Possessing The Prophetic Promises

Possessing The Prophetic Promises - Overcoming The Hope Deferred Epidemic

2 Peter  1:2  Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness (moral virtue),

4  For by these He has given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (evil desire).

The Bible is full of great and precious promises that we as disciples of Christ are called to possess and manifest, enabling the world to see the LORD’s glory and goodness. There’s multiple passages in the Bible that prophesy the greatest witness of God’s Kingdom, is not a past event but a future prophetic promise. An example of these prophetic promises are, ‘The latter glory will be greater than the former’ (Hag.2:9), ‘The Bride shall be glorious and radiant without spot or wrinkle’ (Eph.5:27), ‘The Body of Christ shall come to maturity unto the full stature of the image of Christ’ (Eph.4:13). These are just a few passages that speak of the prophetic destination of one generation in the fullness of time. The fullness of time generation will be the greatest witness and demonstration of the Kingdom of God. Every tongue tribe and nation will not be able to say we did not know, we have not heard. The Latter Glory of Father God’s House (His Family of Sons) will be the greater glory generation. Just as Moses came from Mt. Sinai with unveiled face shining with radiant glory there is  a greater witness than Moses coming from Mt. Zion with unveiled face releasing the greatest demonstration of the image of God. This is the destination of all generations, this is the generation that all the prophetic promises point to.

The Greater Glory Generation - The Destination of All Generations

2Cor. 3:6 who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.  7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end,  8  will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?

2Cor. 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

In 2 Corinthians 3:6-18, the Apostle Paul emphatically declares to the church at Corinth that the ministry of the Spirit and the new covenant is far greater than the ministry of Moses and the old covenant. Paul’s main point in this passage is the new covenant should produce a greater glory than the former covenant. The new covenant believer has a better covenant with better promises and should demonstrate a greater glory than Moses who had to cover his face with a veil because it shone so bright with the radiant glory of God. The culmination of the ages and the destination of all generations are found here in these verses. One generation will have every veil of cultural religious structures removed and fully behold His glory unto transformation and restoration of the image of God. Verse 18 says, we’re being transformed into THE SAME IMAGE of the ONE we behold!

Eph. 4:11  And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,  12  for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

13  until we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

Ephesians 4:13 has never seen its fulfillment, but we’re assured that the promise will eventually come. The Apostle Paul declares that Jesus (Yeshua) took His Apostolic mantle as the prototype Son of God and divided it into 5 parts and placed it upon His Body, the Body of Christ. He gave these 5 gifts (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher) UNTIL we come to a destination of maturity manifesting His Image in the full measure intended through His death and resurrection. Throughout the past century the  Body of Christ has experienced a measure of restoration concerning the 5 fold graces which are given for the sole purpose to bring the Body of Christ to the prophesied destination of the full measure of His Image. Even though we’ve seen the restoration of these 5 fold gifts we’ve not seen them in their mature state . Now we are at the threshold of a fullness of time transition, will we make the sacrifice of immaturity at the threshold so we can ascend through the open door of the LORD? This will be absolutely necessary to become the possessors of great and precious promises unto the sole purpose of bringing the Body of Christ to maturity!

What’s The Hold Up - Why Don’t We Ever Arrive @ The Prophesied Destination?

Currently many of these prophetic passages reside in the realm of mystery (veiled truth) as unfulfilled prophetic promises. They’re waiting for an appointed time of release which is directly tied to a people made ready to possess and steward them. Over the past couple decades I’ve heard many great prophetic words and exhortations concerning the unfulfilled prophetic promises and how this was the year of a new Kingdom era, the beginning of the billion soul harvest, a Kingdom renaissance movement, ect ect.

My intent by that statement is not to be critical or bring doubt upon those prophetic statements but to awaken the Body of Christ to inquire of the LORD and do some serious soul searching concerning why we never possess the great and precious promises of God. One of the definitions of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I’m in a season of evaluating why we see so much hope deferred in the Body of Christ and why we’re not seeing the fulfillment of biblically sound prophetic promises. I wholeheartedly believe in many of the prophetic statements (words) that are being released, but have concern that we’re missing some key elements concerning the unfulfilled prophetic promises that reside in scripture. Could it be that we’re (the prophetic ministers & messengers of LORD) failing to give the covenant people of God the means to possess the promises?

How Can We Get To Our Prophetic Destination?

