Understanding
God’s Mind in the Charismatic
ince
signing on with Eschatology Today in August of 2001 the few reader
mails we’ve received have been mostly positive in response to our
emphasis on biblical hermeneutics. “I like the concept of a develop
your own eschatology study site,” say most.
Others,
much fewer, have been less enthusiastic citing a valid contention over
when to interpret Revelation literally, and when allegorical interpretation
is necessary in John’s view.
As I
shared in last quarter’s article, “Key Word Searching the
Inductive Way,” once you focus on the available literal revelation
there is in the New Testament’s eschatological record, any free
connected interpretations may apply to the event
For example,
the Spirit provides the literal key word rapture timing ingredient of
a “last trumpet” in Paul’s eschatology. So any eschatology
student has an obligation to run that clue down.
1 Corinthians 15:51-52
51 Behold, I tell you
a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound,
and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
My “midtext-pretrib”
position is based on Paul’s last trumpet connection with John’s
last trumpet recorded in their New Testament prophecies. It is “mid-text”
because the last trumpet in John’s New Testament prophecy blows
midway through his text. It is “pre-trib” because according
to Jesus the Abomination of Desolation will inaugurate the Great Tribulation,
and its revelation in John’s revelation occurs chronologically in
chapter 13 after the seventh trumpet blows.
Because
the key word connection timing the event is literal, I also take free
license in considering the other events that surround the last trumpet’s
blowing in Revelation 11:15 as possible supporting activities accompanying
the event.
The seven
thunders forbidden by John in Chapter 10 may have said something about
it.
Revelation 10:3-4
3 and he
cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when he had cried
out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices.
4 And when
the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard
a voice from heaven saying, "Seal up the things which the seven peals
of thunder have spoken, and do not write them."
The events
following the two witnesses resurrection/rapture corresponding to the
last trumpet, including the Bema seat of reward for God’s faithful,
and the explosive revelation of the ark (11:18,19) could both connect
to the last trumpet rapture event. Like any evidentiary inquiry, circumstantial
evidence surrounding the scene under investigation can add to the overall
proof of the event.
You can
argue about the specifics of these attending revelations. Because Pauline
eschatology provides the “last” trumpet’s key word
timing ingredient, you can’t logically argue with that. "Last" is
"last" and it is immature biased eschatology to ignore it. But there is also a
spiritual knowing—a charismatic anointing of God’s Spirit
that both John and Paul possessed, which I believe you really need to
possess to fully comprehend their record. The anointing is commonly referred
to as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Without this promise from on high
that inspired the miracles and revelation of the New Testament Church,
God’s prophetic anointing can fall on deaf, contriving ears.
The need
and reality of this vital relationship enhancing experience doesn’t
alter the fact that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit hasn’t helped
many Spirit-filled Charismatics in their navigation of Revelation’s
prophetic texts. A lack of solid hermeneutics is the interpretive culprit
here. So as in all things, balance is needed between the letter and the
Spirit.
It is
my hope to encourage you who have yet to receive the Holy Spirit’s
miraculous infilling experience to simply believe the Father hasn’t
withdrawn His presence that turned the world upside down through the first-century
church (Acts 17:6 NKJV). Then, ask. Ask God for the “clothing with
power from on high” Jesus promised His disciples in Luke 24:49.
I was
alone listening to a teaching tape that finally inspired me to lift my
hands and ask. When I did, the Holy Spirit's prayer language starting
flowing out of me (Acts 2:4).
In his
definitive life’s Work, Power Evangelism, the late John Wimber
tells of how his wife was baptized in the Holy Spirit while she slept
in a dream. Wow.
Others
receive in prayer lines after services. Still others, while reading books.
Simply
seek Him in faith, and as surely as He saved you, He will accommodate
your faith.
So
ask. What have you got to lose? He wants to open you up to the charismatic
gifts of His Spirit and direct you personally in His prophetic flow.
Now let’s
move on to the Holy Spirit’s stuff of revelation to discover
how His charismatic gifts combine to unveil God’s prophetic text.
