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Prophetic word for today

Katrina is hard on Big Easy (Part 3)

First posted: September 23, 2005

Word received: August & September 2005

Received by: Shamah-Elim Bible Studies

 

This is a continuation of the words on hurricane Katrina posted earlier...

 

 

This is the prophetic interpretation of these events:

Helping the wrong people the wrong way

Under the Anointing of the Spirit, the prophet Jeremiah wrote the following:

 

"10For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates. 11Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured." (Jeremiah 46:10-11)

 

The balm of Gilead was an aromatic balm that was popular throughout the Middle East because of its curative properties. Therefore, it is a figure of pastoral ministering. As we have shared before, pastors are called to provide "spiritual rest" to soothe the saints' emotions; in other words, they are called to act like "spiritual nurses" that cure and take care of the saints who come "home" weary and injured from spiritual battle. The "female" ministries are geared towards comforting and edifying those who are projecting themselves outwardly under the "male" ministry anointings, i.e.- those who are exercising their God-given spirit nature. According to Scripture, pastors are called to wash the feet of the saints, which means that they are to wash the feet of those who have consecrated themselves unto the Lord and who therefore have their feet dirty from being out "on the road" doing God's work in the Spirit (being "out on the road" does not necessarily mean that you are physically going out; you can be "out on the road", waging spiritual warfare, without leaving your physical home).

 

Most people think that pastors are to wash the feet of those whose feet are dirty with sin, but that is contrary to Scripture. At one point, Jesus wanted His feet to be washed, which in no way means that Jesus had sin in His life (Luke 7:44-47). When Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, He said that they were already clean (John 13:10), which means that He was not washing away their sin but rather "refreshing" their feet, as they had faithfully walked with Him (i.e.- been "out on the road" with Him) throughout His ministry on Earth. Jesus washed the feet of the faithful believers, not the feet of sinners in need of repentance. The "washing of feet", therefore, is not a figure of "sin cleansing" but rather of soul refreshing for the righteous. Pastors are called to serve and cater to those who are faithfully fighting in the Spirit:

 

"Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them." (Luke 12:37)

[Notice that the Lord will serve those who are "on their feet", watching. He does not serve those who have "sat down" in spiritual conformity under the influence of the "spirit of ease". God does not serve "easy" people.]

 

Even though God makes His loving Service available to all, He always filters the recipients of His Service through the gate of His righteousness. Even though anyone can enter into His righteousness through yielded repentance, God never serves those who refuse to repent from unrighteousness. Fellow believer, having a repentant heart goes beyond being born again. It means a heart that is constantly seeking after God's kingdom and righteousness. It means a heart that longs for His judgments and that wants to go through the mishpat (i.e.- judgment process) in order to be One with God for eternity. That process involves walking down the "road of truth" where we are constantly exposed to God's flaming sword of judgments (Genesis 3:23-24). Those who are walking on the "road of truth" turn into apostolic trailblazers, men and women of prophetic sacrifice, and evangelistic conquerors who back down from no battle (Job 39:19-25). Believers who walk in the "male" ministry anointings will suffer and become weary, and that is where the "female" ministries come in to provide spiritual "R & R".

 

As we have said before, pastors who stray from God's will turn into judgment-hating Canaanites. This means that pastors who stray from God's will become so obsessed with serving others that they are willing to serve and please anyone, without regard for righteousness. As we have said before, Canaanites are spiritual "dogs" who are willing to wag their tail for anyone. Dogs don't care if their owner is a serial rapist or a mafia boss. Dogs don't judge; they just "love". It might be OK for dogs to be like that, since they have not been endowed with a mind capable of making judgments. It is not OK, however, for humans to behave like that, for we have been given a mind that is capable of making judgments. Believers have an even greater burden of responsibility, because we have been given the mind of Christ to "judge all things" (1 Corinthians 2:14-16). We are to be the light of the world that exposes unrighteousness so that people may repent and be transformed (Matthew 5:14, John 3:19-21, Matthew 6:22-23).

