The Mission: Today, set out on a Magian journey. Journey away from the familiar to the new as you seek more of Him, His will, and His presence.
Isaiah 60:1–6; Matthew 2:1–11
The Journey of the Magi
DAY 109
THE MAGNITUDE OF THE SUN
IT WAS EARLY morning. The teacher took me on a journey to the city through the desert riding on camels. The purpose was to pick up supplies for the school. But, of course, he had more than one purpose in mind.
“One thing I want you to do,” he said, “keep watch over the sun.”
It was a strange directive. I did my best, noting from time to time its position in the sky. At the journey’s end, upon our return, he questioned me.
“What did you see?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I answered. “Nothing of note. The sun was just the sun.”
“I imagine,” he said, “that at times it was obscured by the mountains, the trees, and the buildings of the city. But otherwise, I imagine it stayed the same, certainly the same size. I would also imagine that the landscape was continually changing, everything was changing except for the sun.”
“That’s true,” I said. “But isn’t that the way the sun works?”
“Yes, but why is that the way the sun works?” he asked. “It’s because . . . although a mountain or a house or even a hand can appear bigger than the sun and can, for a time, obscure it, the reality is that the sun’s true magnitude, its actual size, is so enormous, so colossal, that the highest mountain on earth is as nothing in comparison. It doesn’t appear so in the short run, but it becomes clear over the long run. Even in our little journey, everything we saw completely changed, the hills, the mountains, everything but the sun. And if we had traveled thousands of miles, it wouldn’t have made a difference. The sun’s colossal magnitude is manifested by its changelessness.”
“And what does it reveal?” I asked.
“Two thousand years ago, Messiah said, ‘I am the Light of the World.’ Since that time, ages have begun and ended, continents and civilizations have been discovered, kingdoms and empires have risen and fallen. And some of these things have, for a time, seemed larger. For a time they obscured the figure of the Nazarene. But in the long run, over the course of the long journey, they’ve all passed away. Everything has changed . . . except Him. All the rest lies in ruins and rubble or in the pages of history . . . but He remains unchanged, undiminished . . . as central, as pivotal, and as colossal as He has ever been. Everything changes but Him. He is the sun. And His colossal magnitude is manifested by His changelessness.”
The Mission: Today, see all things in view of the big picture. Whatever problems or issues you have are small in comparison to Him and will pass away in the magnitude of the Son.
John 8:12; Ephesians 3:16–19; Hebrews 13:8
Two Thousand Years Ago
DAY 110
THE TWO THREE THOUSANDS
HE TOOK ME back to the Chamber of Scrolls, and to the scroll in the ark, which he removed and read out loud: “‘You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.’ This,” said the teacher, “is the ordinance of the Feast of Shavuot, which takes place seven weeks, or fifty days, after the Passover. When the rabbis realized that this was the same time that Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the Law, Shavuot became the day that commemorated the giving of the Law. Over a thousand years after the giving of the Law, Messiah’s disciples were together in Jerusalem and the Spirit of God came upon them. It was the day that the new covenant was empowered by God’s Spirit. It all happened on the Hebrew feast of Shavuot. When the rabbis of the Greek world had to give a Greek name to this Hebrew holy day, they called it The Feast of the Fiftieth Day or in Greek, Pentecoste.”
“Pentecost!” I said. “So Pentecost is the Hebrew Feast of Shavuot.”
“And do you know what this means? It means that the Spirit of God was given to the believers on the same day that the Law of God was given to Israel. The old covenant and the new covenant are joined together. They were both inaugurated on the same day. And do you know what happened when the Law was given? There was judgment. People perished. And the number of those who perished, the ancient Hebrew records, was ‘about three thousand.’ And do you know what happened on that second Shavuot and Pentecost, when the Spirit was given?”
“No.”
“There was salvation, eternal life. And the number of those who came to new life, the ancient Greek records, was ‘about three thousand.’ Two different languages, ages apart, yet the same exact expression.”
“So three thousand died and, centuries later, three thousand came to life on the same exact holy day.”
“And so the apostle Paul writes, ‘The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.’ The Spirit was given on the same day as the Law. Why? Because the Law can tell us the will of God, but only the Spirit can give us the power to live it. Therefore, live by the Spirit of God and you fulfill the will of God for your life just as precisely as the coming of the Spirit on Shavuot, Pentecost, the Day of the Law.”
The Mission: Instead of struggling to accomplish the will of God, live, move, and be moved by the Spirit of God—and you will fulfill His will.
Exodus 32:20; Leviticus 23:15–21; Acts 2:41; 2 Corinthians 3:4–6
Tablets of the Spirit
DAY 111
CHAYIM
FROM A MOUNTAIN in the distance we watched an event I had never before witnessed in my days in the desert—a funeral among the tent dwellers. It was a simple event, a burial in the sand, with a single stone and a palm leaf to mark the grave. We were silent for some time. Then he spoke.
“Death,” said the teacher, “the shadow that hangs over all who live in this world, the destroyer of creation, the ender of our time on earth. As we see it from this world, life is for a limited time, and then comes death, and death is permanent, forever. But the sacred tongue of Scripture holds a revelation, a revelation of life and death. The word for death in Hebrew is mavet. The word for life is chayim. Mavet and chayim. . . Do you notice anything about the two words?”
“The word chayim sounds like some of the other words you’ve shared.”
“It does,” he said. “It’s because of the im at its end.”
“That makes it plural.”
“It’s one of the mystery words of Hebrew with the strange property that it can only be spoken in the plural form and never in the singular.”