Over the past 20 years the prophetic movement has gained much popularity and has been used by the  LORD to bring restoration to many people, churches and regions. I personally have been part

of this God ordained movement, yet I’m concerned by the health of the Body of Christ within the movement. As a student of Church history I have recognized a repeated pattern with every generation over the past 1,800 plus years. There’s a great recovery of a doctrine or truth that was lost from the original Apostolic generation but then there’s a major swing from one side to the other side. Another way to describe this over-reaction is we get out of one ditch and end up in a ditch on the other side of the road. This is not a religious critical judgement, it’s just a historical fact as you study the restoration movement throughout Church history. As I have reviewed the prophecies, dreams and visions on popular social media sites over the past 15 years it’s obvious that the majority of the words are very similar and seem to reoccur the next year just packaged a little differently. It seems that we never enter into the fullness of those things that have been prophesied.

Hear my heart, I’m not judging these prophetic voices nor am I saying all of these words (dreams and visions) are not true. What I’m trying to process and honestly evaluate is, what’s missing and could we possibly be missing the foundational purpose of the prophetic? The 5 fold gift of the Prophet is given to equip the saints for the work of ministry and help bring the Body of Christ to maturity, to the full stature of His image (Eph. 4:12-13). It’s not given to be God’s voice of direction for people but to equip people to hear God’s voice on their own and enter into a deeper relational intimacy with the LORD.

The core foundational purpose of a Prophet is to summon the covenant people back to covenant fidelity so they can possess the prophetic promises of God destined for themselves and their generation. Prophets sent by the LORD will make predictions, give words of knowledge, and speak encouraging prophetic words of hope to people, cities and nations but it’s always unto turning the faces of God’s people back to His Face and not their face. My motivation in writing on this topic comes from seeing a multitude of God’s people suffering massive hope deferred and my intent is to add what I believe is a missing piece of WHY were are not seeing these great precious promises manifest.

The Plumb Line Of The LORD - Heralds of Truth

I have traveled quite extensively over the past 10 years and have met some absolutely incredible leaders contending for the faith and the promises of God for their sphere of influence. Throughout these years of traversing the apostolic, prophetic and charismatic movement I’ve had the honor to encounter a multitude of Father God’s children who truly love the LORD with all their heart and genuine in their pursuit of prophetic destiny. Yet over the past decade I have also encountered a multitude of Saints that are burned out and experiencing massive hope deferred. I have termed it “the hope deferred epidemic.” Some saints have grown so weary that they’ve abandoned the apostolic, prophetic camps for a lesser version of cultural christianity and I totally understand and somewhat don’t blame them. I’ve experienced 2 sides of the same coin, a genuineness on one side and a very shaky scriptural foundation on the other side. The heart intent and sincerity of these movements are so pure yet on the flip side there is some unscriptural foundations and outright weirdness that is quite troublesome and part of the root of the hope deferred being experienced. It’s not the people’s fault but those that lead the way (that’s me). If the leaders are not plumb neither will the rest of the Body. There must be more apostolic fathers and mothers, plumb line prophets and heralds of truth that hold the line keeping the foundation of our faith based upon the scripture and not dreams, visions and encounters.

Root Issues to The Hope Deferred Epidemic

One of the root issues that has caused the hope deferred epidemic is a lack of accountability and teachability within the apostolic, prophetic and charismatic camps. Many within the movement have experienced so much spiritual injustice, trauma and abuse from the denominational systems that the words submission, accountability and balance are almost curse words to many. This is the ditch on the other side of the road, LORD help us get out of the ditch and see authentic spiritual fathers and mothers come forth that can bring words of guidance and course correction and give us all a teachable heart that’s not easily offended nor insecure, willing to receive correction.

Over the past 5 years (especially since covid 19) I have seen a massive increase of discouraged saints suffering from hope deferred. It’s at an epidemic proportion that has delayed the harvest and immobilized the Saints from possessing their rightful inheritance in the LORD. In light of what I have seen and experienced throughout our Nation I felt compelled to write concerning this spiritual epidemic. My intent is not to criticize or judge but my hope is to help bring some insight to the charismatic, apostolic, prophetic camps which in my opinion have been the catalyst of the Hope Deferred Epidemic. Hear my heart, I’m not saying I have it all right. And everyone else has it wrong, I’m just another passenger on the ship that’s failing to reach its prophetic destination. Over the past 20 years I have allowed the Holy Spirit to bring multiple major course corrections to my life and change the methodology of ministry to His Body. As a student of church history I have seen certain patterns that repeat themselves from generation to generation.