 

As we said before, pastors have behaved like sin-rationalizing "black-eyed p's" throughout the Katrina aftermath. As we also said before, Canaanite pastors are easily duped by the "victim card" that "spiritual Gibeonites" like to play (Joshua 9:1-26). The Hebrew word for "Gibeon" is a derivative of the word gebiya, which means "cup, bowl". Therefore, it is not surprising that New Orleans was constantly referred to as a "bowl" because of its surrounding levees and its below-sea-level shape. After Katrina hit, the Canaanite pastors in the Church rushed in to serve, without regard for the spiritual underpinnings of Katrina or the roots of iniquity in New Orleans that were made evident by Katrina. In the midst of their "service", there was never a reproach of New Orleans' sinfulness; there wasn't even a silent confrontation of that city's well-known iniquity. They portrayed New Orleans as a city of moral people who became victims of a random event of "mother nature". Cursed be the "mother nature" spirit!!! It was not "mother nature" that produced Katrina. It was "Father God", the God of fatherly correction (Hebrews 12:7, 12:23), not motherly pandering.

 

When Jesus healed the sick man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-16), He gave him a stern warning:

 

"Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." (John 5:14)

 

Jesus did restore this man after confronting his dependence on men (John 5:6-8). After 38 years of permanent dependence on the help of natural man, the lame man at the pool of Bethesda was healed because he realized that he was special in the eyes of God and that he was to depend upon God, not man. A stranger, sent by God, had sought him out from among the multitude, and was telling him to "rise up and walk" (John 6:8). When he heeded that stranger's command, he was showing his reliance upon supernatural God, not upon natural man (otherwise, he would have said, "I can't get up unless someone comes to lift me up"). He did not know who Jesus was. To him, Jesus was a "stranger sent by God", which He was. So, when he heeded Jesus' command, he was not relying on Jesus the man; he was relying on the God inside Jesus the man. This is the reason why he was healed. His physical lameness was a reflection of his spiritual lameness. Once the spiritual root of his physical condition was dealt with, he was made whole in the physical realm.

 

However, this man regressed into his spiritual dependence on men. When the religious leaders asked him to denounce the stranger who had "dared to" heal him on the sabbath, he did not hesitate to do so (John 5:15), because he was more concerned about losing the "covering" of his visible religious leaders than about losing the covering of the invisible God who had healed him. It is interesting to consider that Jesus found this man at the temple (John 5:14). In other words, Jesus sought him out at the temple, just as He had done at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:6). This time, however, He was seeking him out in order to test him, not to heal him. Jesus knew that, if this man failed the test, a "worse thing" would come upon him. Yet, Jesus did not hesitate to expose this man to the test. Why? Because God is more interested in righteousness than in temporal healing. Jesus was not a "power-ranger magician" who tried to heal everyone in sight without worrying about righteousness being fulfilled.

 

In the midst of all the help to New Orleans' "victims", none of the Canaanite pastors who rule over the Church have pronounced a stern warning like the one given by Christ in John 5:14 above. It is as if the Church wouldn't mind New Orleans going back to its regularly scheduled Mardi Gras, prostitution, and corruption. All the corrupt Church cares about is the physical well-being of these "victims", rather than their spiritual transformation. Why? Because transformation requires confrontation, and confrontation implies separation. Church "leaders" sees Katrina as a "photo op" where they can look "good" to the world in order to draw more people into Church. To speak judgment word would alienate the unrepentant, and the black-eyed p's, who are faithless cowards, think that the only way for the Church to grow is to "widen her gate", i.e.- to tolerate and rationalize more unrighteousness. However, the Lord's gate is narrow, and no man can change that:

 

"Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matthew 7:14)

 

This does not mean that God demands us to "do good works" in order to enter through His narrow gate. We enter into His righteousness through humble repentance. Through a yielded heart, God works His righteousness in us, and we begin to produce "good works". In other words, the "good works" are a result of His righteousness in us, not the other way around, but His righteousness cannot abide in an unrepentant heart. Through faith, we expose ourselves to His purifying judgments and allow Him to work us into His full image and likeness. It is not through human effort that we are transformed. It is through yielded faith.

 

When the matriarchal Church widens her gates, she is not acting in "love"; instead, she is acting like a prostitute that allows others to enter into her without demanding a covenant. When the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:21-28) wanted Jesus to heal her daughter without entering into covenant with the God of Israel, He ignored her and called her a "dog" (Matthew 15:26). When preaching on this Canaanite woman, many pastors foolishly think that Jesus did not want to hear her simply because she was not of Jewish race, to which I would reply, "What about the Roman centurion? He was not a 'Jew', yet the Lord healed the centurion's servant, and He even praised him as having more faith than the Israelites." (Matthew 8:5-10). The eunuch in the desert who believed in Christ (Acts 8:26-38) was not "Jewish"; he was a black Ethiopian, yet Scripture does not portray him as the first "Gentile" who converted to Christ (that title is given to the Roman centurion Cornelius -- Acts 10:1-48). Why? Because to be a "Jew" was not an issue of race; instead, it meant sharing in the Jewish faith. The eunuch was a Jew because he worshipped the God of Israel and wanted to know Him (Acts 8:27-28).

