Three Transforming Experiences - Part 12
The Feast of Trumpets is the first event that sets in motion the culminating activities of the seventh month. This feast begins on the very first day of the month.
In the Bible, trumpets are voices. These two words are often used together, and trumpets are often used as metaphors to represent voices.
“And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.”—Exodus 19:19 (KJV)
“Cry aloud, do not hold back; Lift up your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression And to the house of Jacob their sins.”—Isaiah 58:1 (AMP)
“On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud** voice like a trumpet**”— Revelation 1:10 (NIV)
“After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And **the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, **said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’”— Revelation 4:1 (ESV)
“And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!”— Revelation 8:13 (KJV)
God has appointed three main voices to the New Testament Church: apostles, prophets, and teachers, as we are told in 1 Corinthians 12:28:
“In the church, God has appointed first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, the ability to help others, leadership skills, different kinds of tongues.” (CEB)
All of these three primary voices were functioning in very influential ways in the earliest days of the New Testament Church. Then the numbers of apostles dwindled. The sounds of their voices seemed to fade out over time. The voices of the prophets also seemed to fade away. Finally, even the voices of the great teachers seemed to be lost, and the Church descended into the Dark Ages.
Then the great Reformation began, and the Lord began to bring restoration to the Church. As He had prophesied in Scripture, God began to restore what had been lost and stolen from the Church in reverse order to when it had been lost. (See Joel 2:25.)
Full restoration is necessary before the Lord Jesus can return, as we are told in Acts 3:21:
“Jesus must remain in heaven until the restoration of all things, about which God spoke long ago through his holy prophets.” (CEB)
Truth began to be restored to the Church during the Reformation with the revelation of justification by faith. It was as if the Outer Court of the Tabernacle had been opened again after a long season, and people once again were free to come to the brazen altar, find repentance for their sins and enter into the experience of salvation by grace through faith.
Next, with the rise of the Anabaptists, water baptism was restored for believers. This was the experience symbolized by the brass laver that was filled with water in the Outer Court of the Tabernacle. God’s restoration of truth had moved from the brazen altar to the bronze laver on its progression through the Tabernacle toward the Most Holy Place.
God has actually used the Tabernacle of Moses seemingly as a road map to guide the orderly progression of the full restoration of all things that were lost to the Church over the years.
As God’s restoration continued, the experiences of the Tabernacle’s Holy Place were once again made freely available to believers. Unique moves of God arose over the years to restore the Holy Place truths of sanctification, Holy Spirit baptism, prayer and worship in the Spirit, and other New Covenant truths. With every move of God over the years, we can trace the Church’s progress through the truths of the Tabernacle. Progressive restoration of truth can be seen in The Great Awakenings, The Welsh Revival, The Azusa Street Revival, the great healing revivals of the 1940’s and ‘50’s, and many other moves of God over the years.
Now we are entering the final stage of God’s restoration as we stand just outside of the veil of the Tabernacle, being prepared to enter into the truths of the Tabernacle’s Most Holy Place.
In this final phase of God’s restoration of all things, the three primary voices of the Church are being restored. This is the Feast of Trumpets that marks our entrance into the seventh month of God’s calendar. We have finally entered into the much-anticipated seventh month, which will culminate in the restoration of all things, the gathering of the great harvest of the Earth, and the return of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Restoration of the Teachers
The trumpet voices of the teachers began to be restored in the 1960’s & ‘70s. At that time, so many teachers were called and raised up by God that there were not enough pulpits to go around. So, God inspired a new technology to be perfected and widely made available at affordable prices. This new technology was the cassette tape. The cassette tape enabled any teacher with messages from God to record and distribute those messages throughout the Church.
If you attended church at that time, especially a Charismatic church, you probably remember rows of cassette teachings available on tables at the back of the sanctuary, or maybe in the church book store. Churches and ministries distributed catalogs of available cassette teachings and advertised these teachings in their newsletters.
The trumpet voices of the teachers are sounding even more loudly today through books, articles, audio and video recordings, radio, television, Christian conferences, and the far-reaching influence of the Internet. God’s chosen trumpet voices are sounding with increasing volume and clarity to prepare the Body of Christ for the incredible events that are coming very soon!
Restoration of the Prophets
The trumpet voices of the prophets began to be restored in the 1980’s. Incredible prophetic ministries rose to prominence at that time like those of the Kansas City Prophets including Bob Jones, Paul Cain, John Paul Jackson, Rick Joyner, James Goll, and others. The phenomenal rise of the Kansas City Prophets has been chronicled in books like Some Said it Thundered by David Pytches and The Life and Legacy of Pat Bickle and A History of the Kansas City Prophets by Daniel Falls.
But prophetic voices have not been limited to the English-speaking world. Awe-inspiring prophetic voices have also arisen in Asia, Latin America, Europe, and Africa.
This entire restoration was described by Bob Jones in the 100-year prophecy that he released years ago. In this revelation that was given to Bob Jones, he said that,
“The 1970’s was the Word of God. That’s when really inspired teachers began to be raised up and showed us new understanding of the written Word.
The 1980’s began to reveal the prophets of God, people who get the inspired word of God.
In the 1990’s, we began to get a revelation of the government of God.” (Jones)
Restoration of the Apostles
The trumpet voices of the apostles began to be restored in the 1990’s, but I believe their influence has not yet been fully felt by the Church worldwide. The ministry of the true apostles may become more prominent and have more impact as we experience more of the events of the Seventh Month.
It is still easy for anyone to falsely claim the title of “Apostle” and deceive many believers into thinking they are genuine. But true apostles like Neville Johnson, Chuck Pierce, and others are rising up who are not only demonstrating what true apostolic ministry looks like, but are also teaching the body of Christ how to deal with the fakes.
Soon, it may be common for churches in our day to expose false apostles and deal with them effectively, receiving the same praise from Jesus that He gave to the church in Ephesus:
“I know you won’t put up with anyone who is evil. When some people pretended to be apostles, you tested them and found out that they were liars.”—Revelation 2:2 (CEV)
As God’s restoration of the trumpet voices continues and matures, true apostolic voices will prepare the Church for the coming Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles, and false apostolic voices will face the consequences of falsely claiming titles that God never gave them.
Reference:
Jones, Bob (2017, November 8). The late Bob Jones 100 year vision. Steps To Forgive Blog. Retrieved October 27, 2021, from http://www.stepstoforgive.com/wp/2017/10/17/the-late-bob-jones-100-year-vision/.
Three Transforming Experiences
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