Friday,
April 13, 2012, 7:58 a.m. – As I began to wake up this
morning, I stretched my leg, and I received one of those cramps in the calf of
my leg that feels so painful, but thankfully does not last too long. I think it
is called a “charley horse.” Now, I was definitely awake! My thoughts were on
some relationship difficulties in my life, and how I should respond to this
present trial in my life. Then, the Lord brought the song, “Wake Up!” into my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is
listening. I read Zechariah 5 (NIV):
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Zechariah%205&version=NIV
My
Understanding: First of all, I believe the Lord allowed me
to experience that leg cramp this morning as an illustration of a Biblical
truth, kind of like a real life parable. He does that sometimes. A leg is a
branch, and a branch is a division or a part of a whole. The cramp was in the
calf of my leg. I immediately related “calf” to idolatry; the body, as a whole,
to the body of Christ; and this calf of the leg to the idolatrous church (a
part of the church). I believe the Lord is applying this passage in Zechariah 5
to the idolatrous church today.
The
Flying Scroll
The scroll, in Zechariah’s vision, was
flying. A scroll is what some of the Bible was originally written on, before
they went to book form. The scroll’s size, the fact that it was flying, and the
fact that it was open wide, i.e. that it was unrolled and apparently waving
like a banner for all to read, caused me to think of the airplanes or blimps
that fly banners through the sky for everyone to read. It was out in the open
sky (air), and was visible to all.
Much of Zechariah’s writing was about the
future, as well as the present, so if we think in our present time, a flying
scroll could very much be what we are doing right here, i.e. the Internet
provides the means for the words we write to be flown through the air, and to
be seen by all the world on the Internet.
There is significance to the writing being on
both sides, as most scrolls were written only on one side. Some commentators
suggest that this is symbolic of the Ten Commandments, which was written on
both sides of the tablets. One source suggests that the size of the scroll
corresponds to “the Temple Portico, or the porch of the Temple where
proclamations and judgments were declared to Israel.” [Source: http://www.answersintheendtimes.com/Sunday-School-Lessons/Pt-26-The-Sealed-Scroll]
The Lord has often shown me the Internet as a
Portico of sorts where people can share the messages of God out in the open for
all to hear (or read). And, it appears that the Lord is combining the portico
and the scroll together here in that the message is written, not spoken, but it
is also given in a place that is appropriate for people to make declarations or
to share words that can be heard or read by all. The fact that the scroll is
flying, gives even more credence to the present-day portico being the Internet.
Where else on this earth can you write and have the whole world read what you
write, and to have those words literally fly through the air like a banner? The
scroll was symbolic both of the commandments of God and of messages of judgment
for the breaking of those commandments.
The house that the scroll will enter, it appears,
is the house of the adulterous church. The message is not merely written,
nonetheless, for it is followed by the judgment that it declared. That takes me
back to my “charley horse” from this morning. The cramp was in the calf
(idolatry) of my leg (branch of the church). If you have ever had a “charley
horse” cramp before, you will understand that it is one of the most painful
cramps you can ever get, and it completely disables you from doing anything
else until it subsides. I believe the Lord is using this cramp as a symbol of
the judgment he will bring upon his idolatrous church, with the end result that
the church will definitely be wakened, as I was wakened, only not physically,
but spiritually.
The
Woman in a Basket
Next Zechariah saw a measuring basket. Most
commentators I have read agree that the basket (a household container) would be
too small to hold a grown woman inside. The basket itself symbolized the sins
of the people throughout the land. The woman inside the basket represented
wickedness. The woman could possibly parallel over to the harlot of Revelation,
which some believe to be the idolatrous church, which rides the beast (the evil
world system), or she could merely represent the evil world system itself.
In a previous writing, the Lord gave me this
understanding of the woman in the basket: “So, what was in the basket was
literally the appearance of or the resemblance of a woman, which also
represented the iniquity of the people – wow! I believe that may have been the
original meaning God intended by this vision, for he was showing the prophets
of old glimpses of the future (our today). That would explain why the prophet
would have seen a woman in a household container that was truly too small to
enclose a woman. He was most likely seeing a TV set and/or a camera or
projector – something that captures images of people on film and then projects
them somewhere else, which is why the basket was flying. The “basket” was used
to symbolize a measurement of the corporate evil of the land. Wow!