 

The Canaanite woman knew that the true God was the God of the Jews. This is shown by the fact that she referred to Jesus as the "son of David". Yet, she never became a Jew because she was afraid that her conversion would imply rejection by her family and the pagan culture that surrounded her in the region of Tyre and Sidon. She wanted the God of the Jews to heal her daughter, but she did not want to enter into covenant with that God. She wanted the blessings without the commitment. She wanted the benefits without the sacrifice. She was after the blessings of God's Back, not after the Glory of God's Face. Why? Because she knew that God's Face implies death, and that was a price too painful to pay for her. It was until the woman stepped up from behind Jesus and lay prostrate before His Face that her daughter was healed. Jesus was confronting her to accept God's judgment of her as a "dog". Instead of getting offended and walking away, she said, "Yes, I am a dog". That moment was the beginning of the spiritual restoration in that woman's life.

 

Canaanite-Amorite pastors act like "regal clowns" that cater to unrepentant people in order to enlarge their earthly, little kingdoms. Like a prostitute, they open themselves and sacrifice their judgments in order to get some earthly pay in the form of human glory and adulation. They like to help the "wrong" people (i.e.- the unrepentant) because such people are easy to get and are less dangerous. The "right" people (i.e.- the people who desire to be right with God -- Ecclesiastes 10:2, Luke 18:13) are dangerous time bombs. To the Canaanite pastors, the "right" people are like leaven that spread God's Kingship and prevent them from being the "kings" of the Gibeonite hill:

 

"Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened" (Matthew 13:33)

 

This is why pastors love to help the unrepentant who are out for temporal blessings; such people will never be a threat to their Amorite spiritual authority. On the other hand, they hate to help the righteousness-seekers, because such people turn into spiritual giants that institute the kingdom of God and depose their earthly reign over the Church. Cursed be the pastors who love to help the wrong people and who leave the spiritual "Lazaruses" out to die at the gate (Luke 16:20). The "Lazaruses" prefer to stay at the gate of judgments. Prostitutes sacrifice their post as gatekeepers and become servants of the unrighteous rich man. They become slaves of mammon (i.e.- temporal blessings) rather than slaves of the Lord's kingdom and judgments.

 

The spiritual "Lazaruses" long to have the rich man's resources, not for the purpose of enlarging themselves, but for the purpose of enlarging God's kingdom and righteousness. They use the "unrighteous mammon" to advance God's righteousness (Luke 16:9-11). The Lord speaks of "unrighteous mammon" because it refers to the temporal grace which man obtained ahead of time when he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In that sense, the temporal grace (i.e.- mammon) that man enjoys is unrighteous because it was obtained when we got ahead of God's plan, when Adam attempted to grow without going through the necessary process.

 

"For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit." (Ecclesiastes 2:26)

 

When the Lord speaks of the resources of the unrighteous falling into the hands of the righteous, He is not speaking of literal wealth. He is prophesying that, in the latter days, the righteous who have been left to "starve" materially shall be given the resources that are currently in the hands of the unrighteous Church. Instead of using these resources for self-aggrandizement, the righteous will use it to manifest God's Kingdom and Glory. In the latter days, this shall be fulfilled.

 

"16A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. 17For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous. 18The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. 19They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 20But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away." (Psalm 37:16-20)

 

Nowadays, those who deserve the resources don't have them, and those who don't deserve them do have them.

 

"6Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. 7I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth." (Ecclesiastes 10:6-7)

 

In the latter days, this ludicrousness shall be no more. The righteousness seekers, the "Lazaruses", will be the ones helped and refreshed (Luke 16:25), and the unrepentant shall be confronted unto repentance. The balm of Gilead shall no longer be used to soothe the unrighteous, and the Church will become a hospital for the saints wounded in spiritual battle, not a refuge where thieves can hide from God's judgments (Matthew 21:13).

 

If the Church really wanted to help the unrepentant, they would confront them, not condone them (Acts 2:23, 2:37-38). Katrina has made it evident that the matriarchal Church loves to help the wrong people the wrong way. When people operate in humanistic mercy rather than God's mercy, they are easily fooled by the "victim card", and they are quick to help and shield the unrepentant from God's redeeming judgments.