One common repetitive pattern is, those that led the way in the past move of God end up resisting the next move of God. These leaders were used by God in extraordinary ways in manifesting Kingdom breakthrough, restoration and ushering in great change in their generation. Yet many of these anointed leaders cannot see generational transition and become the biggest point of resistance to breakthrough and change in the next phase of restoration.

The Biggest Obstacle of Great Change is Your Anointed Ministry

Anyone with a basic understanding of church history can clearly see that the key for significant change and transition is humility, which is teachability. There must be a willingness of those who led the way of breakthrough in the past move of God to be truly humble (teachable) and be willing to admit, “we’re sincere but we’re sincerely wrong.” Throughout my years of walking with the LORD one of the biggest obstacles of change for me has been how God was presently anointing and using me. In the midst of my seasons of course correction (Great Change) I was used mightily by God and operated in a very strong anointing. I was very sincere in my devotion to the LORD but I was still sincerely wrong. How is that possible? How can one be mightily anointed of the LORD but be wrong concerning biblical doctrine, practice and truth? A few years ago, during a moment of incredible revelation in the Scripture I asked the LORD, “Why didn’t you reveal this to me 20 years ago, I could have been 20 years further down the road?”

He said, “In My Mercy I veiled you with ignorance and did not reveal this Truth to you. You were not  ready to steward this Realm of Light 20 years ago and judicially I would be required to hold you accountable for the light (truth) that has been entrusted to you. So in My Mercy I veiled you with ignorance, restraining your eyes from seeing until you were made ready. In My Mercy I have veiled every generation with ignorance unveiling the light of My Face from glory to glory.”  Again, anyone with a basic understanding of church history can see the truth of this word from the LORD. Light (revelation, truth & authority) given to someone who’s not mature in the Kingdom is very dangerous for them and those in their sphere of stewardship. Many who have walked in small measures of Kingdom authority and revelation have self destructed and caused much damage in the Body of Christ. There’s a latter glory realm that is waiting for an appointed people that will fully yield to the threshing floor of the Lord and allow Him to remove the chaff of culture and immaturity. This is why revival tarries or what we call revival tarries, a people must be made ready to steward light. What we call revival is not the revival that the LORD is desiring to manifest. The revival that is coming is a sonship movement unto the restoration of all things.

Possessed By The World or Possessed By The King of Glory

Historically, possessors of prophetic promises are those that have become possessed by the promise giver, Father God! In our culture we see many people possessed by selfish ambition, materialism, lust, greed, religion, demons, and the list goes on. Our current generation desperately needs to see a manifestation of God demonstrated by a people possessed by God! I can tell you from experience that just one glimpse of unveiled glory will ruin you for ordinary living. One taste of the glory realm will give you an insatiable hunger for the fullness of His presence. On December 12, 1990 I had a ‘mere drop in the bucket’ encounter with the unveiled glory of Father God. That one moment instantly delivered me from 17 years of drug addiction, years of alcoholism and many other vices. I call it, ‘A Day of Atonement Moment’. Father God has a far greater encounter prepared for His Latter Glory Generation than my drop in the bucket measure. One of the great prophetic promises of Scripture is, “the latter glory of the house will be greater than the former.”

This prophetic promise is made in the context of a generation that returned from 70 years Babylonian captivity to rebuild the house, the witness of God’s Glory in the earth. This prophetic promise is made at the laying of the foundation of the second temple which was a mere shadow of the first temple, Solomon’s temple. The Book of Ezra says those that never saw the first temple shouted for joy at the foundation ceremony but the older generation that experienced Solomon’s temple weeped. Solomon’s temple was not only extravagant esthetically but experienced the greatest manifestation of the Shekinah glory.

Hag. 2:9  The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts.

2Chr. 5:13 indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever,” that the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.

The second temple (Herod’s Temple) never saw greater glory than Solomon’s Temple so was this a false prophecy by Haggai or did the LORD mean something else. Some commentators say Jesus walking in the temple was the fulfillment of Haggai 2:9. I do agree that Jesus’ ministry in the temple was a partial fulfillment, but I believe this prophecy finds its ultimate fulfillment in the Body of Christ. Scripture is quite clear, we are the temple of God, not a building. Jesus uses this metaphor of His Body when He spoke of tearing the temple down and rebuilding it in 3 days. Jesus was speaking of His death enabling the true temple to come forth, His Body, the Body of Christ! All the previous temples were a mere shadow of the true temple to come, the Latter Glory Generation, the glorified Body of Christ.

John 2:19  Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20  Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21  But He was speaking of the temple of His body.

