BLOG

End of Cycle report

We have now completed the 76-day cycle of cleansing from November 13, 2015 until January 27, 2016.

When this cycle first manifested in my life in 1981-1982 and again in 1982-1983, it was a cycle of death and resurrection, a transition from an old way of life to the new. As the years have progressed, each time this cycle repeats, it does so on another level, taking in to account the progression of conditions in our lives and in Kingdom history.

When the resurrection cycle completed for me on January 27, 1983, I found myself in a new life, but then I was required to complete a second 76-day cleansing ending in April. This may again be required in 2016. At this point, I cannot say for sure, but every year we see two 76-day cycles that run back to back. This year will be no exception. The only question is how it will affect us, and what we must do, if anything, during that time.

January 27, 2016 completed my 40-day “fast.” Though it was not a total fast, God made it clear that it was to be treated as if it were. The word of the Lord has related this 40-day fast to Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness and to Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness. Israel went on a manna fast and could also eat quail for a while, yet it was as if they had gone on a fast to hear the word.

So also with me. Now that I have developed new eating habits, I plan to continue on that path to some extent, though no longer as a spiritual act of obedience.

The Malachi Factor

In the December issue of the Foundation For Intercession bulletin, I began a series on the book of Malachi, which I intend to put into book form when completed. It is a new experience for me to be writing two books at the same time (along with Revelation). Our local fellowship knows that I am also preparing to write a book on Hosea, and I have been teaching from that book in the past two months. So this is a busy and productive time for me.

The last verse of Malachi is about the Elijah ministry that restores the hearts of the fathers to their children, and vice versa. Yesterday, January 27, I received two reports about this verse being fulfilled this past week. One came from a man who went before the divine court on behalf of his son, putting into practice what he had learned since the Tabernacles conference in October. He won his case in the divine court, and so we expect to see progress in the time ahead.

Secondly, another man lost his two sons more than two decades ago in a messy divorce. His ex-wife poisoned their minds to turn his sons against him. But God directed circumstances in the life of his youngest son, now 27, causing him to reach out to his father. They had a wonderful talk on the telephone until 4 a.m., and he now plans to visit his father when possible. We have no doubt that this newly-found relationship will soon include the oldest son as well, since the two brothers have a close relationship.

At the same time, I have received opposition to my study of Malachi, particularly from one who objects to the idea that Edom is found in modern Jewry. Because some individual Edomites may have escaped from their homeland after John Hyrcanus conquered them in 126 B.C., my opponent claims that those individuals represented the nation itself. The Talmud says that a group of Edomites went to Rome, no doubt to appeal to the Roman king at the time, and this is used to make the claim that Rome (by extension, the Church) is Edom.

The problem is that virtually all of the Jewish historians claim that Edom (as a nation) was absorbed by Jewry. In fact, The Jewish Encyclopedia (Vol. V, p. 41, 1925 ed.) says plainly, “Edom is in modern Jewry.” These historians understand the difference between individuals and national units, even if my opponent does not.

Instead of calling upon me to repent of my view, my opponent ought to write to the Jewish historians and tell them to repent. I am merely repeating their words. If I have been led astray, it was the Jewish historians who deceived me in this matter. So I will repent if they do.

The point is that every time an important issue is established, God always raises up opposition to present the other side of the question. I have come to expect this. It is part of any court scene. So when it happens, I know that God is directing my attention to the importance of the issue at hand. In this case, it is Malachi, which culminates with its appeal to the Elijah ministry.

The Elijah Factor

At our Tabernacles conference in Hilo, Hawaii in 2007, prophecy went forth about the birth of John the Baptist, or “Elijah.” Later, this was clarified, saying that he would be born the following year (2008). When 2008 arrived, a further word showed that the (barley) seed had been planted at Tabernacles of 2008, but it would not ripen until the following Spring.

During the winter months, as we waited for the Passover conference, the word of the Lord showed us that this was not really about Elijah but about Elisha. Elijah had prepared the way for Christ’s first coming, but Elisha—having the double portion—must prepare the way for the greater work in Christ’s second coming. Elijah performed eight miracle-signs, while Elisha did sixteen.

With the full revelation finally in place, the Elisha ministry was proclaimed on April 12, 2009. (This was the end of the second 76-day cycle in that year.) Only then did I begin to understand that we would be seeing the 16 miracle-signs of Elisha play out. These began to occur regularly, as I have reported in past weblogs.

The first half of them (8 in all) took place on a regular basis until they ceased in July 2010. It was as if we were stuck, and we have waited nearly six years to see the ninth sign of Elisha. The first half of Elisha’s signs were the equivalent of Elijah, but in order to move into the double portion ministry, Elisha must go beyond the eighth sign.

On December 2, 2010 a fire broke out on Mount Carmel in Israel, killing 42 firefighters. This was a sign of Elijah (1 Kings 18:20). This told us that we were still stuck in the Elijah portion and had not yet broken through into the double portion that was given to Elisha (9-16).