Interpreting the Spirit's Art
I like to use the interpretive analogy when speaking of prophetic revelation
in terms of art.
The strokes
of the Spirit’s revelation will change to the spiritually discerning
from oil, to watercolors, to acrylics, to pastels.
One section
may be brushed in a pure view of things transpiring in the Spirit at the
time the prophet was gifted with the charismatic gift of the discerning
of spirits.
Another
view may unveil truth in a parabolic picture that presents in an instant
of a moment what may take an hour to describe in the printed word.
So let’s
take a brief look at all of these charismatic manifestations to prepare
you for future studies in the Bible’s eschatological texts.
Spiritual Anointings
The Revelation Gift of the Discerning of Spirits
1 Corinthians. 12:7,10
7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the
Spirit for the common good.
10…and to another the discerning (distinguishing)
of spirits…. Scriptural
examples of this charismatic manifestation (charismata, “divine
endowment”) include:
• Joshua’s seeing of the Captain of the Lord’s host
(Josh. 5:13-15).
• Elisha’s servant’s view of God’s angelic armies
(2 Kings 6:15-17).
• Isaiah and Ezekiel’s view of God’s throneroom (Is.
6:1-7; Ezek. l 1:4-8).
• Daniel’s discernment of Gabriel (Dan. 9:21,22).
• Paul’s angelic instruction on the ship (Acts 27:21-24).
• The shepherd’s view of the heralding angels (Luke 2:13-15).
• Zacharias and Mary’s discernment of Gabriel (Luke 1:11,
26-28).
• Peter’s prison encounter (Acts 12:6,7).
• John on the Island of Patmos (Rev. 1:1).
Every
one of these accounts describes a supernatural glimpse into the spiritual
realm granted by the Spirit through His sovereignly dispensed discerning
gift.
The Revelation Gift of the Word of Knowledge
1 Corinthians 14:24-25
24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters,
he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all;
25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his
face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.
When
the Holy Spirit imparts the charismatic gift of the word of knowledge,
spiritually imparted facts concerning a person, place, or thing that only
God could know are made known to the gift’s recipient. The knowledge
of this prophetic gifting can be supernaturally revealed by angelic visitation
or through direct divine impartation of an impressive spiritual thought.
It can also be endowed through a vision or a dream.
Scriptural examples of this gift’s impartation include:
• Elisha’s knowing of the King of Aram’s every move
(2 Kings 6:12).
• Jesus’ ministry to the Samaritan woman at the well (John
4:29).
• Peter’s knowledge of Ananias and Saphira’s sin (Acts
5:1-10).
• John’s letters to the seven asia minor churches
0 recorded in Revelation 1-3.
Revelation 2:10
10 'Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about
to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will
have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you
the crown of life.
The Revelation Gift of the Word of Wisdom
Wisdom
to understand life’s new situations is one fruit of wise living.
It can come through listening to the situational advice given the young
by the more aged and through encountering life’s situations for
yourself. Accordingly, the charismatic gifting of the word of wisdom is
a supernatural impartation of the mind of God concerning a future event.
It is a word involving something that hasn’t yet happened for the
purpose of directing the actions of the one to whom it is addressed. When
this revelation gift is imparted, facts concerning people, places, or
things in the future are revealed.
Examples of this gift in Scripture include:
• David’s revelation of Jesus’ sufferings (Ps. 22:1-18).
• Isaiah’s revelation of the day of the Lord, Christ’s
crucifixion, and the Millennium (Is. 2; 53; 65:17-ff).
• Daniel’s revelation of future nations and the Day of the
Lord (Dan. 7-12).
• Ezekiel’s prophetic view of Israel’s restoration,
Battle of Gog, and the millennial temple (Ezek. 37-40).
• Micah’s revelation of the Millennium’s “mountain
of the Lord” and Jesus’ Bethlehem birth (Mic.4; 5).
• Zephaniah’s view of the Day of the Lord (1-3).
• Zechariah’s view of the Day of the Lord and Millennium (Zech.
12-14).
