Continuation of the Call Plis like and share CHAPTER 2 Two Witnesses For days I had been in a deep depression. Everything seemed so bleak. Even the very sound of people irritated me, and any disruption to what I wanted to do, angered me. I thought the worst of everyone and had to fight to contain the black thoughts that arose in me toward them. I felt as if I had slipped into hell and was sliding deeper into it each day. I finally cried out to the Lord and almost immediately found myself standing in front of the door with Wisdom standing next to me. “Lord, I am sorry. I slipped from Your presence all the way into hell it seems.” “The whole world still lies in the power of the evil one,” He replied, “and you walk on the edge of hell every day. Through the midst of it, there is a path of life. There are deep ditches on either side of the path of life, so you must not deviate from the narrow way.” “Well, I fell into one of the ditches and could not find my way out.” “No one can find their own way out of those ditches. Following your own way is how you fall into them, and your own way will never lead you out. I am the only way out. When you fall, do not waste your time trying to figure everything out, for you will only sink deeper into the mire. Just ask for help, I am your Shepherd, and I will always help you when you call on Me.” “Lord, I don’t want to waste time trying to figure everything out, but I would really like to understand how I fell so far, so fast. What caused me to turn from the path of life and fall into the ditch like that? You are Wisdom, and I know that it is wisdom to ask.” “It is wisdom to know when to ask for understanding and when to just ask for help. Here it is wisdom for you to ask. Only when you are in My presence can you understand. Your understanding will always be twisted when you are depressed, and you will never accurately see truth from that place. Depression is the deception that comes from seeing the world from your perspective. Truth comes from seeing the world through My eyes from where I sit, at the right hand of the Father. Like the cherubim in Isaiah 6, those who abide in My presence will say, ‘The whole earth is filled with His glory. I remembered how as a new believer, I had read this text and actually thought that these cherubim were deceived. I could not understand how they could say “The whole earth is filled with His glory,” when the whole earth seemed to be filled with wars, disease, child abuse, treachery and evil on every side. Then the Lord spoke to me one day and said, “The reason that these cherubim say that the whole earth is filled with My glory is because they dwell in My presence. When you dwell in My presence, you will not see anything but glory.” “Lord, I remember you teaching me that, but I have not lived it very well. I have spent much of my life seeing things from the dark side. I guess I have spent much of my life sitting in one of those ditches beside the path of life rather than walking on it.” “That is true,” the Lord responded. “Every now and then you would get up and take a few paces, but then slide off into the ditch on the other side. Even so, you have made some progress, but now it is time for you to stay on the path. You do not have any more time to waste in those ditches.” The Lord’s kindness and patience seemed overwhelming as He continued. “What caused you to slide into the ditch this last time?” He began. After thinking about it, I could see that I had become consumed with maintaining the feeling rather than knowing the Source of the feeling. “I took My eyes off of you,” I confessed. “I know it seems too simple, but this is all that you did, and taking your eyes off of Me is all that you have to do to drift from the path of life. When you abide in Me, you will see nothing but glory. This does not mean that you will not see the conflicts, confusion, darkness and deception that are in the world, but when you see them, you will always see My answer to them. When you abide in Me you will always see how truth prevails over deception and you will see the manner in which My kingdom will come.” “Lord, when I am here, this is all more real to me than anything I have experienced on earth, but when I am on earth, all that is here seems like an unreal dream. I know that this is the true reality and that earth is temporary. I also know that if this place were more real to me on earth, I would be able to walk in your wisdom more and stay on the path of life. You have said it is always wisdom to ask. I ask you to make this realm more real to me when I am on the earth. Then I will be able to walk more perfectly in your ways. I also ask you to help me to convey this reality to others. The darkness is growing great on earth, and there are few who have vision. I ask You to give us more of Your, power, let us see more of Your glory and let us know the true judgment that comes from Your presence.” “When you start to live by what you see with the eyes of your heart, you will walk with Me, and you will see My glory. The eyes of your heart are your window into this realm of the Spirit. Through the eyes of your heart, you may come to My Throne of Grace, at any time. If you will come to Me, I will be more real to you. I will also trust you with more power.” As He spoke, I was compelled to turn and look at the multitudes of kings, princes, friends and servants of the Lord who were all standing in the Hall of Judgment. The wonder and glory of all that occurred there were so