they all had clocks in their hands. When I looked at the clocks all of them were at the same time “midnight”. As they came into the lives of believers they all sang in one accord “It’s time! It’s time! It’s time! It’s time for the GREAT REVIVE! It’s time! It’s time! It’s time for the GREAT REVIVE!”...'(read ‘Here it Is…The Angel of Revival!!’)

I noticed the full message’s closing words have this line

‘The body of Christ is coming alive in Jesus, in purity, in life, in love, in UNITY.‘

3 > A regular reader of this blog emailed on 7th April about the Lord awakening her in the middle of the night on Easter Sunday about the church she and her husband are to attend:

‘He woke me, and said: “It’s time to GO!”…(email closes) The Rhema Word God has had for me the past few months is UNITY.’

4 > Did you notice ‘Unity’ is the focus of Malcolm Duncan’s March Message, ‘Watching What’s Happening in the Church’? – about which I blogged on 7th April:

“I lead Spring Harvest and for three years I have been working on an act of unity across the United Kingdom that will see all of the evangelical bible conventions and celebrations declaring that whatever our theological differences are, we are one in Christ Jesus.”

NEXT (and fifth instance), upon his return from Spring Harvest my Dorset friend and author William Smith caught up with those blogs and emailed me about Malcolm,

“…The theme of Spring Harvest next year is unity. Unity, as you know, is the major outcome theme of my new book. I love such confirmation.” (emphases added)

SO we have ‘four corner pieces’ of a jigsaw puzzle displaying ‘UNITY’ in the Lord. Could they in any way be related to the four faces of God? I humbly submit how this may be so:

Four Faces image

dramatic vision of fire, whirlwinds and God – symbolic of the Eagle’s vision
word from the Lord about angelic release – symbolic of the Lion’s rulership
act of obedience to Lord and pastor – symbolic of Bull’s sacrificial service
noticing and writing about theme – symbolic of Man’s anointing and calling.

Lastly but not least, lest we may forget, there’s this blog’s ‘blockbuster’! – the prophetic word Heidi Baker brought in late 2014 on Unity in ‘A New Move of God in the UK’ (the statistics of that post blasted through the ceiling!).

FOR SOMETHING TO BE STRESSED 5 TIMES ON THE SAME DAY MUST MEAN THE LORD WANTS OUR ATTENTION, AND IS POINTING OUT UNITY IS VITAL!

Next, we’ll look at scripture on this and an illuminating insight from early church history.

[Credit: ‘Flying puzzles’ by Nokhoog Buchachon, courtesy Freedigitalphotos.net ]

Lana Vawser: new alignments, assignments & power stations – globally!

Posted on Wednesday, 13 April, 2016 by Richard Barker

World In Fire by Danilo Rizzuti

This message was in my in-tray first thing and reinforces the vision of Veronika West in yesterday’s blog, and other prophetical voices on shifting, shaking and on re-alignments.

New Alignments, New Assignments & Power Stations Being Set Up Across The Nations (issued 13/04/16 at 08:25)

As I sat with the Lord today, He was highlighting ALIGNMENTS to me again. He was speaking to me about the SURPRISE ALIGNMENTS that are taking place right now in this season. There is a deep shifting and shaking of alignments taking place. In this “shifting and shaking” of alignment, the Lord is creating new bridges of connection and networking in the body of Christ. In this “SHIFTING AND SHAKING”, He is “MOVING AND SHAKING!”.

We must be leaning in, in this season to be following where the Spirit of God is leading in the aligning and the networking. He is establishing alignments that we have only ever dreamed of, and He is shaking alignments that He has not established.

All of the “SHIFTING AND SHAKING” of alignments right now is not a bad thing, it is to position us as the people of God in our God given destinies for the “NEXT STEPS” that He has for us and the strategic people and alignments that we must be standing with in this season as we act as catapults and bridges for each other. He is establishing and re-establishing healthy networks in the body of Christ.

As this “SHIFTING AND SHAKING” of alignments is taking place I saw GLORIOUS NEW ASSIGNMENTS being established and SUDDENLY birthed. In the “joining” of these new alignments the Lord was releasing an increase and promotion in assignments.

BE OKAY WITH “DIVINE INTERUPTIONS”

I heard the words “Be okay with DIVINE INTERRUPTIONS”. The Lord is bringing DIVINE INTERRUPTIONS in this season. Be okay with the divine interruptions, if He goes in a completely different direction to what you were expecting, embrace it, embrace Him, follow Him, because He is leading you into MO

PRAY! PRAY! PRAY IN THESE ALIGNMENTS AND ASSIGNMENTS!!!

In these new alignments and joint assignments I saw the Lord releasing a “key” to MAKING ROOM for Him and instantly I saw what looked like an “upper room” and there was a lot of prayer, intercession and waiting on the Lord taking place. I then heard the Lord say “In these new alignments and joint assignments PRAYER MUST BE the PRIORITY.” There was such an increase in prayer the Lord was calling His people to, as they “joined together” there were SUDDEN visitations and explosions of His power on a level that has NEVER been seen before.

I then heard Him speak again:

“As you pray in these alignments and assignments” I am moving and shaking by the power of My Spirit and making room to SET UP POWER STATIONS ACROSS THE NATIONS”

“Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down, That the mountains might quake at Your presence” (Isaiah 64:1)

The greatest illustrations and demonstrations of His POWER were going to be displayed through these POWER STATIONS. His POWER is falling and going to continue to fall and increase in SIGNIFICANT ways as we stay attuned to His Spirit and His leading. I saw His power falling like lightning, His voice like thunder and lightning but there was NO FEAR. NO FEAR but a release of the AWE OF GOD in these POWER STATIONS across the nations where the people of God fell before Him shouting “Glory, glory, the God of glory!”

“The lightning-fire flashes, striking as He speaks. God reveals Himself when He makes the fault lines quake; shaking deserts, speaking His voice. With fear and trembling man and beast are jolted with His voice like thunder, forests are laid bare. While in His temple all fall before Him each one shouting “Glory, glory, the God of glory! Above the furious flood, the Enthroned One lives, the King-God rules with eternity at His side. This is the One who gives His strength and might to His people. This is the Lord giving His kiss of peace.” – Psalm 29:7-11 (The Passion Translation)

AWE! AWE! AWE! AWE ALL AROUND!

INCREDIBLE demonstrations of the power and Glory of God are upon us that are going to wreck us in the most glorious way, like we have never been wrecked before by the power of God and it is going to leave a HOLY SILENCE in many places as He COMES in POWER!!!!!! AWE! AWE! AWE! AWE ALL AROUND! He is breaking out of boxes displaying His incredible power.

“Things are about to get divinely MESSY as I lead My people deeper into the glorious undoing of who I am and My love. Some will feel completely out of control and on the outside it will look messy, but it is a PERFECTLY ORCHESTRATED HEAVENLY MESS as I BREAK boxes, limitations and expectations.”

These POWER STATIONS across the nations ranged from churches, to home groups, to married couples and families praying, friends praying together, the invitation was open to ALL. The key was to LISTEN to where He is aligning and STEP IN and make ROOM for Him!!!

These power stations were seeing the power of God fall so incredibly, the people of God were being transformed, shining with His Glory like never before, activated in giftings old and new with significant increase, signs and wonders were exploding ALL AROUND and HIS POWER was exploding out of these places and bringing EARTHQUAKES in the spirit of BREAKTHROUGH to individual lives, cities and nations. The hardest of ground being BROKEN OPEN by the power of God testifying that it is NOT by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord. (Zechariah 4:6)

People coming in and out of these “power stations” were being healed, set free and delivered in an instant by the power of God. These “power stations” were seeing the power of God released into other networks, activating them and setting them alight and positioned into their destiny.

