ALL’S WELL
THAT ENDS WELL
CONT., page 9
As was noted at the opening of this writing, the last noteworthy item became first, and now the first will be presented last. One of the things with which our attention was directed at the outset of our gathering was the following passage found in Luke 4:18:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are downtrodden,
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
While it is acknowledged that Yahshua did indeed fulfill this passage, it is evident with the breach of Christianity that there is a delay in what is promised here. This in no way diminishes that which Yahshua put into place, for He likewise said that an Elijah work must come that will “restore all things” – Matthew 17:11. Men, even kingdom men, are still captive to the flesh, and continue to be blind. If this were not true, then you would not see both ministers and laity doing the ill things that they do, and there would not be 22,000 denominations and sects saying 22,000 different things. The poor Remnant must yet have the gospel preached to them and the downtrodden set free. But most striking to us at this time was that there was to be the proclamation of “the acceptable year of the Lord.”
This statement demands the question that there must be a specific year in which this proclamation must be applicable. Every time the Greek word translated here as a “year” is used in the New Testament, it means specifically a year. So if there is a given year in which this proclamation is to be made, then there must be a people who will know that year in order to proclaim it.
Some might argue that the acceptable year is any year; but if that were the case, it would negate the statement, for it speaks of a given year that is to be proclaimed. Based on everything we have seen, especially that which is stated in the writing The Passing Over Principle, page 3, it remains evident that that acceptable year is 2003. But, there is very little of this year left and Yahweh would have to do something quite remarkable in the months ahead to fulfill this.
Another outstanding thing about these verses that seem to tie them to the second Remnant is not only what is stated, but what they do not state. This passage that Yahshua read is from Isaiah 61:1-2. But when reading Isaiah, Yahshua did not finish the passage. After the statement that we read here – “To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,” verse 2 of Isaiah 61 actually continues:
“And the day of vengeance of our God.”
But He quit short of this last statement in His reading. So let us ask – What work is it that must prevent the vengeance of God in the “great and terrible day of Yahweh”? Malachi 4:5-6 tells us that He must send Elijah, “lest (He) come and smite the land with a curse.” This is the Elijah work that prepares the way for Yahshua’s return to the earth and becomes the donkey’s jaw and cries out, lest the rocks cry out for judgment instead. Because of the Elijah work that Yahweh sends in order to restore all things, His wrath is averted and the latter part of this passage in Isaiah is not fulfilled, thus being cut short. And of course this passage, this promise, is found exclusively in none other than second Remnant Luke.
And to further confirm the hope for and application of this passage to the second Remnant, let us pick up in verse 2 and read the following promises through verse 9.
“To comfort all who mourn,
To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of Yahweh, that He may be glorified.
Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations,
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
And strangers will stand and pasture your flocks,
And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.
But you will be called the priests of Yahweh;
You will be spoken of as ministers of our God.
You will eat the wealth of nations,
And in their riches you will boast.
Instead of your shame you will have a double portion,
And instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion.
Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land.
Everlasting joy will be theirs.
For I, Yahweh, love justice,
I hate robbery in the burnt offering;
And I will faithfully give them their recompense,
And I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Then their offspring will be known among the nations,
And their descendants in the midst of the peoples.
All who see them will recognize them (they will be glorified)
Because they are the offspring whom Yahweh has blessed.
In summation of this entire writing, let us go to Revelation 3:8-11 and read Yahshua’s assessment of the second Remnant, here seen as the church of Philadelphia (the first Remnant being revealed in Smyrna).
“I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews, and are not, but lie – behold, I will make them to come and bow down at your feet, and to know that I have loved you. Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth. I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, in order that no one take your crown.”
One of the things that is all too familiar to us is that up to now the Bride is of “little power.” We are “smooth” stones, even a “baldhead.” The work of the Remnant thus far has been without oil in the engine; and we are all too aware that what has been accomplished thus far without this much needed oil, has equally been a miracle.
So what are we to do? Do we quit because we have not gotten that for which we have looked to Yahweh to provide? In this state of “little power,” we also read that Philadelphia “kept the word of (His) perseverance.” So in this state of little power, are we to do anything less than persevere if we want to receive that for which we so desperately need? Indeed not! This perseverance is the hope of being kept from the testing that has been on the earth for 2,000 years, and we must hold fast so that no one take our crown.