 

"16Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! 17Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! 18By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through." (Ecclesiastes 10:16-18)

[Notice the reference to the spirit of "idleness" (v18), which points to the "spirit of ease" which God attacked through Katrina. God is judging the "leaders" who are using their God-given grace for "drunkenness" and not for "strength" (v17); the Lord is judging the "leaders" who like to live the "easy-like-Sunday-morning" life in the temporal realm (v16). In these latter days, God will raise up a latter-day Church where believers will lead each other in selflessness, a Church where we will use our temporal resources to bless each other, not to domineer over other believers.]

 

On Thursday September 22, 2005, the "Dayside" program (on the Fox News Channel) aired a live interview with Sally Kestin, a writer for the "South-Florida Sun-Sentinel" newspaper. In the interview, Ms. Kestin shared on her newspaper's recent findings regarding FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) aid. Many people in Florida's Miami-Dade County received large amounts of money from FEMA last year, even when that county was not hit by last year's (2004's) hurricanes. Some people received checks of up to US$25,000, even when they had suffered no damage whatsoever. People also received money to pay for the funerals of relatives who had died of natural deaths, i.e.- deaths that had nothing to do with any natural disaster! Because of these findings, the Sun-Sentinel newspaper did an investigation on 20 recent disasters across the USA, and they found that US$330 million had been given by FEMA to areas with little or no reported damage. The city of Detroit, for example, received millions of dollars for a big rainstorm that the city's mayor doesn't even remember, and Cleveland also received millions for a big storm that a lot of people there don't remember much! Ironically, while FEMA has been shelling out dough to people who don't truly deserve the help, many people in Palm-Beach County (Florida) and points further north that were hit by last year's hurricanes, have still not received the help they need from FEMA! This is a prophetic figure of how the Church is focused on helping the wrong people, while at the same time disregarding those who truly need help.

[Apparently, the South-Florida Sun-Sentinel investigation on FEMA's misguided help can be found on the newspaper's website (www.sun-sentinel.com)]

 

During a noon news conference on September 9, 2005, the New Orleans police chief began the news conference by asking for help to locate a personal relative. He ended his request for help by saying, "I say this because, if my family is OK, I am OK". In the wake of such a massive tragedy that affected so many people, this man had the gall to insinuate that his main concern was his own family! If his family was OK, he would be "OK", which means that everyone else could go to hell for all he cared! This is the man who heads the police department that is supposed to look out for the residents of Big Easy! Again, God was exposing the type of leaders that "easy" people (in New Orleans and in the Church) have placed their trust in! These leaders are not overly interested in helping others when there is no personal benefit to them!

 

"I got skills"

The Lord declared the following parable:

 

"1For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. 2And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. 5Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. 6And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? 7They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive." (Matthew 20:1-7)

 

Each of the 5 groups of laborers that are called upon represents each of the 5 ministries in Ephesians 4:11 -- apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors, and evangelists, in that order (God willing, we will share more on this in a future posting). For now, let us focus on the 5th group, the group that was called at the 11th hour. Notice that, when the master of the house asked them why they had stood there "all the day idle" (v6), they replied, "Because no man has hired us" (v7). This is a prophetic figure of all the spiritual authority and potential that is "standing idly" inside the Church because the "leaders" are unable to see that potential.

 

When "leaders" "behold" a "regular church member", they generally see a nice "little" brother or sister who will be useful in cleaning up the church building, painting the church's walls, collecting offerings, preparing food at the church's cafeteria, keeping an eye on the cars in the parking lot during services, helping in the logistics of evangelistic campaigns, etc. They rarely see a potential apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and/or teacher. Why? Because they are too arrogant and blind to see the "Jesus" who is dwelling inside every believer. To them, "ministerial" roles of a spiritual nature are reserved for a privileged few. They may preach on the fact that we are all a "chosen nation" and a "royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9, Isaiah 61:6, Revelation 1:6), but, in their inner selves, they sincerely don't believe it. They continue living under the Old Covenant separation between "priests" and "laymen". They may preach that the "veil" in the temple has been rent (Matthew 27:51), but they only see that as an opportunity for "regular folks" to enter into the Holy of Holies to ask for a brand new car or a job promotion. They do not realize that it is blasphemous to enter into the Holy of Holies and stand before the Ark of the Covenant to ask for temporal things (such as ephemeral "religious experiences" or material things). God rent the veil so that we may be transformed into the fullness of His image and likeness (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). He rent the veil so that we may be One with Him (John 17:22-23). The "leaders" of the Church refuse to believe this. They remain blind to the immensity of the spiritual calling each believer has:

 

"18The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power" (Ephesians 1:18-19)

 

Notice that verse 19 does not say, "the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who are full-time ministers". Instead, it says that this "greatness" is accessed by "believing", i.e.- by faith. It is through faith that our spiritual potential is developed, not through religious titles or the mere performance of external religious acts.

