THE VISION: I saw the name of Jesus spelled out in all capital letters like this – J E S U S. The name stretched from the northwest to the southeast. It was like someone had spelled out his name in very large letters on the ground to where someone could see the name spelled out from up in the air, and the lettering would still be rather large. I thought of how some people have spelled out the word “H E L P” with whatever they could find – sticks, leaves, etc. – when they needed to be rescued (saved). I felt that this was a call for help. And, I also sensed that God was answering my question I posed to him with regard to what to say “Yes” to – say “Yes” to the name of Jesus, i.e. say “Yes” to Jesus.
Then, I heard in my mind the name “Sri Lanka.” This was followed by the names “Buddha,” “Buddhist,” and “Buddhism,” and then by the name “Muhammad the prophet.” So, I began to quote scripture verses about Jesus –
Acts 4:11-12: He is
"'the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the capstone.' Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Romans 14:11-12: It is written:
"'As surely as I live,' says the Lord,
'every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will confess to God.' "So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Philippians 2:9-11: Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
And, I sang songs about the name of Jesus – “Jesus is the Sweetest Name I Know” and “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Sweetest Name I Know.” While I was singing in my heart about Jesus and about His Name, I heard a screeching sound and then I saw the name of Jesus being smashed and beaten upon. Again, I heard the name “Sri Lanka” in my mind. And, then this verse came to mind, Matthew 24:14 (in context):
"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” END
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Zechariah 8:
The LORD Promises to Bless Jerusalem
1 Again the word of the LORD Almighty came to me. 2 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her."
3 This is what the LORD says: "I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain."
4 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with cane in hand because of his age. 5 The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there."
6 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?" declares the LORD Almighty.
7 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. 8 I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God."
9 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "You who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were there when the foundation was laid for the house of the LORD Almighty, let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built. 10 Before that time there were no wages for man or beast. No one could go about his business safely because of his enemy, for I had turned every man against his neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past," declares the LORD Almighty.
12 "The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people. 13 As you have been an object of cursing among the nations, O Judah and Israel, so will I save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong."
14 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Just as I had determined to bring disaster upon you and showed no pity when your fathers angered me," says the LORD Almighty, 15 "so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid. 16 These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; 17 do not plot evil against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this," declares the LORD.
18 Again the word of the LORD Almighty came to me. 19 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace."
20 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, 21 and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, 'Let us go at once to entreat the LORD and seek the LORD Almighty. I myself am going.' 22 And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD Almighty and to entreat him."
23 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.' "
My Understanding: I am praying for understanding, but it seems fairly obvious that the Lord is showing me how his name is being stomped upon and how this represents the persecution and the death (murder) of true believers in Jesus Christ throughout the world, how many will turn away from belief in Jesus Christ, that false prophets (like Buddha and Muhammad) will appear and will deceive many people, that the love of most will grow cold, but that he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
The Lord, I believe, is showing me Sri Lanka, not only in relation to it being a predominantly Buddhist nation, and not only that there appears to be the influence of the prophet Muhammad – the founder of the religion of Islam – in our world, but in relation to the gospel being preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. I believe that the image I saw of the name of Jesus spelled out from the northwest to the southeast encompasses the spreading of the gospel to all nations.
In Zechariah 7 we learned that God was not pleased with his people, with their forms of worship - with their fasting and mourning on certain days or months of the year and with their feasting. He said that none of these forms of worship was for him, but it was for themselves that they did these things. He then gave them instructions on how they should conduct themselves and yet they refused to pay attention, they stubbornly turned their backs on God and they stopped up their ears, as well as they hardened their hearts and would not listen to God. So, God was very angry. So, he scattered them with a whirlwind among the nations. I believe that is where we are again, and God is bringing judgment upon His people once again because of their rebellious hearts that have turned from following the Lord God Almighty and have turned to following after their own lustful desires and after their man-idols.
Zechariah 8, then, is describing the time period post-judgment when Jesus will return to be with his people (the true church; the Body of Christ; His Bride). Jesus provided salvation for us from sin when he died on the cross and when he rose again, conquering death, hell, Satan and sin. This salvation will be completed when Jesus returns for His Bride and when he returns to live among his people (the saints of God; believers in Jesus) once again. Right now we are going through what is described in Matthew 24 concerning the last days before Jesus’ return to earth. And, included in that is the persecution and the murdering of people for their faith in Jesus Christ. The encouragement here is to “be strong,” because Jesus will come to save us from the nations who now oppress us and who persecute and kill us for our faith in Jesus.
Yet, I believe that part of this “saving us” from the nations and bringing us back to “live in Jerusalem” really begins now in that this is also speaking about the revival of the church. The nations represent the world and worldly influences that have so ensconced (made themselves at home in) today’s church. In revival, Jesus removes us (saves us) from those worldly influences on our lives and he brings us back to live in “Jerusalem,” i.e. the Holy City of God, i.e. the true church; Christ’s true followers, i.e. he revives us again. And, then he makes us a blessing to the rest of the world and many, many people from various nations will come to us and will want to know Jesus because they see the reality of Jesus being lived out in our lives. The gospel will be spread through this persecution of the saints of God, i.e. symbolized by the name of Jesus being smashed and stomped upon, and when this takes place – when the gospel has been spread throughout the world – the end will come and we who believe in Jesus Christ will get to be with him forever!
So, that is why God is saying, “Do not fear” and “Be strong” because he wants us to know that all that we must suffer for the sake of His name will not be unfruitful. Revival of the church and the salvation of many, many lives will result from this time before Jesus comes back. And, one day Jesus will return and he will save us from all this, so we need to stand firm to the end, because we, “who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged” (Heb. 6:18b) in knowing that we have the promise of eternal life with Jesus Christ forever.
At Your Feet / Casting Crowns
Here at Your feet, I lay my past down
My wanderings, all my mistakes down
And I am free
Here at Your feet, I lay this day down
Not in my strength, but in Yours I’ve found
All I need, You’re all I need
Jesus, Jesus, at Your feet
Oh, to dwell and never leave
Jesus, Jesus, at Your feet
There is nowhere else for me
There is nowhere else for me
Here at Your feet, I lay my future down
All of my dreams, I give to You now
And I find peace, I find peace
Here at Your feet, I lay my life down
For You my King, You’re all I want now
And my soul sings…
‘Cause I am free (here at Your feet)
All I need (is at Your feet)
I find peace
We’re at Your feet
We’re at Your feet
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