We also read in Deuteronomy 8:2-5:
“And you shall remember all the ways which Yahweh your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. And He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh. … Thus you are to know in your heart that Yahweh your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son.”
For 2,000 years in this “church in the wilderness” that kingdom man has experienced, Yahweh has fed him manna which he has not even known its meaning. We read Yahweh’s word and we conclude certain things. As a man I am no different; but, I am called to obey that which I see and am led to follow. And as an intercessor, I am called to trust His work. But the bottom line of all of this is that in conclusion, Yahweh does this so that we live by everything that proceeds out of His mouth. Yahweh speaks everything into existence, and we must learn to trust in Him in what He speaks or does, in what we are given daily, and not in our finite understanding. Why does He do this? To humble us and to cause us to trust in Him. And this we must now do.
I cannot deny the truth of the two Remnant and the corruption of the kingdom of God for 2,000 years. I cannot deny what He told me in 1994 that what He did at the beginning of the church, He will do again at the end. I cannot deny that these are in fact the promised former and latter rains. I cannot deny all that has taken place in my life that confirms the way I am being led. I cannot deny what Yahweh has shown me in the Scriptures – this inner seamless garment of truth. And until I receive these things for which I hope and await, I look to Him that I might obtain the promise and not lose the crown. In Habakkuk, where we read about recording the vision so that those who read it may run, and that though the vision may tarry, it will not fail, and we are to wait for it, we also read the following concluding verses from Habakkuk.
Though the fig tree should not blossom,
And there be no fruit on the vines,
Though the yield of the olive should fail,
And the fields produce no food,
Though the flock should be cut off from the fold,
And there will be no cattle in the stall,
Yet I will exalt in Yahweh,
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
The Lord Yahweh is my strength,
And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet,
And makes me walk on my high places (Habakkuk 3:17-19).
While Elisha, the baldheaded prophet we oft examined here, in some ways represented the first Remnant, we have seen that in other ways he represented the second Remnant. This is the marvel of Yahweh’s testimony of the two-part Remnant. We have seen how this duality was evidenced when he crossed the Jordan and was taunted by the forty-two lads. We saw his witness to the importance of intercession in the closing of his life. Now, at the closing of this writing we will see his encouraging testimony of the same enduring power we saw evidenced in Samson, when he made the 3,000 men of Judah promise that they would not kill him – the power to break forth at the proper time.
The promise given to and the power inherent in the first Remnant is a force not to be ignored, not to be forgotten, not to be forsaken, not to be despised or dismissed. This writer has often pointed out the importance of the second Remnant building on the foundation of the first Remnant. The effectual nature of the second Remnant to defeat Satan and death and to ascend alive, lies in the vital inescapable necessity of identifying with the first Remnant. This power of the first Remnant is clearly evidenced and testified in Elisha.
Immediately following the account of Elisha and the intercessoral actions of King Joash, we read that Elisha died and they buried him. The account goes on to tell that one day the sons of Israel were burying a man when a marauding band of Moabites came, and in fear they hastily threw the man into Elisha’s grave. When the man touched his bones, “he revived and stood up on his feet” (2 Kings 13:20-21).
There is no question that Elijah and Elisha represent the two Remnant. And there is only one message this prophetic event could foretell. There is only one hope today for those who are under the curse of death to come alive, to escape death, and to stand on their feet, on their kingdom rights, and that is to come into the place of an identification with the dead first Remnant, to be cast on the bones of Elisha. In their bones lie the governmental authority that will bring a second Remnant to life. As the first bird, they alone have the blood, which comes from the bones, that will assure the second Remnant that they will ascend alive and defeat death. Do I believe in the work of Yahshua? Unquestionably! But I also believe that the work He built when He was here, is the work upon which we must continue to build.
I do not look to Christianity to be able to deliver me from death; they have not been able to deliver anyone for 2,000 years. There is only one work that has both this authority and this promise – the second Remnant, built upon the work of the first Remnant.
May Yahweh fulfill His word!
Continue to ADDENDUM for added information concerning this Passover period.