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The work of the house of Joseph, part 37

During our Tabernacles conference in Reading, PA, I was led to anoint everyone with frankincense and to speak the word over them: “Lazarus, come forth! I bless you in the name of the Lord.”

The raising of Lazarus was the seventh sign that Jesus did in the Gospel of John to manifest His glory. This seventh sign was part of the revelation associated with the seventh bowl of wine. I took this to be a prophecy that the body of Christ would be raised up to do the Open Door Ministry.

The name Lazarus, of course, is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Eliezer. Lazarus has a numeric value of 144, which is the number of “the elect.” It is related to the number 153, “the sons of God.” But 144 focuses on the resurrected ones who lived in past generations, whereas 153 focuses on those who are living.

In the story of Isaac, we read in Genesis 24 how Abraham sent his chief of staff, Eliezer, to find a wife for Isaac. Eliezer is thus a type of the Holy Spirit, who was sent to find and prepare a Bride for Christ. Eliezer found Rebekah and gave her a gift of two bracelets (Hebrew: tsamid). This word has a numeric value of 144, which connects Eliezer to Lazarus. He then brought her home to the land of Canaan to be Isaac’s wife (Genesis 24:67).

The main purpose of the Open Door Ministry is to prepare the Bride to be presented to Christ. I believe that the Holy Spirit (like Eliezer) will be sent out to do this work. On one level, of course, the Holy Spirit was already sent forth on Pentecost in Acts 2 as a culmination of Christ’s first work; however, there is a greater work to be done in preparation for Christ’s second coming. What was started at Pentecost will conclude at Tabernacles.

This work will include the resurrection of the overcomers—the Lazarus company—so that they may participate in this evangelistic work during the age to come.

Psalm 82:5-8

Psalm 82:5-8 was read traditionally in the temple on the seventh day of the feast of Tabernacles.

⁵ They do not know nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. ⁶ I said, “You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High. ⁷ Nevertheless, you will die like men and fall like any one of the princes.” ⁸ Arise, O God, judge the earth! For it is You who possesses all the nations.

This prophesies of a time of “darkness,” when “all the foundations of the earth are shaken.” Isaiah 60:1, 2 indicates that the light will come when “darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples.” We also read in Isaiah 9:2 that “the people who walk in darkness will see a great light.”

This was partially fulfilled when Jesus ministered in “Galilee of the Nations” (Isaiah 9:1). But we live in a time of greater darkness today, and Christ’s second coming promises an even greater light. This time the light is coming not only from Christ as an Individual but from His body as well.

This is the time when the earth will be shaken to its foundations—and the heavens with it! We read in Haggai 2:6, 7,

⁶ For thus says the Lord of hosts, “Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. ⁷ I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,” says the Lord of hosts.

Hebrews 12:26-29 interprets this and compares it to the shaking that occurred on Mount Sinai when “the whole mountain quaked violently” (Exodus 19:18) and “The Lord came down on Mount Sinai” (Exodus 19:20). In Deuteronomy 4:11, 12 Moses recounts the story, saying,

¹¹ You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the very heart of the heavens: darkness, cloud and thick gloom. ¹² Then the Lord spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form—only a voice.

So we see shaking and quaking and fire. Hebrews 12:26-29 says,

²⁶ And the voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” ²⁷ This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. ²⁸ Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe, ²⁹ for our God is a consuming fire.

In other words, the second coming of Christ will be somewhat comparable to His coming at Mount Sinai, except that not only the earth but also heaven will be shaken. The shaking is associated with the voice of God speaking out of the “consuming fire.” It is God’s “fiery law” (Deuteronomy 33:2 KJV) that is spoken, because it is a time of judgment.

God’s law is the standard of measure for all things, for it is the nature and character of Christ. All that does not conform to that righteous standard will be shaken, both on earth and in heaven. My understanding is that this is a reference to the second heaven, for there are three heavens (2 Corinthians 12:2, 4). The third heaven is “Paradise,” Paul says, but the second heaven is the place of spiritual warfare that needs to be fully cleansed.