The power of God is being demonstrated in unprecedented ways right now, and it is about to increase in explosive ways. Get ready to be undone by His power, His goodness and love in unprecedented ways.

We are about to truly see… “THE KING IS HERE!” 

(Emphasis added – Maranatha!)

Note: the references to ‘power stations’ echo ‘Phase 2’ of the thrice-repeated vision of 1967 that blessed Jean Darnall. After Phase 1’s ‘glowing fires’ she saw lightning strikes hitting them, some explosively – see Words of Our Time.

[Credit: ‘World on Fire’ by Danilo Rizzuti, courtesy Freedigitalphotos.net]

Vision of glory firestorm and the Four Faces of God

Posted on Tuesday, 12 April, 2016 by Richard Barker

Many thanks to Veronika West of Ignite Ireland Ministry for posting this exciting and spectacular vision on her Facebook page on 7th April (title has link):

I Saw a Firestorm, Four Whirlwinds and the Four Faces of God

Verinoka West Fbk In the early hours, I had a powerful prophetic encounter that I would like to share with you. I ask that you read carefully and prayerfully, there is a SUDDEN SUPERNATURAL SHIFT HAPPENING IN THE REALMS OF THE SPIRIT IN THIS HOUR. GET READY FOR THERE IS AN EMERGING ARMY OF MIGHTY WARRIORS COMING FORTH FROM A FIRESTORM OF GLORY, WATCH!!! FOR THE MANIFESTATION OF GREATER SIGNS, WONDERS AND MIRACLES!

In this encounter, I was taken onto a battlefield, the sky was filled with the colours of Deep Red and Orange, and I heard the words, “THE DAWNING OF NEW DAY”, the atmosphere was filled with GREAT EXPECTATION AND ANTICIPATION..I could see the Mighty Warriors of God standing at attention on the battlefield, each one strategically positioned in their respective ranks, I could see these Mighty Warriors were WAITING! I knew by divine revelation that these Warriors were “WAITING FOR HEAVEN TO TOUCH EARTH”, then suddenly a strong and mighty Wind began to blow upon the battlefield, I watched as Four Mighty Whirlwinds began to form in the distance, suddenly I could see the four faces of God within the Four Whirlwinds, I saw the Face of the Eagle within the Whirlwind that came from the North, then I saw the Face of the Ox that came in the Whirlwind from the West, then the Face of Man that came in the Whirlwind from the South, and lastly I could see the Face of the Lion that came in the Whirlwind from the East. Now the Whirlwinds moved in unison causing an immense dust storm to rise up from the ground which filled the atmosphere with an even greater EXPECTATION AND ANTICIPATION among the Warriors of God.

Suddenly a bright flash of lightning lit up the horizon and I could see what looked like the rising Sun, it was a large ball of FIRE which moved swiftly across the skies and towards the battlefield of Warriors, I watched closely as the Mighty Four Whirlwinds moved upon the ball of FIRE, now I could see what looked like the Four Faces of God within the ball of blazing FIRE, the Four whirlwinds seemed to push and propel the fiery ball forward, I watched as the ball of FIRE drew nearer and nearer the battlefield, Suddenly I could feel an intense heat from the ball of fire as it moved upon the battlefield of Warriors, I could hear the shouts of great rejoicing, suddenly my eyes were illuminated by Gods Word and Truth and I instantly received a new measure and a greater level of ‘SEEING’ and ‘UNDERSTANDING’, then like a sharpened arrow I felt the Fire and Power of God deeply penetrate the deepest parts of my heart. There was an instant supernatural ignition and exchange that took place deep within me.

My focus became clearer, and now I watched as the FIRE BALL moved upon the Mighty Warriors of God, I could clearly see the Four Faces within the Four Whirlwinds within of the Fire, I could see the Fire of God in the whirlwind of the Ox touching the Mighty Warrior Evangelists igniting and empowering them with a greater power, strength and Authority for the Endtime Harvest. Then I watched the Fire of God within the Whirlwind of the Eagle now touching the Mighty Warrior Prophets, each one receiving GREATER INSIGHT, DEEPER REVELATION, ACCURATE AND PRECISE VISION, I watched as the Fire of Glory touched their lips, and like hot coals they glowed brighter and brighter, then I watched as the Fire of God within the Whirlwind of Man touched the Mighty Warrior Shepherds, the Fire deeply penetrated their hearts giving them a new level of Humility, Meekness, Power and Compassion. Then I saw the Fire of God in the Whirlwind of the Lion touching the Mighty Warrior Apostles each one received a new level and a greater measure of Divine Wisdom, Authority, Might, Humility and Revelation.

Then I watched as these FIERY, BURNING AND ANOINTED ONES MOVED TOGETHER IN PERFECT UNITY, there were none greater than the other, shoulder to shoulder, and shield to shield they advanced and moved forward as ONE MIGHTY ARMY. They Moved, Marched and Advanced forward with one purpose, one Vision and one Mission. Their Hearts were set ablaze with the FIRES OF GLORY AND POWER, these are the Mighty Warriors that are NOW EMERGING IN GREATER POWER AND GREATER AUTHORITY UPON THE EARTH.

Footnote:

Fascinating this should be published on the day my US supplier sent a copy of ‘The Four Faces of God’ by John Bickersteth & Timothy Paine to a friend in the States! Also, two days earlier I’d emailed another about my blog Vision of Lion & Four Faces of God because he’d told me about the Lion at Dr Sharon Stone’s mentoring day on the previous weekend!! As Veronika says on this ‘God-incidence’ – WE GIVE GOD ALL THE GLORY!

Click/tap book-cover image for link to Amazon > >

Oh yes: let Your fire fall Lord…

2017, the significance of 70 years and Smith-Wigglesworth’s vision

Posted on Monday, 11 April, 2016 by Richard Barker

Upon reading the full transcript of Malcolm Duncan’s message it resonated deeply within my spirit – as well as directly relating to personal experiences. Please bear with me as some of it necessitates reiteration.

Revd Malcolm Duncan We should note Malcolm’s reservations mirror those of Wigglesworth’s contemporaries over his unorthodox, questionable ministry methods – but whatever the Lord wanted to heal or expel got accomplished. (Bobby Conner recounts his astonishment at seeing a dubious church leader in Jesus’ presence but being rebuked because he’s the Lord’s servant!) Malcolm’s remarks upon weighing what the Lord may be saying is an object lesson in the prophetic. NB:

“…Denis shouted “And brother I came into the kingdom in 1947” and the minute he said it I thought, “I think God is saying something to me”.
“I think Denis…he used you as a prophetic voice…So what came into my head was “the Smith Wigglesworth prophecy of 1947”.
“I turned to Pauline and said, “Did Smith Wigglesworth prophesy his prophecy in 1947?”, and she said, “I don’t know but I was born in 1947”.
“But as soon as I heard Denis I thought of the Smith Wigglesworth prophecy, which was very unusual for me and made me think, “What are you saying Lord?” I went back and I read it again and thought – “There is something stirring in my spirit here.” (Emphasis added)

Pauline’s reaction is mine too for I always recall that vision’s year is my birth year. Also, the timing of 50 years until my witnessing his prayer partner’s ecstatic joy at also seeing what will be happening across the British Isles is etched in my memory, as told in the previous post.

Yet there’s another reason – and it connects into Malcolm’s thoughts on 70 years as being significant. AND I can offer what he doesn’t – a confirmatory explanation! He said,

“2017 is 70 years after the prophecy was given. 2017 is also 50 years after Jean Darnall’s prophecy, which was given in 1967, when she saw little fires across the UK ablaze and then a river flowing through the UK and into Europe…

“Is God saying something with these two things? The 50th year after Jean Darnall’s prophecy, a year of jubilee. The 70th year after Smith Wigglesworth prophecy, just like there were 70 years of captivity for Israel…I feel like Daniel must have felt like when he found Jeremiah’s promise after 70 years and said, after 70 years I am going to do something.

