Shamah-Elim Bible Studies

Home
Site overview
 
Random posting
 
Newest articles
Prophetic words
Pending interpretation
Questions & Answers
Trains of thought
Tweets
 
Latest postings
Videos
 
Audio snippets
 
Search
 
Postings in other languages
Changes to articles
Copyright info
Contact info
 
Books
Offerings

 

_

 

ClustrMaps Map Image

Prophetic word for today

Lost pearls

First posted: December 16, 2004

E-mailed: December 10, 2004

Word received by: (Anonymous)

 

I have a pearl ring that I bought several years ago in a gold setting. I had a dream that I was showing the ring on my left hand ring-finger to my apostle. The ring has 9 small pearls mounted in gold in a cluster fashion. When I looked at the ring, all the pearls were gone, and I told the apostle all 11 of my pearls have fallen out of my ring. I am a pastor.

 

Our comments

To understand this dream, we must first understand the spiritual meaning of "pearls" in Scripture:

 

"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you" (Matthew 7:6)

 

As we have said before, "swine" or "pigs" are a spiritual figure of people under the influence of Girgashite spirits of earthliness and temporality. On the other hand, "dogs" are a figure of people under the influence of Canaanite spirits. Why? Because, as we have said before, Canaanite spirits induce people into becoming "people-pleasers", and dogs have an instinctive desire to please their masters; they are willing to "roll over", "play dead", and even "fetch sticks" just to make their owners happy.

 

When the Lord refers to "that which is holy", He is pointing to the prophetic anointing, as can be seen in the following passages:

 

"70As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: 71That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;" (Luke 1:70-71)

[As we have seen before, our "enemies" are the Girgashites who are at odds with the prophetic anointing of the Spirit, while those who "hate us" are the Canaanites who hate apostolic judgments]

 

"That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour" (2 Peter 3:2)

 

"And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done" (Revelation 22:6)

 

"37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) 40Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet." (John 7:37-40)

 

"And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:4)

 

"16But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:" (Acts 2:16-17)

 

While the reference to "holy things" in Matthew 7:6 points to the prophetic anointing, the "pearls" point to the apostolic anointing. Why? Because, as we have said before, apostles are called to endure long periods of suffering during which they are to "bear death" for the sake of others (2 Corinthians 4:10). Apostles are God's spiritual camels who are able to endure long periods in the consuming desert. They are used to God's judgments and allow themselves to be molded by His judgments over long periods of time. This is equivalent to how a pearl is formed over a long period of time inside an oyster. Pearls are formed in layers around a foreign particle inside the oyster's shell, meaning that pearls are valuable objects formed out of small things.

 

In a previous article, we saw how God calls us to apply prophetic anointing over Girgashites and apostolic anointing over Canaanites. This means "going across" the spiritual triangle:

 

 

However, Matthew 7:6 says that we are not to give "holy things" (i.e.- the prophetic) to dogs (i.e.- Canaanites), nor "pearls" (i.e.- the apostolic) to pigs (i.e.- Girgashites). In other words, impartations down the sides of the triangle towards the two evil spirits at the base are not only fruitless but counterproductive.

 

If we see the dream described at the beginning as a "prophetic drama", the believer who had the dream is playing the "role" of the pastoral ministry in the Church. Based on what we have seen so far, the pearls in the pastor's ring represent apostolic impartations. As we have said before, the apostolic ministry is the one most related to the making of judgments, especially "bronze" judgments, i.e.- judgments of "formation". Pastors are also called to reprove, which refers to judgments of "correction". 

 

The fact that the ring of pearls was on the left hand has spiritual significance. As we have seen before, the right hand is related in Scripture with concepts such as "judgments", "law", and "death", while the left hand is related to concepts such as "grace", "freedom" and "life". Therefore the apostolic pearls of wisdom should be on the right hand.

 

Since pastors are endowed with the "Spirit of Service" (one of the 7 Spirits of God), they become susceptible to people-pleasing Canaanite spirits which have a bitter hatred against judgments and death. Therefore, pastors tend to "hide" their right hand (since the right hand causes death), choosing instead to use the left hand of "grace" and "blessings". This is why the pastor in the dream was wearing the pearl ring on the left hand.

 

The fact that the ring had 9 pearls has spiritual significance. The number "9" has various meanings in Scripture, but one of them is "the power of the Holy Spirit" (there are 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit --- 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 --- and the fruit of the Spirit has 9 manifestations -- Galatians 5:22-23). Therefore, the 9 pearls speak of the pastoral ministry's focus on releasing spiritual power in order to bring "blessings" and "happiness", without caring to establish a foundation of righteousness first.

 

When the pastor showed the ring to the apostle, it was a figure of the pastor exposing the ring to God's Face and judgments. As we said before, Acts 20:25 reveals that God turned His Face away from the Church as it began to be invaded by spiritual wolves that established control over the Church through a "gospel" focused on getting things from God rather than giving ourselves unto Him. Since the time for the Church's restoration has come, God is turning His Face back towards the Church, and the pastoral ministry, which has focused on blessings and happiness, will be restored.

 

Many pastors throughout the Body of Christ sincerely believe that they are serving the Lord by promoting the blessings "gospel". This is why the pastor in the dream showed the ring to the apostle, as if to say, "Lord, I am using the pearls of apostolic judgment that You have given me". When the pastor exposed the ring to God's Face and judgments, the Lord removed all the pearls, as if to say "Pastor, you are not using the pearls I have given you as I commanded you to".

 

"22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." (Matthew 7:22-23)

[As we have said before, a "worker of iniquity" is a person who focuses on releasing dynamis power instead of judgment logos]

 

"24And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. 25(And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) 26For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him." (Luke 19:24-26)

 

The number "11" is related in Scripture to God's purifying judgments. Therefore, the fact that the pastor said that the "11 pearls" had fallen off means that many in the pastoral ministry are convinced that they are properly using their pearls to execute God's purifying judgments. However, the pastoral ministry has only used 9 pearls, not 11, and has ministered them from the left hand, not the right hand.

 

The transition from the number 9 to 11 has tremendous spiritual significance:

 

Number

Digit 1

(the Spirit)

Digit 2

(the soul)

Meaning

09

0

9

Here, our soul is full, but true spiritual transformation has not yet occurred

10

1

0

Here, our soul dies, but our spirit nature is manifested.

11

1

1

Here, our soul is resurrected, and molded to the likeness of God. Now, the Spirit and our soul can truly be One, because they are perfectly compatible

 

Pastors have a tendency to stay at "9", because the transition to "10" is painful, due to the fact that the soul goes from being full ("9") to annihilation ("0"). Avoiding this transition is equivalent to reaching the edge of the Jordan but refusing to cross over and enter the Promised Land.

 

(Notice how the person with the 10 pounds in Luke 19:24-26 (quoted above) ended up with 11 pounds, while the person who refused to use what he was given was left with nothing.)

 

The "gold setting" also has spiritual significance. In Scripture, "gold" refers to the manifestation of God's Glory. Unfortunately, man has a tendency to forsake God's Glory, choosing instead to rejoice in temporary blessings. This is when golden calves get made. In their effort to please, the pastoral ministry in the Church has acted like Aaron, molding an image of "God" to the carnal likings of others. When pastors place God's pearls on their left hand, they turn them from instruments that pave the way for God's Glory into instruments that produce golden calves. This dream is a prophetic call to repentance for all pastors who really want to set themselves right with Almighty and Holy God.