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Cramming for the All-Nighter or a Delighter in the Day of the Lord?

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Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick! Who can know it [perceive, understand, be acquainted with his own heart and mind]?

Since our heart, or soul, is deceitful above all things it most definitely can deceive us into believing we are believing and trusting in Jesus – when in reality we are really trusting ourselves. Our soul has the potential to deceive us into believing we are worshipping, serving, and obeying Jesus – when in reality we are simply serving ourselves. For this reason we seek God. Not only does Scripture repeatedly exhort us to seek God, it provides us with appointed holy days designed purposefully to readjust our focus (if the Christian believes all the Word of God – including the Law – is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness – see 2 Tim. 3:16-17) to return to the true center of the universe: God Almighty! (Not SELF) Many of us have participated in the month of Elul’ focus on confession, repentance, and seeking God but now the focus narrows as we approach the highest of all holy days: Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur begins on Wednesday, October 1 concluding Thursday October 2, 2025. This is considered the highest of all holy days on God’s Biblical calendar. Why? The fall festival of Sukkot (or Tabernacles). Sukkot is a prophetic signpost alerting Jew and Christian when the Messiah is coming to “tabernacle” with mankind. Our Father, in His mercy and love, provides us with an opportunity to prepare to appear before Him. Monday, September 22, alerted us to the 10 Day countdown (the number ten being a prophetic symbol of judgment) to prepare for Yom Kippur and ultimately, to prepare for Jesus’ Return. Now I did not believe the church was about to be raptured on September 23, 2025. If I had of known when this was about to take place it would put me above Jesus (Who said He didn’t know the day the Father appointed – see Mt. 24:36).

Why does any of this matter? Let me explain it this way. I used to be a horrible student waiting till the last minute to cram for a test. In truth I hadn’t learned a thing. Quite simply I was doing what ever it took to pass the test and continue in my ignorance. Yet Matthew 24:42, 44, 46 states: Watch therefore [give strict attention, be cautious and active], for you do not know in what kind of a day [whether a near or remote one] your Lord is coming….. 44 You also must be ready therefore, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him…. 46 Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) is that servant whom, when his master comes, he will find so doing.

In other words don’t be waiting the “night” before to prepare for the test. Live a lifestyle of learning. Jesus provided us with another parable to alert us to what we should be doing: Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.2 Five of them were foolish (thoughtless, without forethought) and five were wise (sensible, intelligent, and prudent).3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they did not take any [extra] oil with them; 4 But the wise took flasks of oil along with them [also] with their lamps. (Matthew 25:1-3)

The oil in this parable is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The Wise virgins didn’t wait till the last minute to prepare for the return of the Bridegroom. They had spent their time collecting extra oil. How do you get more of the Spirit? It’s no coincidence that Jesus spent some of the final days of His earthly ministry in a place called Gethsemane. The Garden of Gethsemane was where Jesus prayed through to the Father’s Will regarding His crucifixion and resurrection. Here Jesus gathered extra Oil from the Spirit for the biggest test of His life. It’s no coincidence that this garden is where olive presses manufactured the oil sed to anoint kings and priests. Jesus wasn’t spending the night before the “test” cramming for extra oil. His entire life had been pressed in surrender to the Father’s Word and Will. Through His submission and obedience He had been gathering the Oil of the Spirit. He was a true “learner” of His Father in every way – not waiting till the last minute to regurgitate information He thought the Teacher wanted to hear. (See Hebrews 5:8-9) Jesus not only mastered the course laid out before Him He received His doctorate in order to teach others His Ways.

A New Normal

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2 Kings 1:7-10 The king asked, What was the man like who came to meet you saying these things? 8 They answered, He was a hairy man with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.9 Then the king sent to Elijah a captain of fifty men with his fifty [to seize him]. He found Elijah sitting on a hilltop and said, Man of God, the king says, Come down.10 Elijah said to the captain of fifty, If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty. And fire fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

Years ago I was hiking above the mountains of Boulder, Colorado. As I looked to the south, towards the Pikes Peak – Colorado Springs region, I had a vision. In the vision I became aware that there was a showdown taking place between the true Followers of Jesus and the satanists that “coven-ed” (i.e., a coven of satanists) in that region. (Satanists and witches love high places). In the vision we had become an Elijah Company, challenging the satanists to call fire down from Heaven as Elijah had in 1 Kings 18 demonstrating Who was truly God. The reality of the vision scared me as I imagined myself being one of its participants.

In the passage from 2 Kings 1, King Ahaziah was dying and had sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub whether he would live or die. Jesus used this title to speak of satan (most translate it as Beelzebul) prince of demons, or lord of the flies. What’s interesting is that the King asks the messengers who had encountered the prophet, What was the man like? The messengers, and king shallowly described the prophet by his appearance – not by who he was. Which was unfortunate for the king and the soldiers he sent to arrest Elijah. If they had been listening, and looking with spiritual eyes they would have quickly discerned this was the man who called fire to fall from the sky on a water-logged sacrifice, consuming it and the rocky altar it was placed on. This was the man who called for the slaughter of over 900 prophets and priests of two false gods. He prayed that it wouldn’t rain for three and half years and it did not rain till he gave the word. This was no man. He was the Man of God. John 18:4-6 records a similar situation when Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane on the eve of His crucifixion. When the temple police came to arrest Jesus, He inquired Whom they were seeking? They replied, Jesus the Nazarene. When Jesus said to them, I AM, they fell to the ground. It’s my opinion that they fell to the ground simply because they were well aware of this story, and did not wish to become a living sacrifice. In Acts 4, Peter and John were sequestered to appear on trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin and interrogated by asking, By what sort of power or by what kind of authority did [such people as] you do this [healing]? Peter responded with such power that Acts 4:13 notes: Now when they saw the boldness and unfettered eloquence of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and untrained in the schools [common men with no educational advantages], they marveled; and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

Jesus said to His disciples, If you have seen Me you have seen the Father. The fullness of the Godhead dwells within you. What’s blocking others from seeing who Jesus is in you? When someone queries, What are they like? Will they describe how you dress, or your physical demeanor? Or will they recognize you have been with Jesus? Are you scared to be identified with the Elijah company or are you ready for that to be your normal – because you have walked with Jesus in the Fire?