NOW, this leads into something I’d intended to finish relating to revelations upon timings received last April. I will be more concise than when I was trying to formulate and clarify what I was learning.:

On Good Friday 2015 Charles Shamp taught on the coming September’s fourth blood-moon as marking the beginning of the time of the Army of God. He believes it starts a two-year period that’s open for all believers, but especially for a glorious company praying things from the Age to Come. Thus, the two years until September 2017 will be an extra-special period, not judgmental and destructive.

The details are recounted in A Scriptural context of…the Blood-Moon Tetrad; and under ‘2015 Feast of Tabernacles Blood-Moon’ header in its follow-up post I reported Charlie’s reasons. Those posts were written last September, but the first ones on that Passover-Easter conference appeared a year ago this month. Furthermore, I blogged about the personal significance of 40 and 55 year periods in ‘God-incidents’ Validate Cycles and Point to Near-Future.

70-Years Period

I didn’t, however, explain the personal relevance of 70 years to 23rd September 2017.

As in those posts, Charlie relates that date to the prophet Daniel’s forecast and bequest to the Magi of his revelation on ‘The Star of Bethlehem’; a reappearance of which is expected in astronomical stellar and planetary alignments of 23.9.2017 (note: not astrology!). More specifically, this future event relates to Revelation 12:1 – John’s vision of the woman clothed with the sun. (For more read Nelson Walters Who Is the Woman of Rev.12?)

My reaction was – “My 70th birthday’s the day before!”. So the 23rd September 2017 will start a new 70-year period for me.

70 is a biblically sacred number the two factors of which are perfect numbers, 7 and 10 representing perfection and completeness respectively. As such, it symbolizes perfect spiritual order carried out with all power, and can also represent a period of judgment (courtesy BibleStudy.org, which gives other examples to those Malcolm cites). Also, Jewish scholars teach that ‘The Torah has 70 Faces’, or levels of interpretation!

Last year saw 70th anniversary celebrations over the end of World War II, and other occasions. 2017 will be the 70th anniversary of crucial events in the birth of the state of Israel. In A Few Thoughts To Mark the Occasion of the 67th birthday of that state, Joel Rosenberg writes about a critical occasion in 1947 on the UN Partition Plan for Palestine upon the British withdrawal from that Mandated Territory, as follows:

‘To succeed, the Partition Plan needed a two-thirds majority vote of the U.N. General Assembly. With just days to go before that historic vote on November 29, 1947, however, supporters of the plan were still three votes short. Some have suggested that President Truman personally called leaders of other nations to encourage them to support the American position. Others say he didn’t but that staff in his administration did; the record is not clear. Either way, most historians—including David McCullough, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his extraordinary biography Truman—acknowledge that Truman wanted the plan to pass and played a role behind the scenes. In the end, Truman got his way. The Partition Plan dramatically passed at the last moment, thirty-three to thirteen, with ten abstentions’.

2017 – Unity

Malcolm Duncan gives his reasons for 2017 being a significant year and seeing a move of God in the UK, for which he believes God is asking us to get ready in many ways. I will cover this essential aspect in another post…

By the way, Erik Hadik, the financial analyst I occasionally blog about, gave this forecast last June on 2017:

‘The culmination of so many diverse cycle in 2017 keeps receiving powerful validation. For instance, the convergence of 8-year, 17-year and 40-year cycles – all related to China – have been forecast to accelerate into 2017.’

We shall see what we shall see…

Smith Wigglesworth visions of 1939, 1947 and 1997(!) plus related ones of 2015, 2018

Posted on Thursday, 7 April, 2016 by Richard Barker

To continue from the previous post on Malcolm Duncan’s reference to Wigglesworth this post expands upon the entry in Library of Prophecies for UK and my email of May 2011.:

Born in 1859, Smith Wigglesworth was an unschooled plumber by trade living in Bradford, England. In Great Revivalists my friend John Peters writes,

‘While in purely human terms he would be viewed as entirely unimportant and insignificant, he was spiritually a giant in every sense o this word…

‘All that mattered to Wigglesworth was listening for and to the voice of God’s Holy Spirit: it is hardly any wonder this ministry had such powerful anointing…

‘He conceived of revival in typically robust terms: that it can only come when we are prepared to die to self and human striving. Alongside this was his teaching that Jesus must occupy the foremost place in our hearts and lives.’

For a brief background see Jonas Clark’s Smith Wigglesworth: The Apostle of Faith, or visit the Revival Library’s dedicated website for full biographical accounts and materials.

Before ‘going home’ on 12 March 1947, Wigglesworth prophesied about major moves of the Holy Spirit coming to the UK.:

TWO DISTINCT MOVES

‘During the next few decades there will be two distinct moves of the Holy Spirit across the church in Great Britain. The first move will affect every church that is open to receive it and will be characterized by a restoration of the baptism and gifts of the Holy Spirit. The second move of the Holy Spirit will result in people leaving historic churches and planting new churches. In the duration of each of these moves, the people who are involved will say “This is the great revival”. But the Lord says “No, neither is this the great revival but both are steps towards it”.’

[Both have started happening for we know many have left churches that were not teaching and moving more fully in what’s promised and expected in the New Testament.]

WORD AND SPIRIT
Smith Wigglesworth ‘When the new church phase is on the wane, there will be evidenced in the churches something that has not been seen before: a coming together of those with an emphasis on the Word and those with an emphasis on the Spirit.

‘When the Word and the Spirit come together, there will be the biggest movement of the Holy Spirit that the nation, and indeed the world, has ever seen. It will mark the beginning of a revival that will eclipse anything that has been witnessed within these shores, even the Wesleyan and the Welsh revivals of former years. The outpouring of God’s Spirit will flow over from the UK to the mainland of Europe, and from there will begin a missionary move to the ends of the earth.’

[It should be noted that in recent years the Baptist Union of Great Britain recognised the necessity of working with the Word with the Spirit and His gifts in equal measure. See, for example, their Vice-President’s Daring Greatly Through Spirituality AND Malcolm’s own sensitivity as a theologian to the Spirit’s directing his response.]

A THIRD WAVE

According to Revival Prophecies for the British Isles, more insight on the above was to come later from one of his disciples, American evangelist Lester Sumrall (known as ‘Father of Christian TV’, who died 1996). Gary Carpenter’s website reports Sumrall’s meeting as taking place in 1939, the essence of which he reports as follows:

‘Wigglesworth cried saying, “I probably won’t see you again now. My job is almost finished.” As he continued to pray, he cried “I see it, I see it!”

‘Brother Sumrall asked, “What do you see, what do you see? He said, “I see a healing revival coming right after World War II. It’ll be so easy to get people healed. I see it! I see it! I won’t be here for it, but you will be.” And there was a healing revival right after the war.

‘He continued to prophesy, “I see another one. I see people of all different denominations being filled with the Holy Ghost.” That was the Charismatic Revival. God raised up people during that era, like the Full Gospel Businessmen.

‘Then Brother Wigglesworth continued, “I see another move of God. I see auditoriums full of people, coming with notebooks. There will be a wave of teaching on faith and healing.” We did experience that wave he saw, and we call it the Word of Faith movement.

‘Then he prophesied, “After that, after the third wave,” he started sobbing. “I see the last day revival that’s going to usher in the precious fruit of the earth. It will be the greatest revival this world has ever seen! It’s going to be a wave of the gifts of the Spirit. The ministry gifts will be flowing on this planet earth. I see hospitals being emptied out, and they will bring the sick to the churches where they allow the Holy Ghost to move”.’