 

Because of the leaders' spiritual blindness, the potential of many believers is left untapped. Many believers stand "spiritually idle" because no one has told them that God has a mighty spiritual purpose for them. Those who do wake up to their spiritual potential are often relegated, left by the wayside, like the blind men of Matthew 20:29-34, without any support from the Church's structures. The Church is not interested in God's spiritual talents that go beyond her limited religious paradigm, because she is dominated by a myopic pastoral leadership that is interested in promoting itself rather than in raising up a great nation of mighty spiritual giants unto God's Glory.

 

This "idling" of God's people was made manifest by God through Katrina. As you may know, hundreds of buses in New Orleans that could have been used to evacuate people were left in their parking lots, only to be submerged in the Katrina flooding. The New Orleans mayor, who is a living figure of the arrogant and inept leadership of the Church, was never truly concerned about the poor people of his city. To this arrogant and self-righteous fool, the truly needy people of New Orleans did not deserve much mental consideration. Despite the fact that God gave New Orleans plenty of time to prepare before Katrina hit, and despite all the warnings that the hurricane trackers gave the mayor, he never sat down to consider ways of helping the poor who truly needed help. Therefore, the work that these hundreds of buses had to offer was left unused. As we have said before, God did all of this to expose the ineptness and insensitivity of the leadership that the indolent people of New Orleans (and the Church) have placed their trust in.

 

The "idling" of God's people can also be seen in the unemployment produced (directly and indirectly) as a result of Katrina. According to a Yahoo! News report, the number of unemployment claims directly related to Katrina officially stood at 214,000 on September 22, 2005. Therefore, God sent Katrina ...

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... as a judgment against those who have deliberately chosen to be "spiritually idle" (by adopting the "spirit of ease")

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... to reveal those who do want to "work" (like the men of Matthew 20:7), but who have been left "spiritually unemployed" by a Church that is not interested in their services.

 

Shortly after Katrina hit, hurricane Ophelia began forming to the east of the Florida peninsula. While the USA dealt with the consequences of Katrina, Ophelia remained motionless for days next to Florida. Every time I watched it on TV, it gave me the impression of someone knocking on Florida's door, trying to get in, but without anyone answering. The name "Ophelia" is derived from the Greek word ophelos, which literally means "advantage, benefit, profit". This word appears 3 times in the New Testament. The first time it appears is in the following verse:

 

"If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die" (1 Corinthians 15:32)

[The word "advantageth" was translated from ophelos]

 

Notice how this verse contrasts "profit" or "advantage" with spiritual idleness. The Church, as a whole, is gripped by the spirit of ease because she is not aware of the eternal benefits reaped by activating the spiritual gifts she has been given. Notice that, when Paul activated his gift, he had to "fight with beasts at Ephesus". In other words, true spiritual work requires a price that most believers (especially "pastors") are unwilling to pay. The verse above appears in the context of "resurrection", which means that the ophelos (i.e.- benefit) of our spiritual work transcends this physical realm and is eternal in nature. Most "pastors" in the Church are not interested in any kind of "spiritual" work unless it reaps tangible, short-term benefits for them. Therefore, those who are willing to engage in spiritual work that is not geared towards short-term benefit are seen as irrelevant and unnecessary. When Paul would allow himself to endure hunger, get beaten, suffer shipwrecks, and suffer much verbal reproach, he was doing it because he understood the eternal ophelos that his work was doing. He was driven by the desire to see the potential in God's people being manifested. This is why he was never gripped by the spirit of ease. He never crossed his arms as if to say, "Well, there is nothing left to do but perform church-related activities and wait for the rapture". He never saw the Church as a "spiritual hospice" where people are simply living out their last few days and where people are to be "entertained" as they wait to die.

