Chapter 7
Prophetic
Progression
The church's
journey into the fullness of God's purpose is taking place
through prophetic progression. Revelation is progressive.
That means that it becomes more complete and more revealing as
time moves on. Revelation produces glory, which is the
illumination of God's word. The veil is removed when we
enter into the Holy of Holies, and there we dwell in God's glory.
2
Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding
as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into
the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the
Lord.
We are being
changed from glory to glory, which is from encounter to encounter
with God. This process is called progression, and the goal
is to finally be found in the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The church
began its journey on the Day of Pentecost in power. That
power diminished within a hundred years, and by 300 AD that
church had become a religious institution without power. Then,
God began the process of restoration when He used Martin Luther
to bring the word of truth back to the church. The
progression began with the restoration of the Word. The
progression continued at the turn of the century with the Azusa
Street revival when the gifts of the Holy Spirit began to
function again.
Now, we have
the word of truth and the Spirit of Truth functioning within the
church once again. This has been going on for some time
now, and is preparing the church to move into the Third Day.
The Third Day will restore the power that the first century
church walked in.
The Third Day
was designated in David and revealed in this Psalm of David:
Psalm 110:1
The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make
Your enemies Your footstool."
Psalm 110:2
The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in
the midst of Your enemies!
Psalm 110:3
Your people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power; In the
beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the
dew of Your youth.
Psalm 110:4
The LORD has sworn And will not relent, "You are a priest
forever According to the order of Melchizedek."
Psalm 110:5
The Lord is at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day
of His wrath.
Psalm 110:6
He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill the places with
dead bodies, He shall execute the heads of many countries.
Psalm 110:7
He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; Therefore He shall
lift up the head.
The day of
power that it talked about in verse 3 is the Third Day. It
is a new day, birthed from the womb of the morning. It is a
day of victory in the church, a day in which we will rule over
the enemies of the kingdom of God. It is a day in which the
power of the kingdom will be demonstrated. A perfected
church in the image of Jesus will cast out demons and heal the
sick just like Jesus did.
Luke 13:32
And He said to them, "Go, tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out
demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I
shall be perfected.'
The church is
progressively being brought into a state of perfection. This
must be so if the words of Jesus are to be fulfilled:
John 14:12
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.
The church is
presently in transition as we are moving into the Third Day.
If this is the day of His power, then we must become volunteers
and willingly lay down the things, which will keep us from being
perfected.
The following
is a word the Lord gave me concerning this time of transition:
THE BRIDGE:
I saw a city, and I asked the Lord, "What City is this?"
The Master answered, "The name of this city is Christian
City; it represents the church. But, it will soon be called
Babylon." He then asked me a question, "What are
they doing?" I quickly went from house to house, and
then gave this report: They are watching television and the
news reports about the election results in America, and they are
discussing what will come of all of this.
The Lord then
said, "What did you learn from watching?" I
replied, "America is divided." He then said,
"As it is in the natural, so it will be with the church.
Watch and learn." As I watched, an angel flew over the
city and cried out with a loud voice, "Come out of her, you
people of the Lord, for the Master is calling you to come out
from among them and touch not the unclean things of this world.
The time is short; come and follow your Jesus."
I watched in
amazement, for most of those in the city were too engrossed with
the cares of their world to answer the call. However, some
had listened, and some had obeyed, and they came forth from that
city. As they gathered together for the journey, I noticed
that each one brought their baggage with them. Some carried
only a brief case; some had a couple of suitcases; some were
pulling a small cart filled with an assortment of bags.
The angel then
called to the people and told them to follow the trail called
"Zion's Way" to the top of the mountain. The
people obeyed and followed the ancient pathway to the top of the
mountain. It was quite a hard journey for those who were
pulling carts because the path was narrow, and it was also steep.