[For full copy of the above visions, including those of Jean Darnall, see WPC file.]

1997 – NORMAN JAMES’ VISION

In April 1997 I was privileged to meet 80 years old Revd Norman James from the North Yorkshire resort of Scarborough. Norman had been the prayer partner of Wigglesworth. This occasion was a weekend meeting convened at Hothorpe Hall in Leicestershire to celebrate the Welsh Revival and pray for revival.

When this small group stood in a close circle to pray, Norman was less than a yard in front of me. As he was quite short my eyes opened to gaze fully into his face and so I couldn’t help but notice his eyes alight with excitement. A huge, beaming smile – he was radiant!

Norman could hardly speak, save to whisper, “I’ve just seen what Wigglesworth saw – Britain in revival, on fire for the Lord!”

Ever so briefly he explained that in Wigglesworth’s 88th year the Lord had given him a vision of a future revival in Britain. He knew it would happen decades ahead but he so desperately desired to see such days. Thus Norman confided, “No wonder he wanted the Lord to keep him alive!“. But he couldn’t find the words to describe its wonder.

WOW! Something for us all to pray into and look forward to. The timing of this prophetic impression upon Malcolm Duncan follows enquiries via LinkedIn about this event from a reader researching Wigglesworth’s vision.

2015 – ‘ENGLAND ABLAZE’

The theme from those visions of the 20th Century for the 21st Century have been carried ‘beyond the Pond’. Tony Puccio of Tucson, Arizona, blogged in My Dreams and Visions:

I saw a vision of the country of England as I was driving today 08/16/2015 (16th August). What I saw was a topographical map of England. In what looked like the uppermost right hand corner of the county I saw a small fire begin. What came to mind here is what the Lord told me a while ago which was don’t despise small beginnings. I saw a mouth blow on the small flame and the flame grew to a fire and the fire eventually engulfed the whole of England.

Along with this vision I saw a country(ies) in the same way I saw England which was a topographical map. I saw deep cracks which I saw as division in the Land and got the sense that healing will be forthcoming as well of these lands. The lands were related to England.

This morning, 08/17/2015 (17th August), am adding to the vision I saw yesterday. In today’s vision I saw many many row boats, note that I said row boats and not ocean liners, leaving the shores of England for other parts of the world. Each of the boats had a small crew and I only saw one person rowing.

See also Bobby Conner (2008) “A holy, unstoppable firestorm is coming to the UK” and Lydia Stanley on 2 July 2016, “Epicenters of rivers of God’s glory”.

Next, in 2017, The Significance of 70 Years and Smith-Wigglesworth Vision we’ll look into a couple of Malcolm Duncan’s other points of his reminiscence upon the visions…

PS: 2018 – THE CROSS VISIBLE IN ENGLAND

Tony Puccio reports again on 21st November 2018:

‘I had a dream where I saw a huge cross that seemed to have been buried for a while unearthed. When it was unearthed and placed upright I could see the imprint it from whence it had been unearthed. When stood up you could see it for miles. In fact, I saw a ship out at see coming towards England and the cross was visible to those in the ship.

‘This means that England will be a beacon of Christianity as the cross in my dream was a beacon.’

Watching what’s happening in the Church – Jean Darnall Vision #3

Posted on Thursday, 7 April, 2016 by Richard Barker

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This important message delivered to the World Prayer Centre by a ‘Bible expositor’ and lead pastor of a Baptist church is for the whole Church (and has a personal relevance). So I urge readers’ careful consideration and thank Suzanne Payne, Lynne Hodder and Mark Maddock for alerting me to it. The WPC’s introduction reads as follows.:

‘In March 2016, the World Prayer Centre hosted the WATCHING 2016 national prayer conference at The Hayes conference centre in Swanwick, Derbyshire. Over 240 people gathered for powerful time of seeking God, prayer, being equipped and released with fresh vision and prayer strategy.

‘Revd Malcolm Duncan of Gold Hill Baptist church was our guest speaker for the third year. It was a time of envisioning, watching and hearing what the Lord is saying in these times. We also hosted four workshops as part of the conference, which were to equip people in prayer, evangelism and the prophetic.

‘Malcolm brought a significant prophetic word to the Church in these Islands at our conference. It builds on important words spoken by Smith Wigglesworth (1947) and Jean Darnall (1967) of God’s call on Great Britain. We feel that it is right to release this Word to the wider Church.’

WATCHING WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE CHURCH

(The above sub-title links into condensed transcription with introductory summation.) The conference began with a delegate referring to having come to faith in 1947, which sparked a recollection in Malcolm Duncan of Smith Wigglesworth’s and Jean Darnall’s visions. The original, fuller transcription begins with wise words, by which we perceive his gifting.:

Revd Malcolm Duncan “I am not prone to saying the Spirit has said something, unless I really believe the Holy Spirit has said something. Let me say before I say what I am about to say that my understanding of New Testament prophecy is that it is quantitatively different from Old Testament prophecy and it should always be presaged with the acknowledgement that you might be wrong and it should always be presaged with an invitation to the person over who you are prophesying to turn to the scriptures to see if these things are so, and it should always be presaged with the acknowledgement that you have got it wrong – so what I am about to say is said in that context – on the plus side that means you can’t stone me!

“So I was really praying about this and I wasn’t expecting to be delivering this to you at all as we began on Monday…with Ian talking about communion and, as he was talking about communion, Denis shouted “And brother I came into the kingdom in 1947” and the minute he said it I thought, “I think God is saying something to me.”

“I think Denis, I don’t know if God uses you like this, I think he used you as a prophetic voice – and I want you to know that. So what came into my head was – “the Smith Wigglesworth prophecy of 1947”.

“I mentioned it the other day, and I turned to Pauline and said, “Did Smith Wigglesworth prophesy his prophecy in 1947?”, and she said, “I don’t know but I was born in 1947.”

“So I looked it up on the internet. I don’t – a very controversial thing to say about us Pentecostals – I’m not mad keen on Smith Wigglesworth. I think he was a bit of an odd bod myself! I am not sure I would let him preach at Gold Hill, I certainly would not let him pray for the sick – no way. (Malcolm made some boxing noises at this point – see RB’s comments post) – but I believe he was a man of God. Just as well God doesn’t need my approval to use people isn’t it?

“But as soon as I heard Denis I thought of the Smith Wigglesworth prophecy, which was very unusual for me and made me think – “What are you saying Lord?”. I went back and I read it again and thought – “There is something stirring in my spirit here.” That prophecy had several stages, some of you will know it, you will find it on the internet – an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the birthing of new churches and then the churches come together in Word and Spirit, and then the decline of churches – and then a fresh move of the Holy Spirit – going out into continental Europe. [Note below has link: RB]

“2017 is 70 years after the prophecy was given. 2017 is also 50 years after Jean Darnall’s prophecy, which was given in 1967, when she saw little fires across the UK ablaze and then a river flowing through the UK and into Europe.

“I don’t talk like this. I’m a Bible expositor, I am a theologian. I don’t talk like this.

“I thought, “Is God saying something with these two things?”. The 50th year after Jean Darnall’s prophecy, a year of jubilee. The 70th year after Smith Wigglesworth prophecy, just like there were 70 years of captivity for Israel – and I don’t want to overstate this because I am trying to stay grounded in all of this – but I feel like Daniel must have felt like when he found Jeremiah’s promise after 70 years and said, after 70 years I am going to do something.

“I lead Spring Harvest and for three years I have been working on an act of unity across the United Kingdom that will see all of the evangelical bible conventions and celebrations declaring that whatever our theological differences are, we are one in Christ Jesus. It is going to involve 130,000 Christians from March through to October next year – perhaps as many as a quarter of a million. It will begin with Spring Harvest and end with the Festival of Life, perhaps the biggest gathering of Christians in Britain in the Excel Centre in October. They are all on board.