All that fails to conform to God’s righteous standard will be shaken and removed, “so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.” We are even now seeing this great shaking in the midst of “deep darkness” (Isaiah 60:2). God’s consuming fire is even now upon us. Its purpose is not to shake us but to shake all that is around us. Only that which conforms to the law of God and to His Kingdom will remain standing.

This was prophesied by Psalm 82:5-8 every year when it was read on the seventh day of the feast of Tabernacles. It was again illustrated when we poured out the bowl of wine at Babylon, NY. We understood at the time that the present world system would soon be shaken. We did not know that it would take this long to accomplish, because we were yet unaware that the beast empires’ time of dominion would not expire until 2017. Hence, the final shaking was restrained until then.

The Sons of God Arise

Psalm 82:6 says, “you are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High.” This statement comes in the midst of a passage that speaks of divine judgment. It shows the positive side of the divine plan. In the time of deep darkness, while Babylon is being judged, the sons of God arise in glory (Isaiah 60:1, 2) to bring the light of Christ to the earth and to establish His Kingdom of Light.

Strangely enough, the next verse says, “Nevertheless, you will die like men and fall like any one of the princes.” How could “gods” die? This does not sound very positive. If this prophesies of the sons of God at the end of the age, are they to remain mortal even after resurrection? Obviously not.

First, the Hebrew word Elohim, translated “gods,” carries a more literal meaning of one who is in authority. Just as an angel can be either a divine messenger or an earthly person, so also can Elohim refer to the true God (Exodus 20:2), false gods (Exodus 20:3), or earthly judges (Exodus 7:1; 21:6; 22:8, 9, 28).

In previous ages, these earthly “gods” were mortal in spite of their authority. I believe that Psalm 82:7 refers to such a time, even to the present day. We ourselves were given the authority to bring judgment upon Babylon by pouring out the seven bowls of wine (2000-2006), but we did this while remaining mortal, and some who participated in this work have since died.

Nonetheless, the work of the house of Joseph was done, and we expect to see God’s consuming fire bring judgment upon all that does not conform to the law of God. By pouring out the bowls of wine—especially the seventh bowl—our prayer was in accordance with Psalm 82:8,

⁸ Arise, O God, judge the earth! For it is You who possesses all the nations.

The result of divine judgment will not be the destruction of the earth but its salvation. So we read in Psalm 67:1 that when the glory of God shines in our face (as with Moses in Exodus 34:29), the ways of God will be known on earth. The people of the earth will be set free from the bondage that they had previously supported in their blindness. Psalm 67:4 says,

⁴ Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for You will judge the people with uprightness and guide the nations on the earth.

The destructive elements of modern Christian eschatology will be proven wrong, because God will raise up the overcomers, sons of God, and manifest His glory in their faces, sending them out to proclaim the Jubilee. The Kingdom of God, pictured as a stone in Daniel 2:35, will then grow into a mountain range until it fills the whole earth. That is the purpose of divine judgment. It is not to destroy the nations, but to set the people free from unrighteous government that has brought about “deep darkness.”

This is also why we were led to pour out water along with wine. The water signified the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the midst of divine judgment (wine). This is the primary purpose of the house of Joseph—Ephraim in particular—who was called to bring forth the sons of God to fulfill the Fruitfulness Mandate (Genesis 1:28; 49:22).

Pouring out the wine upon Babylon was primarily the work of the house of David in support of the house of Joseph, for David was a man of war. But in this hour, David was to be subordinate to Joseph (Genesis 37:5, 6, 7, 8), to indicate that divine judgment was to be subordinate to divine mercy in the salvation of the world. In other words, God’s priority is not judgment but salvation. The purpose of judgment is to correct the injustice in the earth so that the nations may “be glad and sing for joy.”