They all made
it to the top of the mountain, but they came to a deep canyon,
and they could proceed no further. They camped there not
knowing what to do. At this point, the Lord began to speak
to them, and this is what He said: "You are here
because you have each desired to know Me, and this is why you
were able to hear Me. This is why you have obeyed the
command to follow Me. Many of you desire to know Me better
than you do now. You have often struggled because of
unbelief, but as you cross over this canyon, your desires shall
be fulfilled. The name of the mountain that you are camped
on is called "Second Day." The mountain across
the canyon is Mount Zion. That is your destination."
Some of those
in the camp said, "But, Lord, how shall we cross over?"
The Master replied, "Examine yourselves now. Do any of
you have any faith? I say that all things are possible with
God. Do you have any faith?"
A few of the
people said, "Yes, Lord, we believe that if you want us to
go to Zion, then you will make a way." The Lord of
Hosts then commanded the angels to gather up the faith of those
who had spoken and said, "Build My Bridge." The
angels then brought the faith of those who spoke to the edge of
the canyon and began to build.
As the angels
picked up the faith of the people, their faith took the shape of
various sizes of bricks, depending on the faith that was produced.
As the angels set the bricks in place, the Master Builder, Jesus,
would bind them together with a substance, which I knew was His
glory.
As His glory
touched each brick, the bricks became larger, and the work was
begun. This work quickened the faith of the people, and
soon shouts of faith were heard throughout the camp, and more
building bricks were produced. The work was progressing
quite well when an angel came and posted a sign at the gateway to
the bridge which read, "This bridge leads to Zion. As
you cross over, you will enter into the Third Day. The name
of the bridge is The Narrow Way, and you cannot take any of your
baggage with you."
The bridge
was, indeed, very narrow and had hand rails on it that would not
allow any baggage to be carried across it. The bridge was
designed so that it was necessary that one's hands remain in
contact with the rails to insure a safe journey. The name
of the rails was hope.
At this point
I began to see that each piece of baggage had a name on it.
I saw bondage and unbelief labels on some, and others were called
compromise, works of the flesh, fear, and many other things that
had become attachments to this world. I had also noticed
that those who carried brief cases had never set them down...not
even for a moment. The labels on the brief cases were
identifying different kind of ministries.
The Master
then spoke, "This canyon represents a further place of
division. The baggage that you have brought with you
belongs to the Second Day, and you cannot bring it with you.
You must decide, for those things cannot be brought into the
Third Day. If you will leave your baggage and cross over by
faith, I will deliver you from the bondages of the Second Day and
bring you into the glory of the Third Day where all things become
new. This is the time of the Great Crossover. Come,
My people, for the bridge is finished. Cross over now
before the night comes and the way cannot be found. Forget
those things which are behind you, and press forward into a
bright and glorious new day."
To my delight
most of the people, who had followed the Master to the mountain
top, crossed over. They left their baggage, and by faith
crossed the bridge. But, not all; some could not bear to
give up their possessions, and like the rich, young ruler they
went back down the mountain, back to Babylon and bondage.
The sun was
now setting, and back down the valley I could see the dim lights
of the city. It was now time for me to also cross the
bridge. As I reached the other side of the canyon, the
darkness was behind me, and I could see a great light before me.
This was the light of Zion, the city set upon the mountain of the
Lord. The echo of the Master's words have persuaded me,
"Cross over; cross over now, for deep darkness is coming
upon the earth, but the light of My glory shall rest upon My
people."
What about
you? Will you lay aside your baggage and the sin that so
easily besets you? Will you come and cross over the bridge
of faith? Will you come to the mountain of the Lord?
Micah 4:1
Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of
the Lord's house Shall be established on the top of the
mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples
shall flow to it.
Micah 4:2
Many nations shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to
the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He
will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For
out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the LORD from
Jerusalem.
The
progression of God's revelation is established in the vision of
the bridge. We are going where we have not been before. We
are going up to Zion, the City of God, the Third Day dwelling
place of the saints of God!
Faith Tabernacle