“It will be the biggest demonstration of Christian unity that we have seen in the evangelical church in the United Kingdom for almost two hundred years – and they’ve all said “Yes” – there’s the miracle! They’re all on board, and I am sure the Bible says,

“Where the brethren dwell together in unity, the Lord commands a blessing.”

“2017 is also the 500th anniversary of the reformation. Martin Luther’s moment on October 31st 1517, when he nailed 95 theses to the gate at Wittenberg and said, “I have questions about where we are going”.

“I think 2017 is a significant year, and I believe we are going to see a move of God in the United Kingdom in 2017 and I believe God is asking us to get ready. He is asking us to raise our faith and expectation, to raise our commitment to prayer, to raise our eyes off what we are seeing around us, to take our eyes off the feeling and the falling and the decaying and to lift our eyes to him; and I think that move of God is going to have six significant elements to it.:

1. The first is that he will expose the hearts of those in our churches who currently have been ‘churched’ but not converted; Christians but not converted.

2. He will strengthen the hearts of those who love Christ, and I think strategically in that are people like Justin Welby and Pope Francis. I think that God is using these men and that there are some remarkable leaders in the Anglican Church, some remarkable leaders in the established churches, who are discovering new confidence, new passion, new energy for the Gospel and I think the hearts of those who love Christ will be strengthened in 2017 in a particular way.

3. I think God is going to revive and strengthen small local churches, that He is going to give new confidence and hope and purpose and meaning to what you and I would describe as ordinary church. That it is not going to the big central churches with thousands in them that will herald what God wants to do, but it will be a birthing of new hope and energy and expectation and passion in small local congregations. I don’t think it will end in 2017; it will start in 2017.

4. I think that God is going to give us a fresh confidence in the Gospel. I think that God is going to give us a fresh openness to the Holy Spirit, as we delve into His Word.

5. God is going to give the broader Church a deeper yearning for prayer for the nation and the lost.

6. Lastly, God is to birth a passion for the gospel to spread from the United Kingdom across the continent of Europe.

“However He does it, I think there are three keys, the three steps in what I sense God is saying are very simple – these are to:

Come before Him in repentance
Come before Him in dependence
Come before Him in authenticity

“I don’t think it is going to be a signs and wonders movement. I don’t think it is going to be all bells and all whistles. I think this is going to be the birthing of people living authentic lives in God. Lives that will be attractional (sic) to others and I think that God wants to birth something here that will spread across Europe and I think that you are privileged, not to listen to me, but I think you are privileged to be in this room, and I think you need to take that seriously and decide if you will sow in faith and prophetically call a movement of the Holy Spirit into life that He is waiting for us to respond to.”

The WPC requests our studying this word, praying into it to bring it into Father’s presence. Feel free to share it prayerfully with others. Ask the question, “Lord, what are you calling me to do? Show me your heart for my town/neighbourhood/workplace/ community”. We are being called to get ready – and come before God in repentance, dependence and authenticity.

Join WPC in praying, “Come Holy Spirit, in power, grace, and holiness – I open myself to you. Use me, prepare your church and change this nation. Amen”

Read Smith-Wigglesworth 1947 vision, and repetition 50 years later in next post >>

I modified the transcript by making ‘seventy’ and ‘fifty’ years numerical to highlight for cross-referencing within 2017, the Significance of 70 years and Wigglesworth Vision.

[Images by courtesy of World Prayer Centre, Birmingham, England.]

This Friday night watch CHP’s Special Service by live streaming

Posted on Thursday, 7 April, 2016 by Richard Barker

Tap/click above image for direct link into Church of His Presence media page, from where archived material may also be accessed.

7PM start is Central Daylight Time in USA (1.00 AM BST Saturday morning in UK). Check your local time difference with Alabama’s CDT by using Time & Date’s Worldclock.

At the close of Sunday’s enthusiastic worship, CHP’s senior pastor Revd John Kilpatrick remarked,

“If you’re looking for a dead church there’s plenty of them BUT I want you to know you’re in Church of His Presence today and I want God to move and have His way.

“Whenever I leave here and I face the world I know I need something under the hood (ie. car bonnet). I need the Word in my life – I need the Spirit of God in my life – BUT I need to feel and know that the Lord is there!

“Man, I had a great experience with the Lord this morning and can’t wait for Friday night! It’s going to be good!”

Be mightily blessed…

Visions unfolding – Jean Darnall Vision #2

Posted on Wednesday, 6 April, 2016 by Richard Barker

An invisible jigsaw’s prophetic pieces are coming together

‘God-incidences’ are quickening! After the recent note from Thomas Harry, I’m learning about others being reminded of the visions the Lord gave Smith Wigglesworth and Jean Darnall decades ago about His plans for the Kingdom across Britain.

In the cyber-deluge deposited in Monday’s in-tray was April’s ‘Ezine’ from Hugh and Ginny Cryer (whom I introduced last June in connection with the prophetic words on Unity and on the UK brought by Heidi Baker and Cindy Jacobs). This month’s edition of Culture Changers Connecting You has a couple of pertinent reports, the first of which reads:

Visions Unfolding

Many of us are aware that Asuza Now starts on 9th April. It is the 100th anniversary of the original Asuza Revival. It’s theme is ‘Unity’ and it is a good reminder that our Dad doesn’t want us to pick sides but pick Him! There is obviously only One Church and He will build it.

As well as Asuza Now, next year is also the fiftieth anniversary of Jean Darnall’s famous prophecy. Here is part of it.:

“And what I saw was the British Isles, as in a bird’s eye view. A kind of haze was over the whole, like a green fog. And then little pinpricks of light began to appear from the top of Scotland to Land’s End. Then the Lord seemed to draw me closer to these lights, and I saw that they were fires that were burning. They were multiplying from the top of Scotland to Land’s End. Then I saw lightening come and strike those fires, the brightest spots particularly, and there was a kind of explosion, and rivers of fire flowed down….

“The Lord impressed it on my Heart that those fires I saw were groups of people whom He would make intensely hungry for New Testament Christianity. They would start reading their Bibles and saying, for instance, as they read the book of Acts, ‘Well, where is this happy church? Where are these people so full of the power of the Holy Spirit? Where are these miracles? Where is this growth, this vitality, this courage, this boldness that these people had? Is that for today – can we have it today? Should the church be this way?’.”

[This ‘Phase One’ is also covered in that recent post. To read the full account of Jean’s three-fold vision click/tap > CrossRythms: Jean Darnells Vision.]

Homefires_130335 With the above in mind, I want to share with you something that happened in our home one Spring morning in 2014 – when our wood burner spontaneously caught fire! We asked the Lord what He was saying to us through this and believe He was confirming to us that the Holy Spirit, himself, will light spiritual fires in homes around the nations. Three weeks later, I woke up to hear the words “Keep the Home Fires Burning!” as we prepared for a gathering later that day. Significantly Pam Bugden then arrived with the card pictured above.

Our homes can be outposts of heaven – houses that have the potential to change the world around them. Homes where we meet together with Him in an interactive way where everyone participates as we share our concerns for one another and our love for Him. Homes where there is corporate responsibility. Homes where an official leader is not demoted – but rather everyone else is promoted and Jesus is our Head. Homes where we hear and obey His voice, regardless of our comfort zones, as we follow Mary’s wise words in John 2:5 when she said, “Whatever He says to you – do it!” Homes that represent all the generations as we share our strengths and shore up our weaknesses. Safe Places where the home fires are burning.