• Phillip’s angelically delivered word concerning
the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:26).
• Paul’s warning and encouragement concerning the ship’s
voyage (Acts 27:10).
• Revelation’s disclosures of the end of the church age, including
the Great Tribulation, Second Coming of Christ, Millennial
kingdom, and the new heavens and new earth.
Viewed
in the center of His church typed as burning lamps, Jesus’ pure
white hair, fiery eyes, face and loins, typed Him in an instant with the
purging holy judgment and supreme righteousness of God. His golden girdle
revealed Him in His High priestly attire. His white-wool hair and burnished,
fiery being are allegorical of His purity and holiness. (Daniel saw the
same in Daniel 7:9.) The sound of His thundering voice (like the sound
of many waters) spoke of power. The sharp two-edged sword coming out of
His mouth are typed by Paul in Ephesians 6:17 and Hebrews 4:12 as the
spoken Word of God.
Other impacting prophetic visions in Scripture include:
• God’s revelation of himself to Abraham as a smoking oven
and torch when establishing the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 15:12-18).
• Joseph’s
nation impacting dreams in which Israel and Joseph were allegorized as
sheaves of wheat; the sun, moon and stars (Gen. 37:1-6).
• Prophetic
dreams given Pharaoh and his chief cupbearer and baker interpreted by
Joseph giving him the favor needed to fulfill his prophetic dreams (Gen.
40; 41).
• Some twelve
hundred years after Joseph, the prophet Ezekiel received an “interactive”
prophecy concerning Israel’s national restoration through the parabolic
picture of an assembling skeletal man (Ezek. 37:1-12).
• Daniel’s
many symbolic visions of the nations surrounding Israel and their prophetic
destiny (Dan 7, 9,11).
• Prophetic
dreams given Nebuchadnezzar interpreted by Daniel,giving him the favor
necessary to reveal God to Neubchadnezzar andevery other successive captivity
king (Dan 2 ).
Peter’s
vision of unclean animals that opened his heart to the inclusion of Gentiles
is the best example of this peculiar mode of revelation in New Testament
texts. It appeared three times, included a soundtrack, and was immediately
followed up by a visit from a Roman centurion’s servant who was
instructed to contact Peter by an angel.
What God Has Declared as Holy
Let No Man Declare Now as Unclean
Acts 10:9-16
9
And on the next day, as they were on their way, and approaching the city,
Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.
10 And he became hungry, and was desiring to eat; but
while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance;
11
and he beheld the sky opened up, and a certain object like a great sheet
coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground,
12
and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures
of the earth and birds of the air.
13 And a voice came to him, "Arise, Peter, kill
and eat!"
Anatomy of a Vision
The
best teaching seminar on prophetic symbolism in John’s prophetic
text is the vision he received in Revelation 12. The vision is a
brief study of church history, including some of our eschatological
end.
It
is only in this prophetic movie that the church is given allegorical
insight into Satan’s heavenly rebellion that banished a third of
heaven’s angels. We are also shown their eschatological banishment
from the “heavens” that will signal Satan’s waning time
on earth.
The woman
the vision surrounds is clearly Israel. Clothed brightly in the sun, John
views her standing over the moon in a symbolic representation of Israel’s
chosen calling as God’s earthly light. She is crowned with the twelve
Abrahamic tribes, represented as stars (messengers), as she agonizes in
the pangs of labor to birth Israel’s Messiah. Study the movie carefully
and you will see Satan’s infamous identification with the dragon;
the third of his angels who followed him; the birth of Jesus and Herod’s
attempt to murder Him; the Messiah’s resurrection; and a view of
future events concerning the Great Tribulation and deliverance of the
woman during it.
Revelation 12:1-17
1 And a great
sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under
her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars;
2 and she was with
child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.
3 And another sign
appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads
and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.
4 And his tail swept
away a third of the stars of heaven, and threw them to the earth. And
the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that
when she gave birth he might devour her child.
5 And she gave birth
to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron;
and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.
6 And the woman
fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that
there she might be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.