1Cor. 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

1Cor. 3:16  Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

The Bible says, “You are the temple!” Let that simple truth sink deep in us and cause us to evaluate what we allow to enter The Temple of The Holy Spirit. With this truth established, we must understand that  Father God longs to fill us with His glory more than we desire it, so what’s the hold up? So why does the harvest tarry? Why does the glory never manifest to the measure that the Scripture promises? These questions along with others have been the catalyst to a 20 year journey of discovery with the LORD. There are many factors to unfulfilled promises. Some prophetic promises cannot be fulfilled until an appointed time called the fullness of time. Others are tied to an appointed people made ready to steward that realm of Kingdom demonstration. All the prophetic promises are conditional not automatic, they demand covenant fidelity with the LORD and wholehearted surrender to the eternal purpose of God. I believe the absolute biggest hindrance of not seeing the prophetic promises manifest is the prophets and messengers in the Body of Christ. I’ve been very concerned by what I have experienced in the prophetic, apostolic, charismatic camps. The great and precious prophetic promises of God are being communicated without the conditional factors being included. I believe this is the main culprit to why we’re experiencing a hope deferred epidemic.

The If’s & Then’s of Prophetic Promises - Then Prophets Cause Hope Deferred

So what is the Spirit of the Lord saying to the church right now? Again, if you review the prophetic words being released over the past 20 years you will see a definite pattern and similar repetition from year to year which is not necessarily bad. There are many voices declaring powerful scripturally sound truths (there are some that are not sound), yet there seems to be a much delay and much hope deferred residing in the midst of God’s people. I’m truly thankful for the encouraging words of breakthrough from the prophets, but something seems to be missing. I do not doubt the sincerity of these words nor the legitimacy of most of these words but I do question what’s the missing piece of the prophetic words being released. I call much of what I hear, “THEN PROPHECY.” What I mean by this is found in prophetic promises that reside in these scriptures below.

John 8:31  So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, then you are truly my disciples,

32  then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

2Chr. 7:14  If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Jer. 15:19  Therefore thus says the LORD: “If you return, Then I will bring you back; You shall stand before Me; If you remove the precious from the vile,  You shall be as My mouth. Let them return to you, But you must not return to them. 20 And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall; And they will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you; For I am with you to save you And deliver you,” says the LORD.

Is. 58:8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

Is. 58:10  If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday.

The scripture is full of examples of If’s and Then’s. You cannot claim the THEN’S without fulfilling the IF’s! You can become a popular social media prophet by leaving out the If’s, but I believe this is the culprit of DELAY and much hope deferred in the Body of Christ.

Here’s an example of a THEN prophetic word from these verses

You’ve been in a season of much warfare and demonic onslaught but the Lord says, You're coming into a season of answered prayer for I have heard your cry and I am coming to heal you and your land. For I’m enabling you to stand in My Council before Me and I will make you as My Mouth in the earth. For I will put My word in your mouth that will strike down the enemy and My Light in you will break forth like the dawning of a new day, a day of healing and great acceleration. For My glory shall surround you and My glory shall be your guard, your shield of defense.

Is this prophetic word scriptural? YES! But it’s a THEN Prophecy without the IF’s. This prophecy will make you very popular on Facebook, social media and prophetic word websites but it will cause much damage to the Body of Christ without the complete protocol to the prophetic promise, which is obedience to the conditions, the If’s! This type of prophetic ministry seems encouraging and helpful to discouraged Saints, but in the long run it’s VERY harmful to God’s people! The covenant people of God will never become possessors of promise without walking in the conditions of the covenant promise. This type of ministry has caused much damage to the Body and eventually morphs into a false prophetic anointing or prophesying by Baal but not knowing it. Those who speak on behalf of the LORD are commissioned to summon the people of God to turn fully back to His Face, which is wholehearted covenant fidelity. This is the foundation of ALL prophetic ministry and what we see exemplified in the plumb line prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel.

1Kings 18:19  Now therefore, send forth the summons and gather all Israel to me on  Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”  20 So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21  And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.

Elijah basically declares, If the LORD is God then live like He is real, no more mixture! He calls the covenant people back to their 'first love' devotion, which is recited daily in Judaism, it’s called ‘the Shema.’

Deut. 6:4  “Hear (shema), O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!  5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

1Kings 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”

Elijah was sent by the LORD to confront the cultural mixture of his generation. This cultural mixture was the very thing that kept them from possessing their covenant promises. They were in a massive drought both naturally and spiritually because of the Word of the LORD from Elijah’s mouth. What we fail to understand about this passage is that the people never quit confessing Yahweh as LORD they just added Baal mixture and went back and forth between them. Remember Baal worship was about prosperity, the god that brought rain and dew. That’s why Elijah says, there will be no dew or rain but at my word. I’m not sure if anyone realizes it but we're in a major drought and many people are weary. We must understand the words of Jesus during these moments.