 

The other 2 times where the Greek word ophelos appears in the New Testament are in the following passage:

 

"14What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?" (James 2:14-16)

[The word "profit" in verses 14 and 16 was translated from ophelos]

 

Notice how this passage relates "profit" to faith at work, which speaks against the spirit of ease. This passage is not exhorting believers to mound piles of aimless religious or humanitarian works. This is evident for two reasons. First, this passage speaks of helping a naked or hungry brother or sister, which speaks of strengthening our spiritual brethren (and correlates with the spiritual message in Matthew 25:41-46 and Ephesians 4:11-16). Second, the verses that follow this passage give two examples of "works": Abraham's sacrifice of his son Isaac and Rahab's help of the Israelite messengers who spied on Jericho, and both of these "works" were anything but "aimless humanitarian works":

 

"21Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. 25Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? 26For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." (James 2:21-26)

[At no point did Rahab consider saving her fellow "Jerichoans" from the wrath of Joshua's army, which was under orders to kill every living being in Jericho (Joshua 6:17-21). Had she had a "humanitarian" heart, she would not have hesitated in turning the Israelite spies over to the Jericho "authorities", in an effort to help Jericho against the impending massacre. Therefore, it is evident that Rahab's hosting of the spies was not motivated by "humanitarian" reasons but rather by an awareness of God's righteousness and holiness (Joshua 6:9-11).]

 

Both examples above were relatively brief but difficult acts that had tremendous consequences in the spirit realm, and they were done by people who did not hold a "major religious post". Abraham was an unknown pilgrim who wandered through the land of Palestine, and Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho. Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac had no witnesses but God Himself (Genesis 22:1-14), yet its spiritual consequences are being felt, even to this day. Rahab's receiving of the two messengers was not done "in church"; yet, her actions also had eternal consequences, so much so that she became part of Jesus' human genealogy (Matthew 1:5).

 

From all of the above, we can see why God placed hurricane Ophelia at Florida's door for several days after the Katrina disaster. Ophelia represents those who have the spirit of ophelos, i.e.- those who ...

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... believe in eternal benefits that transcend the natural realm (1 Corinthians 15:32)

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... who activate their God-given measure of faith (Romans 12:3) through spiritual works that release God's supernatural power and dominion (Ephesians 1:19) into the spirit realm (James 2:21-26)

 

Just like Ophelia, which stood at Florida's door for several days, the people with these ophelos "spiritual skills" are the ones being left outside by the established Church. While the Church is worried about helping the wrong people the wrong way, those who should be helped and enabled have been left to fend for themselves. God's judgments are therefore upon you, matriarchal Church, because, by refusing to help the "Ophelias", you are refusing to help the Lord. You shall be judged because of your left-handed gospel of anti-judgment grace: 

 

"41Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." (Matthew 25:41-46)

[As we have said before, the "little ones" referred to in verse 45 are those who may not be important in the eyes of carnal man, but who have a humble and submissive heart unto God, and who are precious in the eyes of God. These are the "little ones" whom the Church was called to nurture and edify, yet, she has chosen to help and raise up unrepentant Ammonites instead.

 

Notice that the people being cursed here (v41) call Jesus "Lord" (v44). This means that they are not "worldly sinners". They are the religious men and women who rule over the Church and who call Jesus "Lord", but who do not back up their words with actions. They claim to know Jesus, but they are unable to recognize Him inside their brethren. They claim to serve Jesus, but they are unwilling to serve and edify those who truly walk in His Anointing. No wonder these people are cursed of God (v41)! They may be temporary "kings of their air castles", but they shall not enter into the Kingdom of God.]

 

"Coincidentally", hurricane Ophelia eventually moved away from Florida and went up the Atlantic coast to cause damage in the state of North Carolina. It never did make landfall, but it forced evacuations in several parts of North Carolina, which happens to be the home state of the world-famous evangelist whom the Lord prompted us to mention in the first word on Katrina. This evangelist had declared that "evil" such as Katrina was a "mystery" that we would not understand in this lifetime. Shortly after his words, therefore, God sent some "mysterious evil" to his home state to confront his (and the Church's) disinterest in knowing the truth.

 

Many of you may have seen TV images of two women standing on a rooftop (shortly after Katrina hit) holding up a white sign saying "Help us". When I saw that sign for the first time, it immediately reminded me of the "Please help us!" article we posted on May 22 (4 months to the day of this writing). There is a prophetic remnant around the world crying out for help. The matriarchal Church, however, is not heeding that cry because it is only willing to help those who will not challenge their matriarchal control. The Church has seen Yeshua "naked", but she has not covered Him. She has seen Yeshua "hungry", but she has not fed Him. She has seen Yeshua "thirsty", but she has not refreshed Him. Why? Because she is unable and unwilling to recognize Yeshua.