7 And there was
war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. And
the dragon and his angels waged war,
8 and they were
not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.
9 And the great
dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and
Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth,
and his angels were thrown down with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice
in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom
of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser
of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God
day and night.
11 "And they overcame him because
of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and
they did not love their life even to death.
12 "For this reason, rejoice,
O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because
the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has
only a short time."
13 And when the dragon saw that
he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth
to the male child.
14 And the two wings of the
great eagle were given to the woman, in order that she might fly into
the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times
and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.
15 And the serpent poured water
like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause
her to be swept away with the flood.
16 And the earth helped the
woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the
dragon poured out of his mouth.
17 And the dragon was enraged
with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring,
who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
Key Words
in verse 6 are also a significant component of this revelation. Three
and one half years is a consistent amount of time repeated in eschatology
determining the time-span of the Great Tribulation.
One Thousand Two Hundred and Sixty Days (3 1/2 Years)
3.5 in Daniel
Study
last issue’s Midtribulation Rapture position and you will discover
that it will be in the middle (3.5 years) of Daniel’s last prophesied
seven years (Seventieth Week) that the “one who makes desolate (antichrist)”
comes on the scene (Daniel 9:27). Roughly three and one half years (1,290
days or 43 months) will then transpire until the antichrist’s
Abomination of Desolation is fulfilled (Daniel 12:11). After that “ever-
lasting righteousness” will commence (Daniel 9:24). And John's
New Testament Revelation helps us date the week.
The Witnesses and
the Women
A week
in Daniel's prophetic language interprets out to seven years. A time
in both Daniel and John's revelations equals out to one year; times two
years; a half a time, a half-year.
Daniel 9:27
27 "And he will make a firm covenant with
the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put
a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations
will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one
that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."
Daniel 12:7
7 And I heard the man dressed in linen, who
was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his
left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be
for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they finish
shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed.
Revelation 12:14
14 And the
two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, in order that she
might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a
time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.
A
time, times, and half a time therefore equal three and one half years.
Connect key words in chapter 12 with Revelation 11 and you discover God’s
witnesses will be granted authority to prophesy twelve hundred and sixty
days—or three and one half years. They will the lie dead in Jerusalem
before their resurrection/rapture for three and one half days.
3.5 and the Woman
And now
in Revelation 12:6 Jesus Christ’s Tribulation era church is shown
to be protected for one thousand two hundred and sixty days—or three
and one half years.
Protected
from what? From Satan, who has now come into prominence in John’s
prophetic book.
15 And the serpent poured water
like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause
her to be swept away with the flood.
16 And the earth helped
the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which
the dragon poured out of his mouth.
17 And the dragon was
enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her
offspring, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony
of Jesus.
The symbolism
in verses 15 and 16 of the serpent pouring out water to sweep away the
woman is cosmological. That is, we see the earth created for man manipulated
by its Creator to stay off Satan’s drowning flood.
Isaiah 59:19
19
When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit
of the Lord will
lift up a standard against him.
John sees
the earth open its mouth to absorb Satan’s attempts at destruction, typed
as water, which enrages him even more. But the woman will be
supernaturally protected as Satan rages forward during the 3.5 year time
frame of her protection, because the vision reveals it to be so.
Seals, Trumpets,
and Bowls
When
the Book of Revelation’s infamous seals, trumpets, and bowls are
opened, a combination of literal and symbolic figures jump out on the
canvas, which again, can be distinguished when you know by the Spirit
what the Spirit is allowing John to see.
We’ll
take a look at the eschatological significance of these charismatic revelations
in the opening of Revelation’s infamous seals in this issue’s
next interpretive article entitled, “Apocalypse Now.” If you’ve
boned up on the Holy Spirit's Charismatic revelation gifts and studied
His prophetic snapshots in this article. And, if you’ve studied
our previous interpretive articles: “Interpreting the Rules of Revelation,”
and “Hunting for Key Words the Inductive Way,” you are ready
to take an intelligent look.
So come on. Look.
Eschatology Today Sr. Editor, Mark Norris
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