Thank you Hugh and Ginny for drawing our attention to what the Lord wants us to prepare for and to go and do…

Click/tap here for Jean Darnall Visions #3 (Watching What’s Happening in the Church)

Credits:

Teamwork Solving a Puzzle by Franky242; courtesy Freedigitalphotos.com
Keep Home Fires Burning; courtesy Culture Changers Ezine.

Visions in UK and Oz of Holy Fire falling on USA

Posted on Tuesday, 5 April, 2016 by Richard Barker

A week ago today Lana Vawser, whose messages have been featured by the Australian Prophetic Council, blogged:

“This morning I had a vision and I was taken up above the United States of America and I could see the enemy and demonic forces with all his schemes and plots to stir up darkness across the United States.
“As I am watching the enemy and his demons attempting to stir up these whirlwinds of darkness across the nation, suddenly my vision became very focused and ‘zoomed’ in.
“I saw children kneeling beside their bed crying out to Jesus on behalf of their nation. I watched as the children prayed and I saw Jesus standing beside them. They were having encounters with Jesus and the Lord was sharing messages from His heart concerning the heart of the nation….’

Continue reading in United States of America – Surprised by Fire, wherein Lana ‘then saw other lights flickering and appearing all across the USA. These were youth and adults and they were praying for the nation and seeking the heart of God.

“Suddenly there was a thunderous roar from heaven and I saw fire falling and it was sweeping through all the areas where these flickering lights were. It was a rapid move of His fire. As the fire of God swept through…“

Yesterday I learned about a prophetic word brought by Irene Brooks in Horsham, England, relating to previous words/dreams on wells/rivers of Holy Spirit’s water. AND she confirms the above word from Lana by writing,

“I was praying for the USA one morning when I saw a wonderful, huge explosion of multi-colored sparks scattering over all the nations of the earth. It looked like a great firework display with its epicenter in the heart of the nation, in Kansas, but it was drawing in people from across the US…”

Read Irene’s message in full at Rivers of Life: The Lord says, “I Am Bringing Together Many Streams”. (Notice the resonance with that about grape clusters providing new wine and which stirred Thomas Harry, as in my previous post.)

I’d recommend reading both messages in full to digest better and weigh with the Lord. May He bless the meditations of your heart in so doing…

Prophetic points sensed during Holy Week – Jean Darnall Vision #1

Posted on Monday, 4 April, 2016 by Richard Barker

aurora-uk_2192580k_Image credit Telegraph

Aurora from the International Space Station – image credit Telegraph

Thomas Harry, compiler of ‘Word for 2016 – New Season – Building on the Apostolic & Prophetic’ (as blogged here) contacted me about inklings he’s been sensing. The first relates to the vision Jean Darnall received in 1967, which she recounts as follows:

“…And what I saw was the British Isles, as in a bird’s eye view. A kind of haze was over the whole, like a green fog. And then little pinpricks of light began to appear from the top of Scotland to Land’s End. Then the Lord seemed to draw me closer to these lights, and I saw that they were fires that were burning. They were multiplying from the top of Scotland to Land’s End. Then I saw lightening come and strike those fires, the brightest spots particularly, and there was a kind of explosion, and rivers of fire flowed down. Again, the sense of direction was from the top of Scotland to Land’s End. But some of those rivers of fire didn’t stop there. They went right across the Channel and didn’t stop there. They went right across the Channel and spread out into the Continent….”

And so Thomas writes:

‘Just thought I would share 2 things I came across these last few days.

‘I had been feeling that we will soon see the outbreak of the move of the Spirit we are all believing for and then read this from Jean Darnall and felt it was a case of “Phase One begins”: [to read full account click on this sub-head]

Phase One: The Glowing Fires

The Lord impressed it on my Heart that those fires I saw were groups of people whom He would make intensely hungry for New Testament Christianity. They would start reading their Bibles and saying, for instance, as they read the book of Acts, ‘Well, where is this happy church? Where are these people so full of the power of the Holy Spirit? Where are these miracles? Where is this growth, this vitality, this courage, this boldness that these people had? Is that for today – can we have it today? Should the church be this way?’

And as these questions were being planted in their hearts, the Lord Jesus said He would make them very hungry for the Holy Spirit; He would fill them with the Holy Spirit, and out of those gifts would flow ministries that would enrich the Body of Christ. The whole concept of the Body of Christ would come alive, and barriers between denominations and different types of Christians would break down as people met each other. The Lord said He would move these people all over the country. After he had taught them gifts, he would move them to another place where they would carry that fire, and where they would meet others also who were being renewed by the Holy Spirit. He would put them in different situations from what they were used to, so that they would get to know people of other denominations, other cultures and other classes, and be able to communicate to them the blessings that the Lord had given them. And then He told me that during that time He would also test them. There would be great testing of faith, great waiting times. He would teach them spiritual warfare. He would show them the meaning of the power of the blood of Jesus, the name of Jesus, the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

[RB: Amen – let Phase One begin! Continue reading Phase Two: The Coming of the Lightning wherein Jean says, “Then I asked the Lord, ‘What does the lightning stand for?’ And he said, ‘Unlike the first part, in which I will be speaking to Christians and preparing My church and renewing it and reviving the saints, the lightning represents a second part of the vision, in which I will bring a spiritual awakening to the nation that will be a witness to the unsaved, to the ‘un-churched’, to the non-Christian. Through these believers I will bring a witness to this land. They will be an army of witnesses. And I will begin to release their ministries so that when they give their testimonies there will be apostolic signs following and accompanying their testimonies…”]

No. 2 – Also in further confirmation of the word on Apostolic & Prophetic I (Thomas) read this yesterday (Easter Monday, 28 March):

The New Wine Will Be Found in the Cluster

This is not like the past where the thought was, “Let’s all go to Pensacola, or Toronto, or Lakeland, or Kansas City, or Charlotte, London, Redding, Brazil, or South Africa.” No! Instead the Holy Spirit is moving upon many geographical locations, many congregations and ministries, with great diversity and empowerment all at the same time! Praise the Lord!

Isaiah 65:8 Thus says the Lord, “As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is benefit in it’…”

This is a fresh form of team ministry today! What I am seeing taking place in these new moves of the Holy Spirit breaking out is something different. It is not centered around one person. It is not centered around one church or ministry. It is not centered around one geographical sphere. It is not centered around just one apostolic hub. It is not centered around one manifestation. (Photo via James Goll)

It is a time of both new wine and new wineskins. Mark 2:22 states, “No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.” It is a time when prophetic revelation cooperates with apostolic application.

These times require a fresh understanding of covenant relationships and community as this generation arises out of self-centered individualistic ministry mindsets and seeks the common good of the Body of Christ. Divine Alliances are being formed resulting in greater progress being accomplished.

This fresh work of the Holy Spirit is occurring as the “cluster anointing” comes to pass when the new wine skins are formed to hold and pour out the new wine of His contagious presence.’

[This is part of a fuller word, It’s Time for the Convergence of the Ages – Jesus Saves The Best For Last, as delivered by James Goll on 18 March and continues below:

Wave

This New Wine carries with it the Best of ingredients of the Past to usher us into the Greater Presence and Anointing. The ingredients include the manifestation of the Pentecostal Fire, the Healing and Deliverance Crusades, the Latter Rain Glory Realm, the Evangelical Burden for the Lost, the Charismatic Gifts, the Jesus People Zeal, the Third Wave Theological Credibility, the Revelation of the Prophetic Movement and the relational networking of the Apostolic Reformation.

These graces shall all merge together into a tidal wave that will be greater than the impact of the “Great Reformation” of 500 years ago. We are living in the times of the beginning of a historic 4th Wave carrying the distinctive of “transformation.” We will shift from a short-timers mind-set into building in such a manner that we leave behind a lineage and legacy

This will ultimately create what could be called The Great Transformation.

