By: Ron Wood
The authority that has been exercised in the prophetic office has been thus far limited. It will now escalate to a new level of authorization by God. The refiners fire has purged, refined, and in some cases, destroyed as unuseable the character of God's prophetic servants. Prophetic gifts have tantalized and been toyed with, but the office of the prophet is now being elevated by the Lord. Ambassadorial credentials are being bestowed.
That office of the prophet is no longer going to be subject to illegal control. By that, I mean leaders who are interested in building up their own little kingdom or controlling their people rather than be burdened for the welfare of the whole church in the city will no longer be able to merchandise the anointing or exploit their prophetic gifts. The prophetic anointing will no longer be subject to manipulation or intimidation. Awesome increase of fearful accuracy will frighten those who live in sin. Jesus owns the prophets and they are not for sale at any price.
Jeremiah's anointing was to tear down as well as to build up. In tender mercy, with delicate but unrelenting patience, the Lord will demolish man-made structures and traditions. He will break a few tables and knock a few heads in cleansing His temple. He will hurt us to help us. The good will give way to the best. What Father did not plant will be uprooted. What God did not build will be shaken. The weakness of the present pastoral foundation of the church will become apparent in order that we may begin to cry out for the true foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone. The upside-down church will get righted.
In particular, the Lord will allow the Jezebel spirit to run its course through the religious institutions. He will do this so that we may see its fruit, repent, and turn away from false authority. It will become apparent that the ordinary office of pastoral leadership, as necessary and wonderful as it may be, is not adequate to deal with nor is it designed to to uncover, confront, or destroy the place Jezebel has occupied-- unhindered and often unrecognized-- in the church.
I now see why Jesus chose for His front line masculine disciples, a rough core group who had not an ounce of religion in them, all but one, that is, Judas. He had to have men for the foundation of His church that were free of religious manipulation from Jezebel's miasma. God is uncovering Jezebel in order to rebuild the foundation of His church, free of idolatry and wickedness.
PRAYER BY APOSTOLIC FATHERS WILL LIBERATE CITIES
The second factor in God's timetable is the continuing maturation and effectiveness of intercessory prayer. This is typified by Daniel, a statesman-prophet and true intercessor. He was faultless and methodical in his praying. He kept himself righteous even while he served a heathen ruler. He never lost sight of God's plan. He prayed it into existence. This is truly spiritual warfare, using spiritual weapons to achieve strategic measurable results including the liberation and welfare of people and the salvation of souls and the building up of the body of Christ.
Daniel played a role in the delivery of God's "prophetic baby." He served the purpose of God by seeing and saying what God's calendar predicted. He saw the fulness of time coming to a conclusion. He knew God's Word, discerned the times, and labored in travail for the season to change. He identified with the sins of God's people and interceded for God's promises to come to pass. He prayed with authority because He knew what God had promised. He was heard because he was righteous, because he prayed according to God's will, and because he used the persistence of true faith.
Spiritual warfare involves testimony, prayer, praise, preaching, prophecy and proclamation. These are things we do with our words. We form weapons with our mouth. These words inspired by God become articles of war that defeat Satan and dislodge his influence. High praises are especially powerful as tools of war. Intercessory prayer, standing in the gap for others, is especially blessed of God. With words we bless men, exalt Christ, affirm our faith, and weaken and evict the demons. We cleanse our house with words. Words are weapons, especially when they are divinely inspired and prophetically timed.
What I am seeing is that the intercessory prayer movement, one of the largest mobilizations of the Body of Christ in human history, will now move to a new level of maturity. Up to this point in time, it has been mostly led by wonderfully dedicated women. This is well and good and I mean for nothing I say to take away from what they have done and are still doing. But I see that a new phase is dawning. It can be symbolized by a change that occurred in my lifetime in the delivery rooms of hospitals.
When my two children were born, Woman's Hospital did not allow fathers to be present at births. It was official hospital policy. But a few months after my last child was delivered, they changed their policy. I missed the chance to be in on that precious moment. Now, fathers may enter the delivery room. Today, God is inviting men into the delivery room. All men, not just those called to minister the Word. We are being welcomed to enter in to the work of the Lord, to travail in birth for God's will to be done on earth. But in this process a new breed of God's generals will emerge. These are apostolic fathers who not only know how to marshal the troops and lead the battle, they will also be men of much prayer who know how to engage in spiritual birthing. They will be wrestlers who prevail in prayer over the enemy in order that their city may be liberated. Am example of this is Carlos Annocondia. His exploits have been chronicled in books and articles. He travails in prayer, gains power over the devil, then preaches to set men free. As a result, whole cities have been evangelized.