So we have continued to wait (patiently, we hope), though we have wondered why there was a delay before we could enter the double portion ministry. The answer to this question is now starting to clarify. Elijah’s ministry was not yet complete. It is not complete until we see the last verse of Malachi fulfilled (that is, the sign of restoration). The restoration of fathers and children is now beginning, and this, I believe, is the final breakthrough—and the culmination of the “Elijah” phase—before the double portion begins.

Seeing as how this Elijah sign surfaced in the final week of the 76-day cycle of cleansing, we may have to wait another 76 days to move on into the ninth sign of Elisha. I don’t know that this is necessary, but we must be prepared for this. Back in 1983, though we moved to Batesville for a new life on January 22/23, I had to undergo another 76 days of cleansing (restoration) before I could actually begin my new job (April 9, 1983).

At the present time, 2016, the 76-day cycle runs from January 27 to April 12. Recall that the Elisha work was established on April 12, 2009. So the current 76-day cycle will conclude on the seventh anniversary of that decree (2009-2016). Are we seeing a seven-year ministry of Elijah before moving into the double portion? Only God knows. There is nothing that we can do to speed it up or to hinder it. When the appointed time comes, God will do what He does.

Field Report from The Netherlands

Yesterday, January 27, I received a report from Margriet that adds to the revelation of the day. She and her husband were going to a Hillsong Worship concert that evening. Their tour is named, “Open Heaven/River Wild.” She suddenly remembered a strange dream that she had some time ago, where she was being hunted by an evil person. After a long chase, she saw someone who looked totally “safe,” and so she clung to him. He called the emergency number.

Then in the dream she noticed that he was part of a team which was building a stage for a concert. The team had “black pick-up cars” with a sign painted in silver lettering: “Heineken.” She said that until yesterday morning, she had no idea what this meant, other than the fact that Heineken is a beer from The Netherlands. But suddenly she remembered that the Hillsong Worship concert last night was being held at Heineken Music Hall.

So she looked up the dream in her diary and saw that she had been given this dream exactly two years earlier. She concluded, “So I believe salvation is near. An Open Door” and “an Open Heaven.”

I am always impressed with the “coincidence of timing.” I have written much in past years about the Open Door ministry. In 2009 this was linked to the Elisha signs, and we believe that the ninth sign of Elisha will open this Door. God will multiply the bread (2 Kings 4:42-44) so that (1) there is financial provision to do the work, and (2) the bread of life is dispensed to the people.

The recent “Jonas” sign of death and resurrection also fits into this. (We first began to see the Jonah-Jonas factor at the Tabernacles conference last October, when we saw the pageant, Jonah.) The New Testament counterpart to the sign of Elisha is found in John 6, where Jesus multiplied the barley bread (John 6:9). When the people finished eating, they gathered up 12 baskets of fragments. The meaning of this is explained later in the same chapter, where Jesus equates Himself to the bread (manna) coming down from heaven. The people were to eat His flesh and drink His blood (John 6:51). But also Jesus explained in John 6:39,

³⁹ And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me, I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.

In other words, Jesus was both the manna and the “barley bread” that was broken in order to be multiplied. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the “House of Bread.” He was placed in a manger to feed the world. When Jesus died on the cross, His body was “broken,” but when He was raised from the dead, He lost nothing. In fact, He was multiplied, because He became more than He was before He died.

This is repeated in John 6:44 and 54, and implied further in verses 57 and 58. Not only does this apply to Jesus’ own resurrection, but to ours as well “at the last day.” For this reason, the theme of death and resurrection in John 6 can be tied directly to 2 Kings 4:42-44, which is the ninth sign of Elisha.

The Anointing

The final event that occurred January 27, 2016 was an anointing ceremony that we did last night according to the word given to Mike and Kathy. His letter gave this background:

“In a vision, Father said to fasten your seatbelt and come up higher. I thought maybe a mountain, but He said HIGHER—in outer space, above the earth. Father said, ‘Be patient and watch; watch Me fulfill My promises.’ I could see the rotation of the earth. Father said, ‘You are on the earth. You do not have to do anything, you are just there. It keeps revolving’.”

The word then came after the vision:

“The revolving earth is like the progression of time to the Kingdom. I will do it through you. It is not dependent upon you (overcomers), it is dependent upon Me….

“I have and I am commissioning you the Overcomers, through Me, to first do the work of the preparation of the Kingdom. And then the work of the Kingdom as it is manifested and after the manifestation. It is the work of the Head and Body.”

So some of us were led to anoint each other with Holy Anointing Oil, which, some years ago, was made by a man named Daniel and provided to us through our mutual friend, Chuck.

Therefore, January 27, 2016 is an important turning point in Kingdom history, as the Open Heaven (Door) opens, and as the Father calls us to “come up higher” (Revelation 4:1).