 

Salted with salt

The New Orleans disaster was caused by Lake Pontchartrain flooding into that city. As I meditated on the word "Pontchartrain", the Holy Spirit made me sense that there was a spiritual meaning behind that word. He prompted me to split it into 3 words. As I went to my French-English "Lilliput dictionary", this is what I found:

  1. The word "Pont" means "bridge"

    As we have said before, bridges are a figure of prophetic intercession.

     

  2. The word "char" means "car"'

    The word for automobile "cars" in French is "voiture". Therefore, "char" refers to "cars" in the more general sense of the word, i.e.- to any wheeled vehicle. In Scripture, the wheel or "circle" represents apostolic judgment processes.

     

    The French phrase "char d'assault" means "military tank". Therefore the word "char" also points to evangelistic attacks against Amorite strongholds. Through Katrina, the Lord launched an all-out spiritual assault against the Canaanite-Hivite-Amorite stronghold in New Orleans.

     

  3. The word "train" means "pace, rate"

    The French phrase "être en train" means "to be busy", and the phrase "mettre en train" means "to set to work". Therefore, the word "train" has the connotation of "action" and "motion". It is the opposite of the "spirit of ease" which God attacked in New Orleans.

 

Notice that all 3 "male" ministries are represented above (apostle, prophet, and evangelist). Therefore, the word "Pont-char-train" means: "An all-out evangelistic assault by God's prophet-apostles against the female spirit of ease".

 

As we have said before, the black horse of the Apocalypse is unleashed through believers who have accepted God's "prophetic-apostolic" anointing over their lives. Therefore, the name "Pontchartrain" points once again to the black-horse anointing in Katrina. As we have also said before, the "two witnesses" of Revelation 11 point to latter-day believers who will prophetically launch apostolic judgments against unrighteousness on Earth. They will smite the Earth with judgments, as often as they desire, and Katrina is an example of this. Fellow believer, if you are willing to be invested with God's "prophetic-apostolic" anointing, you will become a channel of God's purifying judgments on Earth, and you will pave the way for His Glorious manifestation in these latter days:

 

"5And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. 6These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will." (Revelation 11:5-6)

[As you submit yourself to the will of the Lord, your will and His will become so inextricably intertwined that your will and His will become indistinguishable. You will then begin operating in God's sovereignty (John 14:12-13, John 5:22-23). This is what God wants for everyone of His children. The Father wants His children to be like their Daddy!!! When they ask you, "Who's your daddy?", they will know by the authority and power in your words! Hallelujah!!!]

 

"1O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. 2Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works. 3Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD. 4Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore. 5Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; 6O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen. 7He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth." (Psalm 105:1-7)

 

Lake Pontchartrain is the second largest salt lake in the U.S. This is no coincidence. In the second word which we posted on black-horse disasters (on August 23, 2005, 6 days before Katrina hit), the Lord urged us to write on the Dead Sea (we were about to skip the writing of that section, but the Lord ordered us to write it). The Dead Sea's water is 6 times saltier than regular ocean water. The Dead Sea's saltiness is a spiritual figure of God's prophetic-apostolic judgment against the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which once stood in that area. The Girgashite-Canaanite city of Gomorrah is believed to lie underneath the Dead Sea, meaning that God drowned her in that sea. Just as He did with Gomorrah, God has swamped New Orleans in salty water. Just as He did with Sodom, God set New Orleans on fire in the midst of all that salty water (as you may recall, many, many houses in New Orleans were on fire, even as they stood in the midst of all the water from Lake Pontchartrain). He has done it, and He shall do it again, for New Orleans (and the Church) has refused to bow in repentance before the judgments of God.

 

Towards the end of the word on the Dead Sea, the Lord prompted us to write about the "marshes" and "miry places" that shall be "given to salt", and He prompted us to speak about spiritual swamps. No wonder New Orleans was constantly described as a "toxic swamp" after Katrina hit! God shall not be mocked!!! For those who abuse the grace given unto them shall not go unpunished!!! New Orleans has for years engaged in the Hivite abuse and rape (Genesis 34:1-2) of their God-given grace. Instead of operating in that grace over a foundation of righteousness, they have used it to (Canaanitely) satisfy and (Amoritely) glorify themselves. The Church is unable and unwilling to denounce New Orleans, because she has been doing the same thing for centuries, only in the spirit realm.