great that I would have been satisfied to stay forever. Again I was astounded to think that this place was just the beginning of heaven. But even with all of its wonders, the real wonder of heaven was the presence of the Lord. Here in the beginning of heaven, He was Wisdom and He was the Judge, which are, the same. “Lord,” I inquired, “Here you are Wisdom and the Judge, but how are you known in the other realms of heaven?” “I AM Wisdom and I AM the Judge in every realm, but I AM also much more. Because you have asked, I will show you who I AM. Even so, you have only begun to know Me as Wisdom and Judge. In due time, you will see more of Me, but there is more for you to learn about My judgments first.” The First Witness “God’s judgments are the first step into the heavenly realm,” a voice said that I had not heard before. “When the Judgment Day comes, the King will be known to all, and His judgments will be understood. Then the earth will be set free. You asked for His judgments to come to your own life, now begin asking for them to come to the world.” I turned to see who had spoken. He was of great stature and brilliance, but a little less than the others I had met in the Hall of Judgment. I assumed that he was an angel, but then he said: “I am Lot. You have been chosen to live in difficult times just as I was chosen. As Abraham lived and interceded for Sodom, you must do the same. During the times when great perversion is released upon the earth, men and women of great faith will also arise. Like Abraham, you must use your faith to intercede for the wicked, and you must also witness the judgment of God coming upon the earth. The Lord cannot abide the increasing evil of mankind much longer. I was silent and many perished. You must not be like me—you must not be silent.” “Tell me more. How do I warn them?” I asked. “I thought that I would be a warning just by being different. Being different is not enough! The power of the Holy Spirit to convict of sin is released by the spoken word. What the Lord did to Sodom, He did as an example so that others would not have to be destroyed in this way. You can warn those who are headed for destruction by telling them my story. There are now many cities whose evil He will not abide much longer. If those who know the Lord do not arise, there will be many more like Sodom very soon. “The Judgment Day is coming. All of creation will then know the wisdom of His judgments, but you must not wait for that day. You must seek His judgments every day, and you must make them known on the earth. If His people will walk in His judgments, many on the earth will know of them before the great Day of Judgment. By this many more will be saved. It is His desire that none should be lost, and that none of His people suffer loss on that day. “The people of the earth are blind. They will not see if you simply try to be a witness. The message of judgment must go forth in words. The Holy Spirit anoints words, but the words must be spoken in order for Him to anoint them. “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. His people have come to know something of His righteousness, but few know His justice. His throne will abide in His house, therefore judgment must begin with His own house. “You must live by the truth that you have learned here, and you must teach it. His judgments are coming. If His people will walk in His judgment before the Judgment Day, that day will be glorious for them. If they do not live by them, they, too, will know the sorrow that the world is about to know. His judgments would not be true if they were not the same for all. Through you and others, He will entreat His people again to judge themselves lest they be judged. Then you must entreat the world.” Lot directed me to look at the door before which I was standing. It still seemed dark and uninviting, like the doctrines of God’s judgment, I thought. The glory of the Lord that surrounded us made it seem even more bleak. Even so, I now knew how glorious His judgment really is. I had also come to understand that almost every door through which He leads us looks bleak at first and then becomes glorious. It almost seems that the bleaker the door looks, the more glorious it will be on the other side. Just passing through His doors takes faith, but they always lead to more glory. Lot continued with my train of thought. As I had already learned, in this place thoughts are broadcast to all. “Through that door, you will experience more of His glory. His glory is not just the brilliance that you see around Him or in this place, nor is it merely the feelings that you have while abiding in Him. His glory is also revealed through His judgments. This is not the only way that it is revealed, but it is this way that you were called here to understand. Through that door, you will learn of another way to see His glory. It is by seeing His glory that His people will be changed, and He is about to show them His glory. When they see His glory, they will rejoice in all of His ways, even in His judgments.” The Second Witness Then a second voice spoke, “I, too, confirm this truth. ‘The judgment of God is about to be revealed on the earth. Even so, ‘Mercy triumphs over judgment.’ The Lord always extends mercy before judgment. If you will warn the people that His judgments are near, His mercy will save many.” I did not recognize the one speaking, but it was another man of great stature and nobility, with a brilliance that indicated a high rank. “I am Jonah,” he said. “When you understand the Lord’s judgments, you understand His ways. However, even if you understand them, it does not mean that you agree with them. Understanding is necessary, but it is not enough. The Lord also wants you to agree with Him. “You have often asked for the Lord’s presence to go with you. That is wisdom. I was a prophet, and I knew Him, yet I tried to flee from His presence. That was a great folly, but not as foolish as you may think. I had come to understand the great burning that comes with His presence. I had come to understand the responsibility that comes from being close to Him. In His presence, all wood, hay and stubble is consumed. When you draw close to Him with hidden sin in your heart, it will drive you to insanity, as many have learned through the ages. I was not trying to flee from the will of the Lord as much as I was fleeing from His presence. “When you ask for the reality of His presence, you are asking for the reality that you have seen here to be with you. Heaven is your true home, and it is right for you to yearn for this. Even so, He is a holy God, and if you will walk closely with Him, you, too, must be holy. The closer that you get to Him, the more deadly hidden sin can be.” “I understand this,” I replied. “That is why I asked for the Lord’s judgments in my own life.” “Now I must ask you this,” Jonah continued. “Will you seek Him? Will you come to Him?” “Of course,” I responded. “I desire His presence more than anything. There is nothing greater than being in His presence. I know that many of my motives for wanting to be with Him are selfish, but being with Him helps to set me free from that kind of selfishness. I do want to be with Him. I will come to Him.” “Will you?” Jonah continued. “Until now you have been even more foolish than I was. You can come boldly before His Throne of Grace at any time and for any need, but rarely do you come. Yearning for His presence is not enough. You must come to Him. If you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you. Why do you not do it? You are always as close to Him as you want to be. “Many have come to know and follow His ways, but they do not come to Him. In the times that you will soon enter, they will depart from His ways because they did not come to I urn. You have laughed at my folly, which was great, but yours is even greater than mine. However, I do not laugh at your folly—I weep for you. Your Savior weeps for you; He intercedes for you continually. When He weeps, all of heaven weeps. I weep because I know how foolish His people are. I know you because you are just like me, and like me, the church has run to Tarshish, desiring to trade with the world even more than sitting before His glorious throne. At the same time, the sword of God’s judgments are hanging over the earth. I weep for the church because I know you so well.” “I am guilty!” I pleaded. “What can we do?” “Great storms are coming upon the earth,” Jonah continued. “I slept when the storm came upon the ship that I was in while running from the Lord. The church is also sleeping. I was the prophet of God, but the heathen had to wake me up. So it is with the church. The heathen have more discernment than the church at this time. They know when the church is going the wrong way, and they are shaking the church, trying to wake you up so that you will call on your God. “Soon the leaders of the world will cast you overboard, just as the men in that ship had to do to me. They will not let you keep going in the way you are headed. This is the grace of God to you. He will then discipline you with a great beast that comes up out of the sea. It will swallow you for a time, but you will be vomited out of it. Then you will preach His message.” “Is there no other way?” I asked. “Yes, there is another way,” Jonah replied, “although this has come and is coming. Some are already in the belly of the beast. Some are about to be cast overboard, and some are still sleeping, but almost all have been on the ship going the wrong way, seeking to trade with the world. However, you can judge yourself and He will not have to judge you. If you will wake yourself up, repent and go the way that He sends you, you will not have to be swallowed by the beast.” “Is the beast to which you are referring the one in Revelation” I asked. “It is the same. As you read in that chapter, this beast is given to make war with the saints and to overcome them. This will happen to all who do not repent. But know that those who are overcome by this first beast will be vomited out of it before the next beast comes, the one that comes up out of the earth. Even so, it will be much easier for you if you repent. It is much better not to be swallowed by the beast. “Just as Lot’s story is a warning to those who are given over to perversion, my story is a warning to the Lord’s prophet, the church. The church is running from the presence of the Lord. It is running to activity in place of seeking the Lord’s presence. You may call your activity ‘Ministry,’ but it is actually running from the presence of the lord. As I have said, the church is running to Tarshish so that it can trade with the world and seek the treasures of the sea, while the greater treasures—the treasures of heaven—few are seeking. “The sin of wanting to trade with the world has entangled the church, just as I was entangled in the belly of the beast with the weeds wrapped around my head. The weeds, the cares of the world, have wrapped themselves