We are now living in a time and season of great darkness. The dragon beast has released a pandemic plague that has crossed the globe at a rapid rate. Fear and death seem to be the order of the day. Not only are the economies of the world changing but there is also change in the culture of humanity. The world has entered into a totally new level of spiritual warfare. The cashless society and the prospect of a new world order are no longer just contained in books but are becoming a reality in our lifetime. Events are moving at a fast pace as we are approaching the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The battle fought now is very real, as we have been warned in Ephesians 6:12: ‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,’ (KJV). This is an organised kingdom with different levels of power and authority, and they have an agenda to stop humanity coming to know God and to kill the life of the Son of God in us. Satan will use disguises and deception to imprison humanity in unbelief, doubt and fears. We haven’t been in this position before.
While I was meditating on this, I was drawn to the story of Mary and Martha and Lazarus. As a family, they too hadn’t been in the position they found themselves in before, with their brother dead and nothing but deep sorrow and grief, and full of questions. Where was Jesus; He had promised to come, hadn’t He? Jesus on the other hand knew the end from the beginning, and death wasn’t the end. Jesus knew by aligning with His Father’s will (John 5:19) that the glory of God would come. Jesus lived His life submitted to His Father’s will. He showed us the way to live by living in the Spirit and by being obedient to the Father; and that obedience would bring Him to die on the cross. Through His death the gate of heaven opened up for humanity. Death has been defeated and we, as His children, will not see death as eternity is now within us. Yet today we face the daily challenge of facing death.
The cross Peter referred to in Acts 5:30 was called a tree. Also Paul, in Galatians 3:13, is quoting Deuteronomy 21:23, which says that cursed is the man who hangs on a tree. Have you ever thought there might be a deeper meaning and revelation here? It is in the Garden of Eden that God forbids Adam, in Genesis 2:16-17, to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil because it brings death and separation from God, even though it looks good. It wasn’t Adam and Eve’s disobedience only that brought forth death, but the fruit of knowledge of good and evil. That is the source of Satan’s power, rooted in that tree. Yet today instead of being a book of Life, the Bible has become a study book: information upon information, doctrine after doctrine. Being politically correct has become the order of the day. People have become known by everything else instead of being known by their fruit.
Jesus broke the curse of that tree and with His arms outstretched He Reigns as King of Kings, full of Resurrection Life. When you look at the conversation with Martha, who believed Jesus could have raised Lazarus up in the last days, all that doctrine didn’t change her. Yet Our Lord, through His grace and love, brought her through the transition from where she was in her faith into a new level of experience.
Today God is bringing His people through this transitional period. Now He has our attention in order to bring us into new levels of faith, authority, revelation and power, as we align with His plans and purposes by turning away from that tree of death that produces formulas, traditions, habits, routines and, dare I say, rituals. But as we repent from indulging in the tree of knowledge of good and evil and come back to Him twenty-four hours a day in humility, we can then begin to enjoy living life without any of our control and become those who live dependant on Him. Where He has placed you today is part of the road to your destiny; Jesus alone holds the key to your Life.
According to the Jewish calendar, we are now in the year 5781. This is the decade of His Voice. The Devil has got everyone wearing masks. Use your voice, speak and act as Jesus would in your sphere of influence and see the glory of God. We have the Resurrection Life with us. You don’t know how much power and authority you have till you use it! The call is out today from our Lord Jesus Christ, ‘come to me!’ Will we seek life in our traditions, religious ways and logical mindsets, or will we choose to come to the One who is life (John 5:40)? We serve a living resurrected Christ not an historical Christ, who never said ‘goodbye,’ but ‘I am with you!’