 

A few seconds ago, as I watched a satellite map of the U.S. Gulf Coast region on TV, the Lord drew my attention to the physical shape of Louisiana. Every time I see it, I see a big "L". This time, however, the Lord told me to look more closely, and, as I did, these words appeared in my heart, "The boot of an ogre". I then understood that Louisiana is a satanic "boothold" of Canaanite-Hivite-Amorite unrighteousness in America. No wonder the Lord is filling that fat ogre's boot with salty swamp water!

 

Magical mystery tour

As we have said before, every healing that Jesus performed during His earthly ministry was preceded by a "logos process" where He dealt with the spiritual roots of unrighteousness and iniquity before doing the actual physical healing. He was never interested in just lining up the sick in front of Him to lay hands on them until they were all physically healed. He was interested in transforming people from the inside out. He knew that everything in the natural realm is a manifestation of things in the spirit realm, and He knew that "wellness" in the natural can often act as a decoy that hides spiritual issues that have not been dealt with. When you operate in the Lord's judgment wisdom, you become more interested in the long-term spiritual issues than in the short-term material or emotional inconveniences; you become aware that dealing with the natural consequences, only, amounts to little more than self-deceit. Spiritual houses are restored from the foundation up. If a house is founded on unrighteousness, it will not stand, and any repairs to the above-ground part of the house will only delay the inevitable (Matthew 7:26-27, Luke 14:31-35). And the consequences of delaying the inevitable are always worse than dealing with the underlying issues from the beginning (Luke 11:24-26).

 

When we only deal with the surface issues, we are acting like spiritual magicians. In other words, we are acting like spiritual illusionists who fool ourselves and others into thinking that the problem has been solved when it really hasn't. Unfortunately, the Church is fixated on the idea that God is a "magical god". Believers think that they can present their problems before the "Wizard in the sky" ("Wits") and have him make the problem go away. Believers don't care to know why the problem arose in the first place. As mysteriously as it arose, they want it to mysteriously go away. They want to lead a "happy" and "tranquil" life on Earth until they are beamed up by the "Rapture Spacecraft" that God is supposed to send down before things get too nasty down here! Things that go beyond their limited spiritual understanding are simply dismissed as "mysteries". To most believers, life is nothing but a "Magical Mystery Tour" where we are supposed to lead nice, moral lives until we kick the bucket and go on to heaven to do more of the same. They don't realize, however, that this life is really a "Total Transformation Tour". The process that we allow God to do in our lives (and in the lives of others) determines our eternity. There is no "make-up life". As we have said before, going to "literal hell" is not at play here, and those who are only concerned about not "going to hell" shall be eternally shamed and reproached when they face God on that glorious day (Jeremiah 23:33-40). They will not go to "literal hell", but they will forever regret having settled for so little when they compare it with all they lost for eternity. I will never settle for anything but a "Total Transformation" so that I (and many with me) may be One with God for eternity, and cursed be I if I ever settle for anything less!

 

"And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building" (1 Kings 6:7)

 

As we have shared before, we are "living stones" (1 Peter 2:5), and, this life is the only "quarry" where we will be worked on. Once we are "out of here", we will be worked on no more. No sound of hammer or ax or iron tool shall be heard in the Eternal Temple where we must be placed. If we are unfit for the Temple, we shall be left in a heap of useless stones outside the New Jerusalem, and those who behold us shall forever point at us and say,

"Over there are those who did not want to be shaped unto His image and likeness; over there are those who wanted an easy temporal life and who did not care to be transformed; they shall remain forever outside of God's Glory, and they shall forever be on the outside looking in".

 

Those who believe in the "Wits" ("Wizard in the sky") are out of their wits. No amount of suffering in this temporal life compares with the glory that shall be upon us if we are willing to endure the "Total Transformation Tour":

 

"18For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God." (Romans 8:18-19)

[Notice how suffering precedes glory, like birth pains before the glorious apparition of a new life]

 

For decades, the prophets have spoken of the "River of God" that would flow in these latter days. They have spoken of "days of glory" like the Church and the world have never seen before. Even though these prophecies are true, most of the prophets who pronounce them are unable and unwilling to accept the painful spiritual process that the Church (and the world) must go through in order for these glorious days to be manifested. Most prophets seem to think that the "Wits" will magically make these days appear out of nowhere and for no reason at all. These prophets fail to understand that there is a "Noah process" required. The Earth must be regenerated, from the inside out, and no amount of pastoral soothing and protection can make the "Noah process" go away, for the time has come for God to complete His work on Earth, and those who work to delay His manifestation shall be heaved aside as so much roadkill.

 

There is much more to say regarding Katrina, but we will share it in the next prophetic word...