The prophetic intercessory prayer movement is about to have another layer added to it. It will be called apostolic intercession, the combining of ruling and praying, of the kingly office and the priestly function, the apostle and the prophet. On top of this development the Lord will release the final ingredient to insure our success- abundant financial resources.
END-TIME TRANSFER OF WEALTH
King David laid up resources for Solomon to construct the temple. He alsoinspired the people to give extravagantly toward the completion of the building. He made their giving an act of worship, saying "Now who is willing to consecrate himself today to God?" (1 Chron. 29:5) In our day, the completion of the house of God has been hindered by two errors. First, we thought the house of God was a physical building located on a piece of land. In reality, God's house is the Body of Christ. That body needs facilities to meet in, but God's house is the people, not the bricks. God dwells in relationships, not in buildings. Second, we have built the traditional church on the wrong foundation. We have built it based on pastors rather than apostles and prophets. As a result, it does not reveal God's glory. In the houses we build, the priests have no problem standing because God's glory is routinely absent. The fullness of Christ is notrevealed to the degree it should be. Why Because it was not built according to the divine pattern. I am not saying this to build a case for apostles and prophets, just to say the current situation is unbiblical. God is now addressing this area in order to correct it.
What does this have to do with end-time transfer of wealth? Just this: The financial control of modern churches and seminaries has been (with very few exceptions) in the power of pastors or teachers. This statement of fact is not meant to indict pastors. Instead, properly understood, it should be a relief. Pastors have been the unsung suffering heroes of the Body of Christ. Pastors and their wives have suffered slings and arrows and satanic assaults and have still faithfully tended the flock through it all. But unfortunately, they have been drained and burned out, many having left the ministry having had to do things they were never given grace by God to do. We owe all pastors a huge debt of appreciation.
When we minister inside our sphere of grace, authority, and anointing, we don't burn out. We carry the load with ease. The foundation gift ministries of the church are apostles and prophets. The church is not built on the foundation of pastors and teachers. It is built on the foundation of apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20).Therefore, in order for God to release the abundant resources he has stored up for completing the work, he is inspecting the building site of His house to see if we are removing the pieces that were put in the wrong place and inserting the right pieces into proper place. It is a matter or placement and alignment.
God is a good builder. God will not pay for what he does not first approve. He reserves the right to inspect the building site. If we get His permit to continue, He releases the funds to build further. When the foundation of God's house is built according to His specifications, He will release the riches of heaven into the right hands. God is about to invest in apostles and prophets. But here is a warning: If we don't repent quickly, the payment will be delayed in transit.
Zechariah was a prophet of restoration. What he described for Israel has an end-time application in the church as well. He saw the high priest, the Branch (a Messianic foreshadowing), the one who will build the temple of the Lord (apostles are wise-master-builders). He will rule on his throne (apostles are primarily gifted in government in the church), he will be a priest on his throne (one necessary function of prophets is to intercede and pray for the people as the Spirit wills), and the "counsel of peace will be between the two offices." (Zech. 6:11-15). In other words, there will be a union between the offices of apostle and prophet. There, the Lord commands the blessing. There, the crown of silver and gold will adorn his head. There, the glory and the wisdom will be revealed. There, the gold and the silver will be placed as an adornment. Then, money will be no object.
God is not broke. He has stored up the wealth which we need in order to finish the work of building God's house. Everything our generation has amassed, the internet e-tech fortunes, the entertainers, the rich athletes, all of it is designed to serve God's purpose. A new partnership between businessmen and apostles will emerge. A new wealth-creation cycle between widows and prophets will appear. No spirit of Jezebel will choke off the funds anymore!
God has pre-positioned supplies all along our route. There is a rich storehouse of treasure and it is extravagant and abundant. There is no shortage of money with God. God's October Surprise includes the wealth of the nations being transferred into the builders hands, the foundation gifts of apostles and prophets, those who will lay the foundation for the future. The glory of the latter house will be greater than the former. In fact, there will be no comparison.
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Ron Wood is a prophet and writer. Permission is granted to copy this file in its entirety and share it, as long as no changes are made. Copyright 2000 by Ron Wood - Touched By Grace, Inc. - P.O. Box 678 - Rogers, AR 72757-0678 USA - www.touchedbygrace.org - Contact us at RonaldEWood@cs.com.
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