Today we are living in the “Convergence of the Ages.” The Holy Spirit is taking the best of all the anointing of the movements of the past and bringing these ingredients together for such a time as this. Today we have the greatest Global Prayer Movement, Schools of the Supernatural abound, we have Fathers and Mothers and Grandfathers and Grandmothers of the faith to help guide the coming generations. Today we have “new wine” and “new wineskins” prepared for the Harvest!

It is Harvest Time once again. Let’s believe that something greater than the Jesus People Movement is coming forth. It is the time for the Joining of the Generations. It is time! ]

Click above title to read message in full and for 10 characteristics of this convergence.

Footnotes:

Click here for Jean Darnall Vision #2 (Visions Unfolding) and Fulfilled Prophecies: 1 – Jean Darnell Visions for UK

Since posting Not blogging but the Lord confirms the current theme last October, I’ve been increasingly reminded of those spiritual fires. I didn’t know that the Acorn Christian Healing Foundation had reverted to quoting its founder Bishop Morris Maddocks’ objective of 30 years ago, namely:

‘Igniting beacons of Healing and Wholeness’!

I’d been entirely ignorant of all that when I’d been prompted to introduce myself a year ago to the new director Revd Wes Sutton, and hesitatingly share some prophetical visions and notions, including a possible relevance of the Jean Darnall vision. He told me not only did Acorn’s founder have that vision in mind, but also that their incumbent chaplain had ministered with Jean many years ago!

Resurrection Sunday prophecy of a new season

Posted on Friday, 1 April, 2016 by Richard Barker

Sunrise Over Montego Bay, Jamaica

An hour before sunrise last Sunday (had it been the previous day that would have been already happening!), Simon Braker writes in School of the Prophetic Leicester…

The Lord spoke to me this morning and said –

It is no coincidence that resurrection Sunday falls on the same day as the clocks change in the UK for British summer time, for surely the long winter in my church in this land is over and a new season is upon you, the season of singing has come, the resurrection song of the lamb is over this land,

For even as the first signs of Spring are beginning to break forth in the natural, so the first signs of a new Spring has begun in my church and in this Land, for I say to you,

as the season has shifted in the natural so it has shifted in the spiritual,
The spring rains of my Spirit have started a fresh outpouring of my Spirit has begun,

Watch and see, this year is a land mark year a staging post a crossing over point out of the old and into the new,

I then saw drops of water falling upon blotting paper once these drops hit they spread across the paper until it was saturated, then I saw it was a map of the UK.

The Lord said – I have entrance points being built all over this land where my Spirit has already began to breakout these will multiply and grow,

It will not be contained by stream or denomination but every place that hungry and thirsty people gather I will come!
If you will make space and put down your plans I will come!
If you will humble your hearts I will come!
If you will simply gather I will come!
And if you will go I shall come!

This refreshing is not just for my church but for this whole land,
In this season there will be stories of my Spirit breaking out in work place, classroom, on streets and in churches in every place people are!

Amen, and thank you Lord. I note the reiteration that revival is “going to come as we go” – as brought by Heidi Baker on A New Move of God in the UK.

Also that same morning, over the Pond and beyond the great plains and into the depths of the Sonora desert in Tucson, a contributor to this blog had a profound dream of An Eagle and A Scroll and hence confirmed my re-blogging of Scroll of Destiny.

Good Friday insights

Posted on Thursday, 31 March, 2016 by Richard Barker

The Cross at Ffald-y-Brenin, situated as directed by the Lord.

Reflections upon the events of Jesus’ betrayal and execution whilst we were on a Quiet Day’s ‘Appointment in Jerusalem’, added to my ongoing meditation upon His prayer made not in the garden of Gethsemane, but after Passover in the upper room and offered up for Himself, the first disciples and every subsequent believer (John 17).

So my thoughts meandered around Jesus’ praying to Father that He’d “manifested Your Name” and for His disciples to see the glory He had with Father before the Beginning, as in my footnote to the word on Preparation for Enlargement.

Our modern concept of ‘name’ doesn’t convey the depth of meaning appreciated in biblical times. I recalled Hebrew and Semitic studies scholar Dr Michael S Heiser (bio) on Exodus 23:20-23 reference to the Angel of the LORD as having ‘Yahweh’s “Name” in him…which gives a glimpse of the Hebrew Bible’s ‘Name Theology’ in which reference to “the Name” actually refers to Yahweh Himself…Thus, ‘Yahweh indicates He is in the Angel…yet in other passages, Yahweh and the Angel can be simultaneously – but separately – present (Judges 6:11-26) [Old Testament Godhead Language].

That’s remarkably similar to the principle of quantum entanglement as noted On Engaging Time – yet is in the Bible! He goes on to say the divine “Name” represents His presence, which is also God’s “essence”.

So over silent lunch with mind in ‘neutral’, an insight suddenly occurred to me and I noted it afterwards as an equation in my Bible’s rear fly-leaf.:

‘GOD’s NAME = HIS GLORY = EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM (KNOWN & UNKNOWN)’

Also, the last part is equivalent to:

‘NOT YET KNOWN BUT BEING REVEALED IN & ACROSS (ie. A +) TIME’

Now please note: in my mind I was going to write “in and throughout” but actually found myself writing “across”, which doesn’t make as much sense when considering the full continuity of time – BUT this change directly relates it to the Crucifixion.

From my earliest days of being ‘born again’ I’d heard about the Cross being pivotal in, and thus central to, human history. Now, however, I understood it’s existed throughout history from the very Beginning, and connected into the ‘mystery’ of ‘Fathers Own Objective’ that Apostle Paul revealed to the Ephesians, as noted in my intro to God’s Eternal Purpose.

I imagined the Cross’ horizontal beam s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g…r-i- g-h-t…a-c-r-o-s-s…t-i-m-e.

Next, I scribbled a cloud shape with arrows poking out of it to represent different epochs and wrote within its curvy outline, ‘Cloud of Unknowing’ (as in the title of the medieval book of Christian contemplative mysticism on the being and nature of God – see Wikipedia).

THEN right after jotting those notes and awaiting the first session after lunch, this famous Welsh hymn was played and I was transfixed by the chorus line,

“He can never be forgotten throughout heaven’s eternal days.”

Now, as I blog and search on Hebrew name theology I find an informative article on ‘Ha Shem’ at Hebrew4Christians, to which is added this postscript:

‘The point of all this is to demonstrate that the “Name of the LORD” is none other than Yeshua (or Jesus). Yeshua = YHVH…The idea of “Name” means more that mere phonetics; it has to do with the deeds, acts, power, reputation and glory of God. Those who do not honor the Son do not honor the Father who sent Him (John 5:23). Denigrating Yeshua by even hinting that He is less than God Almighty is to desecrate the Name of God…’ (Divine Names Theology?)

All this reminds me of another aspect of the Lord’s name relating directly to the Crucifixion that I was contemplating, about which I’ll tell another time…

Scroll of Destiny (revisited)

Posted on Wednesday, 30 March, 2016 by Richard Barker

Recent events indicate it’s time to re-blog this informative post by Mike Parsons and Jeremy Westcott.: On Sunday a longstanding contributor blogged he’d dreamed about An Eagle and A Scroll. During a mid-week service for healing I’d had an open vision of a scroll appearing in front of the altar and float downwards before disappearing. It was blank and large (6ft x 8ft approx) and I later told the chapel’s director about its meaning for that ministry. He replied he’d drafted his needs and aims on a broadsheet for prayer purposes just before the service! LOL!!

Sons of Issachar

Mike Parsons
and Jeremy Westcott –

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations. (Jer 1:5).