Matt. 7:21  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  22 Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  23 And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Jesus drops a huge theological bomb that is hard to understand in our culture and in our skewed New Covenant theology. It is simple to understand if you read it through the original lens from which it is written. The statement, “I never knew you” is a rabbinical term that would be uttered to dismiss one of his disciples that were not living according to the pattern of the rabbi’s lifestyle. Remember Jesus was God’s blueprint Pattern Son, the prototype of a movement to come forth in His very image. A Rabbi would come to his disciple (talmid) and bring course correction and then expect his disciple to return to the pattern that he was modeling. After multiple times of coming to his disciple and an unrepentant heart the Rabbi would turn his head from his disciple and say, “I have never known you, depart from me.” This was a statement of dismissal because of the rebellion of the disciples heart. This is troublesome to our present grace theology that the Love of God covers all but it’s not scripturally sound. Has our cultural Christianity turned the blood of Christ into fire insurance from hell and a meal ticket to a better life on earth? Are we (this present generation) treating the blood of Christ with contempt? Contempt is not giving something the attention, honor and value that it deserves. This results in Hebrews 10:26.

Heb. 10:26  For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.

28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

I recently heard the LORD say to me, “The most grievous form of idolatry in the earth is Christian idolatry. Which is living for a lesser purpose than the very purpose that I redeemed your life by the blood of My precious Son. Your good Christian ways outwardly appear to be serving Me but I AM He that sees and knows the motives of Men’s hearts. Much of what’s being done in My Body on the earth is rooted in self fulfillment instead of self denial which is the threshold of the door of transition into a realm of Holy communion and partnership concerning My Kingdom come and My will being done. This is why the latter glory and the great harvest has not come, see the threshold of the open door era and surrender all at the threshold as a sacrifice. Then you will be able to help My Body to see the threshold and the doorway that leads to the upper room throne room of Holy communion and common union with My eternal purpose. Tell My People that I’m standing at the door knocking, I’m requesting entrance so we can sup together, so we can break the bread of Covenant Renewal together. It’s time for My Bride to renew her covenant vows with Me, enabling Her to see her destination in Me and come up through My open door.”

Where’s The Fire? Do We Discern the Difference Between Strange Fire & The Fire of the LORD?

The Mount Carmel showdown was a plumb line moment of exposure and truth. Elijah stood alone against 850 false prophets (400 prophets of Asherah & 450 Baal) who sincerely thought they were true prophets. I say sincerely because of their devotion to what they believed. They cut themselves with swords (sacrifice) they prophesied, they danced around the altar and shouted in intercession but there was NO ANSWER, there was NO FIRE. This was very similar to some services I have been in. There has been much sincerity, sacrifice, prophesying, dancing, shouting and intercession but there has been NO ANSWER, NO TRUE FIRE! Now I know I’m about to lose a bunch of people here but can’t we have an honest conversation and simply discern that we’re obviously missing something. Elijah on Mount Carmel was one of those moments of the LORD knocking on the door of the hearts of His Covenant People. The message of Elijah was ‘If the LORD is God then live like He is real, worship the LORD with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.’ Basically return back to covenant fidelity and wholeheartedness in your relationship with the LORD. The spirit of Elijah released that same summons through the messenger of the covenant, John the Baptist.

Luke 1:15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.    

16  And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.

17 He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, “to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Messengers Of The Covenant In The Spirit & Power of Elijah

The mantle or spirit of Elijah is simply an expression and an anointing of God’s spirit to call His People to return to wholeheartedness or to return back to the very purpose that their lives were redeemed by blood, the Blood of God - Jesus Christ!  The mantle of Elijah (anointing of the Holy Spirit) is being released upon those who have been prepared to release the voice of the LORD not fearing the faces of men but fearing the LORD and no other. Just as Jesus quoted Malachi 3:1, speaking of the spirit of Elijah on John the Baptist, so once again there is an anointing in that very measure to become messengers of the covenant calling the covenant people back to their covenant root in Christ. Just as the spirit of Elijah was released preparing the way before Christ first coming, so once again there is a release of the spirit of Elijah being released to make a people PREPARED for the LORD!

I will stop here and continue on this truth in Part 2 of Possessing Great & Precious Promises.