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Tsunami of the Spirit?

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“Democracy is in jeopardy at this very moment, we are in danger of dictatorships in most countries of the world. Democracy as such seems to be breaking down before our eyes.” Sounds like something ringing from our headlines today. When was it spoken? May 24, 1978 by the great British preacher, Martin Loyd-Jones. he continued preaching stating, “And there are many other kingdoms that I could mention. Another was of course democracy. We were told that the ultimate form of government was democracy. We had got rid of oligarchies, we must get rid of monarchies and so on-and one is in great sympathy with most of these teachings and most of these ideas. Those terrible days of tyranny, of monarchs, of Lords in this country, people with power, money – power, landowners and others. Now, they said, we must get rid of all that. What we need is democracy, government of the people and by the people. This is the ultimate in government, democracy. But somebody said, well what if people do not agree? If you give power to the people what if people do not agree, what happens then? Ah, they said, everybody will respect the rule of law; that is an absolute. Of course if they do not respect the rule of law well then there is going to be a collapse. But everybody, they said, will respect the rule of law – so democracy is going to be the ultimate in society and it is coming in the twentieth century. What of this kingdom? Do you not read constantly of these dictatorships in various parts of the world, some of them on the right, some of them on the left?“

What was his core text? Hebrews 12:27 Now this expression, Yet once more, indicates the final removal and transformation of all [that can be] shaken—that is, of that which has been created—in order that what cannot be shaken may remain and continue. Everything that can be shaken will be shaken. These words echo a similar theme in Haggai 2:3-9 with some good news thrown into the mix: Haggai 2:3-9 Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Is not this in your sight as nothing in comparison to that?4 Yet now be strong, alert, and courageous, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord; be strong, alert, and courageous, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, alert, and courageous, all you people of the land, says the Lord, and work! For I am with you, says the Lord of hosts. 5 According to the promise that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit stands and abides in the midst of you; fear not.6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake and make tremble the [starry] heavens, the earth, the sea, and the dry land;7 And I will shake all nations and the desire and the precious things of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the Lord of hosts.8 The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine, says the Lord of hosts.9 The latter glory of this house [with its successor, to which Jesus came] shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place will I give peace and prosperity, says the Lord of hosts.
Did you catch the final part of that passage? “The latter glory of this house [with its successor, to which Jesus came] shall be greater than the former,…” The Wedding of Cana was a prophetic type, or symbol of the Last Days outpouring of the Spirit. In John 2 of the VOICE translation it states, Headwaiter: “This wine is delectable. Why would you save the most exquisite fruit of the vine? A host would generally serve the good wine first and, when his inebriated guests don’t notice or care, he would serve the inferior wine. You have held back the best for last.“ Peter referred to this last days Glory of God coming in his sermon at Pentecost when he said, But [instead] this is [the beginning of] what was spoken through the prophet Joel:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, God declares, that I will pour out of My Spirit upon all mankind, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy [telling forth the divine counsels] and your young men shall see visions (divinely granted appearances), and your old men shall dream [divinely suggested] dreams.18 Yes, and on My menservants also and on My maidservants in those days I will pour out of My Spirit, and they shall prophesy [telling forth the divine counsels and predicting future events pertaining especially to God’s kingdom].19 And I will show wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth beneath, blood and fire and smoking vapor;20 The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the obvious day of the Lord comes—that great and notable and conspicuous and renowned [day].21 And it shall be that whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord [invoking, adoring, and worshiping the Lord—Christ] shall be saved. Acts 2:16-21 In other words we haven’t seen anything yet. That’s almost hard to believe. I have seen the Father do quite a lot. From the Jesus Movement of the seventies and eighties, to the prophetic movement of the eighties, to the vineyard and renewal movements of the eighties and nineties – until now. Yet there has been a “holding back.” It appears to be the calm before the storm when a cataclysmic receding of tide empties the beaches of “water” for miles out to sea. Is this spiritual recession to be followed by a deafening silence? Is the world about to see a roar of the mighty, rushing Tsunami of the Spirit? Will it be climaxed with a mammoth sized, Holy Ghost wave of unforeseen proportions hurtling toward dumbfounded onlookers? What do we do? What can we do? Humble yourself and pray, “Lord teach me to ride this Wave of Your Holy Spirit!”