God knew us before we were formed in the womb. He knew us before we were a physical being. At that point we existed, and He knew us, as a spiritual being. God is spirit, and we have come out of God. Our spirit is eternal: it will never die, because it is of the essence of God.

What am I here for?

We saw last time that all of us have a destiny. “For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer 29:11). God’s plan is for us to enjoy peace and wholeness…

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God’s Eternal Purpose

Posted on Tuesday, 29 March, 2016 by Richard Barker

Mike’s title is similar to the pencil note in my study bible’s top margin ‘FATHER’S OWN OBJECTIVE!’ for Ephesians 1:9-10 – ‘…having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth – in Him.’ (My emphases are highlit yellow and continue for later references to ‘dispensation’, ‘mystery’ ‘wisdom’ and ‘revelation’.) So thank you Mike for helping us move into our role in the Lord’s purpose. (Those keen on the supernatural aspects of Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church may also wish to read Management of the Miraculous: Ephesus Is Taken by Keith Lannon, as recommended in http://wp.me/p1Y1yB-78x)

Sons of Issachar

Mike Parsons
with Jeremy Westcott –

multicoloured jewel “The manifold wisdom of God is like a multi-faceted, multi-coloured gem.”

…for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father (Ephesians 2:18).

Our destiny is to have access to heaven, where the Father is, and to have relationship with Him.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit (Eph 2:19-22).

We are to be fellow-citizens with all those who have gone before us, that cloud of witnesses in heaven. Like them, we are citizens…

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Jesus is alive – back to life from death! Alleluiah!

Posted on Sunday, 27 March, 2016 by Richard Barker

At this time every year Nina creates a tableau for contemplating Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. She’s inspired about what items to collect and arrange, usually including a rock with a central hole eroded by the sea and which we found on a beach. It serves as both the ‘skull’ and garden tomb of Golgotha. For example, the above display has a scarf as a ‘river of life’ flowing out of the empty cave/tomb below the cross. (In 2012 it gave an insight that I’ll share below.)

A slightly different display is set up each Maunday Thursday, the night of which Jesus and the twelve leading disciples ate Passover Seder early (see video explanation). Following the meal, one disciple betrayed Him by leading Temple guards to capture Him at night for trial by a ‘kangaroo’ court of Jewish leaders. It was a foregone conclusion that they would demand authorisation of His death from Pontius Pilate, the Roman Prefect, or governor, of Judea.

If you’re unfamiliar with this true story and how it led to Jesus’ gruesome torture, death and burial followed by his amazing bodily resurrection and appearance to His disciples, read doctor Luke’s investigative account and the personal account of Jesus’ closest disciple John. (Later, a Jewish leader violently opposed to them but who encountered Jesus en-route to Damascus would write He was seen simultaneously by over 500 – 1 Cor 15:6)

A Bit of Theology

Jesus Christ died so that each of us may be forgiven for our sins. As a result of this new status, we now have direct personal access to God. As the Son of God, He suffered on our behalf as our ‘scapegoat’. That is, Jesus took the place of death that we deserved because of our sinfulness, for the shedding of a sinless one’s blood was the only way our status could be changed for us to gain personal salvation. Apostle Paul put it thus to the Romans:

⁸But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! ¹⁰ For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! ¹¹ Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:8-11, NIV, see whole chapter.)

Now, when I was a new Christian I found that rather hard to understand – but it works! The theological term is ‘atonement’, or ‘substitutionary atonement’. In bringing forgive-ness to the guilty, however, this can cause deep problems for those who’ve been the victim of crimes. After all, why should a killer find forgiveness by God? And what about the victim’s families, or the victim of abuse? They find it very hard if well-nigh impossible to forgive.

In 2012 I heard a Portsmouth prison chaplain address this issue with a concept taken from the criminal justice system: restorative justice. This involves active dialogue between victim and offender, plus reparation. And it has a sound basis in theology. How?

Jesus was a guiltless victim, directly of those who wanted Him killed, and indirectly of everyone’s ‘fallen state’ of sinfulness, which could only be rectified by His death.

And Almighty God, the Father, is a victim too. How? He’s victim of humanity’s rebellion against Him. For example and especially over the way religious leaders murdered His son – how they seethed with rage when Jesus denounced them! (read Luke 20:9-19). So, every victim can find an identity and affinity in both God and Jesus Christ in their situation. Hence, they can receive God’s own ability to forgive because He will help them choose to forgive those who’ve harmed them. [Lack of forgiveness may be the only thing that hampers God – see Matt 6:14-15]

A Tableau in Time

During contemplation upon the tableau illustrated above, an insight dropped into mind that the Resurrection created a distinct point in the flow of, or perhaps even a change in, time itself. That is, the now termed ‘common era’ calendar is the medieval Christian one that counts years from the approximate birth of Christ as ‘anno Domini’. But in fact, a more powerful one would be the point at which things in heaven changed and thus affected our lives on earth and its ultimate role in God’s scheme of creation. This took place at the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, His revival to life from death itself.

That such a concept may be valid can be found in the discoveries about the material of the shroud in which Jesus was thought to have been carried and covered during His interment, known as ‘The Shroud of Turin‘. It is of astounding significance when examined from an understanding of quantum physics! It can actually be regarded as a ‘singularity’, which is the term used for the starting point of the creation of the universe, or ‘Big Bang’. Don’t take my untutored word for this but consider particle physicist Isabel Piczek. She is also a monumental artist and award-winning figura-tive draughtsman. Consequently, her very detailed analysis of theories about how the shroud’s image was formed is fascinating and authoritative (see first of several detailed articles here).

This scientist’s conclusions about how the image was formed are astounding – it seems that the image of Jesus can only have been created by its hovering equidistantly above and below his reclining corpse. And furthermore, this necessitated the body’s levitation – perhaps not an impossible feat during the moment of resurrection power-blast? After all, the disciples had witnessed Jesus walking on water!

Dame Isabel succinctly summarises:

We have a piece of cloth and it leads us to a mysterious gate which opens for us, and it lets us see a completely different world, an extraordinary world with extraordinary laws.

You can consider these claims by watching this 19 minute video extract from the DVD The Fabric of Time (please bear with initial advert).

PS: the republished version of this post closes with a fascinating update and another investigation: He IS RISEN! Surprising Scientific Facts of Jesus’ Burial Shroud.

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Richard's Watch

Looking for the signs of Jesus' return

Blog anniversary: ‘The Fellowship of the Secret’

Happy 90th Birthday Your Majesty, Servant of The King

Unity across churches manifests God’s Kingdom

Re-born Into Christ

The Early Church on Jesus and Unity

Footnote:

Coming soon: Living Letters

‘How the Church lost The Way…’ – book review

How We Wandered

Reclaiming Our Heritage

No Apology Needed

7th April: The Four Faces of God and Unity

Lana Vawser: new alignments, assignments & power stations – globally!

Vision of glory firestorm and the Four Faces of God

2017, the significance of 70 years and Smith-Wigglesworth’s vision

Smith Wigglesworth visions of 1939, 1947 and 1997(!) plus related ones of 2015, 2018

Watching what’s happening in the Church – Jean Darnall Vision #3

This Friday night watch CHP’s Special Service by live streaming

Visions unfolding – Jean Darnall Vision #2

Visions in UK and Oz of Holy Fire falling on USA

Prophetic points sensed during Holy Week – Jean Darnall Vision #1

Resurrection Sunday prophecy of a new season

Good Friday insights

Scroll of Destiny (revisited)

What am I here for?

God’s Eternal Purpose

Jesus is alive – back to life from death! Alleluiah!

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Re-born Into Christ

The Early Church on Jesus and Unity

Footnote:

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How We Wandered

Reclaiming Our Heritage

No Apology Needed

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What am I here for?

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