around the mind of the church. It took me three days to turn to the Lord because I was so entangled. It is taking Christians much longer. Their minds are so entangled with the world, and they have fallen to such depths, that many have no hope of getting free. You must turn to the Lord instead of away from Him. He can untangle any mess, and He can bring you up from the greatest depths. Run from Him no longer! Run to Him!” Then Lot added, “Remember the mercy that the Lord had for Nineveh. He had mercy because Jonah preached. He did not live among them and try to be a witness: He preached the Word of God. Power is in the Word. There is no darkness so dark that His Word cannot penetrate it. Many will repent and be saved if you will go to those to whom the Lord sends you and give His warning.” Then Jonah continued, “When you fall short of the Lord’s grace and sin entangles you, it is hard for you to come to Him. You must learn to always run to the Lord at such times, not away from Him. When you go through that door, you will enter the times when the Lord’s power and glory will be released on the earth such as He has not done since the beginning of time. All of heaven has been waiting for the things that you are about to see. It will also be the time of the greatest darkness. You cannot endure either the glory or the darkness without His grace. You will not walk in His ways without coming to Him daily. You must not only seek His presence, but you must abide in His presence continually. “Those who have tried to follow Him by just seeking Him once a week in a church service while they spend the rest of the week seeking the world will soon fall away. Those who call upon His name thinking that He is their servant also will soon fall away. He is the Lord of all and all will soon know this! First, His own people must know it, so the judgment is going to begin with His own household. “It is presumption to only call upon the Lord when you want something. You should call on Him to ask what He wants, not what you want. Many of those who have some faith also have great presumption; the line between the two can be very thin. When God’s judgments come to His own household, His people will learn the difference between faith and presumption. Those who try to do His work without Him will fall away. Many have faith in the Lord, but only know I Him from a distance. These do great works in His name, but He does not know them. Those who have known Him from afar will soon weep over their folly. “God does not exist for the sake of His house—His house exists for Him. In His patience, He has been waiting outside of His own house, knocking, calling, but few have opened to him. Those who hear the Lord’s voice and open to Him will it with Him at His table. They will also sit with Him on His throne, and they will see the world as He sees it. Presumption cannot sit with Him at His table, nor on His throne. Presumption is the pride that caused the first fall, and all of the darkness and evil that are about to be reaped on the earth have come because of it. “When Satan saw God’s glory, he turned to the way of presumption. Satan dwelt in His presence and still turned from Him. This is the greatest danger for those who see His glory and know His presence. Do not become presumptuous because of what you have seen. Never become proud because of your visions: This will always lead to a fall.” Merciful Judgment As Jonah spoke, each word was like a hammer blow. I was appalled by my sin. Not only was I ashamed of the way in which I had thought of him, but I was ashamed even more for mocking Jonah for the very same things that I, too, had done. Even though I tried desperately to stand, my knees could not hold me up any longer, and I fell to my face. His words were like being flailed with a whip, but at the same time, the pain was welcome. I knew I needed to hear them, and I did not want Jonah to stop teaching me until all of my evil ways were exposed. The exposing power of the words was great, but it was much more than that. There was a power on them that made any excuse seem appalling. They passed every barrier and went straight to my heart. As I lay on the ground, I felt as though I were undergoing surgery. Then Lot interjected, “Many believers have made falling down in the Lord’s presence frivolous and meaningless, but the church is about to fall under the same power that felled you—conviction. If you fall when you cannot stand then your falling will result in your standing for truth.” Still I did not want to move. I did not want to do anything until I had firmly grasped what Jonah had said. I did not want the conviction to go away until it had done its work. They seemed to understand as there was silence for a time, and then Lot continued. “Jonah had the greatest preaching anointing yet given to a man. Without miracles or signs, when he preached, one of the most wicked cities that ever existed repented. If Jonah had preached in Sodom, that city would have remained until this day. The power of Jonah’s preaching is a sign. When he awakened and was vomited out of the beast, he had this power. This is the power of preaching that will be given to the church in the last days. This is the power of conviction that the Lord is waiting to give His church. When she is vomited out of the beast that has swallowed her, even the most evil will listen to her words. This is the sign of Jonah that will be given to the church. The words of those who experience resurrection from