The Emerging Garden

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While on earth Jesus prayed in a garden, was crucified near the garden, was buried in a garden, and rose from the dead in that same garden. In fact His ascension took place near the garden and the Bible records He will return to split that garden in half. Why? Why was Jesus obsessed with the garden?

1 Corinthians 15:45-49 Thus it is written, The first man Adam became a living being (an individual personality); the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving Spirit [restoring the dead to life]. But it is not the spiritual life which came first, but the physical and then the spiritual. The first man [was] from out of earth, made of dust (earthly-minded); the second Man [is] the Lord from out of heaven. Now those who are made of the dust are like him who was first made of the dust (earthly-minded); and as is [the Man] from heaven, so also [are those] who are of heaven (heavenly-minded). And just as we have borne the image [of the man] of dust, so shall we and so let us also bear the image [of the Man] of heaven.

1 Corinthians 15:46 alludes to a method that Jesus, Paul, and those reading the New Testament knew well. The method of alluding to the shadows and types of Scripture. Paul states a principal: First comes the physical, then the spiritual. Physical truth will often point to greater spiritual truth and so it is throughout Scripture. Even though the biblical narrative is historically true and accurate it has hidden behind its words a symbolic or prophetic meaning. It’s laughable to me when well intentioned believers say that they are not into the mystical stuff of Christianity when the Bible is absolutely mystical. Mystical being defined as “having a spiritual meaning or reality that is neither apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence b : involving or having the nature of an individual’s direct subjective communion with God .” Thus Paul is able to allude to Jesus being the Last Adam. But the question remains unanswered: “Why was Jesus so preoccupied with the garden?” I believe that Jesus, as the Last Adam, was longing to return to the Father (just as any believer groans for their eternal home). Jesus was not simply looking for Himself but for all the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve who would be returned to the Garden of fellowship with the Father. Not being hindered by time, He saw the past, present and future in one moment anticipating our reconciliation and our manifestations as sons and daughters. Romans 8:19 For [even the whole] creation (all nature) waits expectantly and longs earnestly for God’s sons to be made known [waits for the revealing, the disclosing of their sonship]. If creation is waiting for us to be made known and revealed how much more Heaven? In Acts 2:16-17 the Apostle Peter alludes to a Last Days event that began at Pentecost and will have its final culmination before Jesus’ return:

But [instead] this is [the beginning of] what was spoken through the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in the last days, God declares, that I will pour out of My Spirit upon all mankind, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy [telling forth the divine counsels] and your young men shall see visions (divinely granted appearances), and your old men shall dream [divinely suggested] dreams. Pentecost was a beginning but not an end. In fact Jesus refers to this event in the Wedding of Cana. The Contemporary English Translation says it best in John 2:10 “The best wine is always served first. Then after the guests have had plenty, the other wine is served. But you have kept the best until last!” Jesus, our Bridegroom, will save the Best Wine of His Spirit, for the Last Days. In Genesis 3 there are several prophecies that were to occur in the future. Some of those “futures” were to occur quickly, but others would have a future beginning, and a future culmination. For example, Jesus, was going to be struck on the heel by satan, the serpent, and Jesus was going to crush his head. We saw this happen in part, but the fullness of that crushing will not come till the end of days. So also in this passage is another prophecy easily missed. Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: Its my opinion that the Voice is none other than the Word, and that the phrase “coolness” is actually the wrong interpretation. Most scholars are conflicted over how to interpret this passage from the original Hebrew. For the word used for “coolness” is the word from which is typically translated 2 words: wind and spirit. My personal opinion is that a possible reading of this verse should be: And they heard the Word of the Lord walking in the garden in day of the Spirit.”  I believe that it should be interpreted that way for the passage refers to a future awakening of the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve from hiding behind fig leaves from the Voice or the Word of the Lord – Jesus. When we quit hiding, drop our fig leaves, accepting His covering through His Blood (not simple animal skins), His Garden emerges in us. That emergence began with the Resurrection but its inauguration occurred at Pentecost. But their is a final days unveiling when we will rise up to His Purpose for our lives. We are not there yet but the day of His appearing is extremely close and we can only feel the tension building as the darkness increases and the Glory of the Lord rises upon His people. Maranatha Lord!