“This also goes back to the flying scroll
which was a curse that is going out over the whole land – every thief and
everyone who swears falsely will be banished. I believe what the Lord is
showing here by Zechariah’s vision, and then by the vision the Lord gave me as
a modern-day understanding, is that TV shows, movies, the Internet, news shows,
etc. – all this media via images projected through the air is filled with
wickedness, corruption, falsity, lies, deception, etc. We cannot trust that
what we perceive to be make-believe is really fake, and that it truly is not
based in reality, nor can we trust that what we perceive to be real is truly real,
and that it is not smokes and mirrors and images made to look real but are not.
Satan is the great deceiver. We need much discernment in these final days to
know what is real and what is fake, because Satan can use this technology to
confuse reality from fantasy, and lies from truth.
“It was rotten, but we ate it anyway – TV
shows, movies, news stories, people that we think are real when truly they are
fakes - mere copies and images of real people, advertising, perceptions of the
size of communism, alcohol as fun and enjoyment, our military as truly
protecting us, politicians as who they proclaim to be, political races as
though they are real when they are truly just for our entertainment, etc.”
The
Judgment of God
The wickedness needed to be removed from
Israel to a more fitting place. Israel today is the church collectively, but it
comprises individual followers of Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus wants to remove
wickedness and idolatry from his church, and he will do it through judgment, if
no other way. He is presently calling out to his idolatrous church to wake up,
to turn from her sins, to be transformed in the attitude of her heart and mind,
and to follow Jesus Christ in complete surrender and obedience. He is sending
out his messages through his servants and via the Internet, so that a runner
can run (or fly) with the messages, i.e. via the flying scroll. The messages
are a call to repentance and to return to our first love. Yet, they are also
messages promising judgment on those who refuse to repent; who refuse to turn
from their evil ways, and so be healed.
The two women represent God’s chosen agents
to remove the wickedness from the church and to take it where it belongs – to
the world’s evil system. The purpose of removing the basket is to purge the
church of its evil and to make the Lord’s bride holy and ready for the wedding
with her husband. I believe the letters to the churches in Revelation are
symbolic of the message on this flying scroll in that they call the fallen
church to return to a right relationship with God, and to those who do not
repent, judgment is promised.
This is a wakeup call! God is calling out to
his church, i.e. to the branch of his church which has become idolatrous and is
steeped in sin to wake up from her slumber and to turn from her evil ways and
to return to her God. If she does not wake up, judgment is certain. Yet, we
should not turn from sin just because we might face judgment. If we say that we
know Jesus, then we should love him. To love him means to follow him wherever
he leads us, to do what he says, to go where he says to go, and to say what he
tells us to say, even if it is messages of judgment. It means that we love him
like a first love. We want to be with him, talk with him, and sit at his feet
and hear what he has to say. We want to share with him our whole lives and
experiences, emotions, thoughts, etc. And, we want to tell others about Jesus,
too, so that they, as well, can come to know him, love him, serve and obey him.
Wake
Up! / An Original Work / November 25, 2011
Based off
Ephesians 5:1-21; Revelation 3:1-6
Wake
up, sleeper,
Rise
from the dead.
Your
God awaits
You
to do what
He
says to you.
Be
not conformed
To
your selfish will.
Trust
in the Lord.
Do
what He says.
He
will give you victory.
Do
not walk in
Darkness;
come into
The
light of love.
Listen
to your
Savior
calling
You
to obey
All
His teachings.
Repent
of your
Sin,
and Christ will
Shine
His love on you.
He
waits patiently
For
you to
Heed
His whispers to your heart.
Will
you hasten
To
obey Him;
Not
from Him depart?
Live
your life from
This
day forward,
Walking
in His
Love
and mercy.
Let
Him cleanse you
Of
all your sins.
Dwell
with Him today.
Do
not insult
God’s
grace to you.
Do
not make light of your sin.
Let
the light of
His
truth come and
Free
you from within.
No comments:
Post a Comment