the deep will have power.” I was still stunned. Even so, I was determined to run to the Lord and not away from Him, so I turned to look directly at Wisdom. “Lord, I, too, can fall away in what is coming! I am guilty of all of these things. I have seen so much of your glory, and still I fall to the traps and diversions that keep me from drawing close to you. Please help me in this. I desperately need Your wisdom, but I also need Your mercy. Please send mercy and help us before You send the judgment that we deserve. I ask for the mercy of the cross.” Wisdom answered, “You will be given mercy because you have asked for it. I will give you more time. My mercy to you is time. Use this time wisely, for soon there will be no more. The time is near when I can delay no longer. Every day that I delay My judgment is mercy. See it as that and use it wisely. “I would always rather show mercy than judgment, but the end is near. The darkness is growing and the time of great trouble will be upon you soon. If you do not use the time I give you, the coming troubles will overtake you. If you use the time that I give you wisely, you will overcome and prevail. There is one characteristic that is common to the overcomes in every age—they did not waste their time! “In My mercy, I am giving you this warning. Warn My people that in My mercy, I will no longer let them presume on My mercy. In My mercy, My discipline will be upon them. Warn them not to harden their hearts, but to repent and turn to Me. “It is true that you, too, can fall away. Your love will grow cold and you will deny Me, if you do not deny yourself and take up your cross every day. Those who seek to save their own life will lose it, but those who lose their life for My sake will find true life. What I will give to My people will be a life of even more abundance than they have asked for, even in their presumption. “When I have finished judging My own household, I will then send My judgments upon the whole earth. In My righteous judgment, I will show a distinction between My people and those who do not know Me. Now the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. Now he rewards unrighteousness and resists the righteous. When the Judgment Day comes, the whole world will know that I reward righteousness and resist the proud. “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of My throne. It is because of My justice that I discipline more severely those who know the truth but do not live by it. I have brought you here to see My judgments. You have gained understanding here, but this will be an even greater judgment to you If you do not walk in what you have seen. To whom much is given, much will be required. Here you have known the mercy of My judgments. If you continue to allow sin to entangle you, you will know the severity of My judgment. Many of My people still love sin. Those who love sin and their own comfort and prosperity more than Me will soon know My severity. These will not stand in the times that are coming. “I will show severity to the proud and mercy to the humble. The greatest distraction of My people has not been the difficulties, but the prosperity. If My people would seek Me during times of prosperity, I could trust them with even more of the true wealth of My kingdom. I desire for you to have an abundance for every good deed. I want your generosity to overflow. My people will prosper in earthly riches in the times ahead, even in the times of trouble, but tile riches will be from Me and not the prince of this present evil age. If I cannot trust you with earthly riches, how can I trust you with the powers of the age to come? You must learn to seek Me as much in prosperity as when you are in poverty. All that I entrust to you is still Mine. I will only entrust more to those who are more obedient. “Know that the prince of darkness also gives prosperity. He continues to make the same offer to My people that he made to Me. He will give the kingdoms of this world to those who will bow down and worship him and serve him by living according to his ways. There is a prosperity of the world and there is the prosperity of My kingdom. The coming judgments will help My people to know the difference. The riches of those who have prospered by serving the prince of this evil age and using the ways of this evil age will be a millstone that hangs about their neck when the floods come. All will soon be judged by the truth. Those who prosper by Me do not compromise truth in order to prosper. “My judgment begins with My household to teach you discipline so that you will walk in obedience. The wages of sin is death, and the wages of righteousness are peace, joy, glory and honor. All are about to receive their worthy wages. This is the judgment, and it is justice that it begins with My own household.” Then Lot and Jonah spoke together, “Behold now the kindness and the severity of God.’ If you are going to know Him more, you are going to know both of these more.” Conviction was coming upon me like a cascade, but it was a cascade of living water. It was cleansing and refreshing, and it was difficult. I also knew that His correction would preserve me through what I was about to encounter after entering through the door. I desperately wanted all of the correction I could get before I entered it. I knew that I would need His correction, and I was right.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Jul 2013 07:37:18 +0000
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