“And what does it signify?”
“Mavet is singular. But chayim is plural. It’s the exact opposite of what we think. It is death that is singular and life that is plural. In God, it is death that is limited, and death that is finite. In God, it is death that is not forever, but which has an end.”
“The ending of ending . . . would be endlessness.”
“All endings will be ended,” said the teacher. “For in God, it is not life that is limited, but death, and not death that goes on forever, but life. For the word chayim is plural. And so it speaks of life beyond life. And Messiah said He is the Life. But in Hebrew, He is the Chayim. He is the Life that cannot be ended. So death could not overcome Him. For chayim is greater than mavet. Life is greater than death. And we, who are born of God, are of chayim. Thus we are the people of life. Therefore, take no part in that which is of death. Have no part in sin or darkness. For you are of chayim, of life with no end. And you are of that which cannot be overcome but overcomes all things, even death itself.”
The Mission: Remove from your life today any action or thought that which leads to death, starting with sin. Replace them with that which leads to life.
Isaiah 25:5–9; John 11:25; Acts 3:15
The Hebrew Mysteries I–IV
DAY 112
THE MYSTERY OF THE CHERUBIM
HE LED ME through a winding ravine that opened up into a hidden enclave hedged in by steep mountain walls. In one of the walls was an entranceway. We went inside. There were
several chambers. On the walls of one of those chambers was the remnant of an ancient painting of two winged creatures and a glowing sword.
“So He drove out the man,” said the teacher, “and He placed cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden, and a flaming sword, which turned in every direction, to guard the way to the tree of life. The fall of man . . . the loss of paradise . . . the separation of man from God, the unholy from the holy. And the sign of that separation was the cherubim with the flaming sword. The cherubim formed the barrier to prevent evil, sin, fallen man, from entering the presence of God. So the sign of the cherubim represents everything that separates us from God, everything that separates us from peace, purpose, meaning, and love.”
“As every separation began with the first separation in Eden,” I replied, “it would seem impossible for such a barrier ever to be removed.”
“It would,” he replied. “Do you remember the supernatural event that took place in the Temple when Messiah died?”
“The veil in front of the holy of holies was torn in two.”
“Yes, the parochet, the colossal barrier that separated man from God, torn apart from top to bottom. But the parochet was not simply a cloth, but the vessel of a mystery. Embroidered on its fabric were images of the cherubim…the guardians of Eden, still guarding the way back to God, and the barrier separating man from God. But when Messiah died, the sign of the cherubim separating man from God was pulled apart. As the veil was pulled apart, so too were the cherubim. For Messiah was passing through . . . as through the cherubim . . . the return to paradise.”
“And through the flaming sword?”
“Yes. And to pass through a flaming sword would means one death. And by passing through, He crossed the uncrossable barrier. The sign of the cherubim is broken. The barrier between God and man is gone.”
“So does that mean that all barriers are nullified, and all separations removed?”
“For those who are in Messiah, there are no more separations, no more judgment, no more rejection, no more shame, no more guilt, no more curse. It means that whatever was separating us from our purpose, our blessing, and our redemption is gone. It means that every barrier separating us from God is removed. The way is open . . . We can come home.”
The Mission: In Messiah all barriers are gone. Move forward this day in that power, through every veil, wall, separation, hindrance, and cherubim.
Genesis 3:24; Exodus 26:31; Mark 15:38; Romans 8:31–37
The Day of the Cherubim
DAY 113
THE MIND BINDERS
THE TEACHER TOOK me into the Chamber of Vessels where he opened a small wooden box and removed a black leather container attached to a black leather band.
“This is called a tefillin. And this is how it’s worn by Orthodox Jews.” He placed the black leather box just above his forehead, then wrapped the leather band around his head, fastening the box in place.
“I don’t understand the purpose of binding a box to your head.”
“It’s not the box. It’s what’s inside the box. Inside the box are scrolls of parchment. And on the scrolls is the Word of God. It’s their way of applying a command from the Law concerning the words of God’s commandments: ‘You shall bind them . . . as a sign upon your forehead.’ They do it as an outward observance. But there is in this a spiritual key that can change your life . . . and your mind.”
He removed the tefillin from his forehead and continued. “What goes on inside your mind, the world of your thoughts, is the most private part of your life. You may do what is right on the outside, but what happens on the inside is often very different . . . wandering thoughts, restless and straying thoughts, dark thoughts, sinful thoughts. But what this leather box is telling you is that it doesn’t have to be that way. When God speaks of binding the Word to your head, it’s about more than this box. It’s revealing that even your thought life can become holy. The secret is to take the Word of God and bind it to your mind, to your thoughts, to your emotions, and to your will.
“And the Hebrew word here for bind is kashar,” he said. “It speaks of knitting together. So you are to knit the Word of God to your thoughts. How? By dwelling on the Word, by meditating on it, agreeing with it, and affirming it from the center of your being. You let the Word lead your emotions, and your thoughts flow out of the Word. The mystery contained in this leather box is that the Word can be bound to your thoughts, knit so closely together that you actually think the thoughts of God. And since the head is what rules your life, if your thoughts are one with God’s Word, then so too will be your life. If you let the Word of God change your thoughts . . . it will also change your life.”
The Mission: Take a word from Scripture. Dwell on it, agree with it, and bind it to your thoughts, your emotions, your heart, and your mind.
Deuteronomy 11:18; 2 Corinthians 10:4–5; 1 Peter 1:13
Keepers of the Word
DAY 114
THE FOURTH CREATURE
IT WAS NIGHT. We were sitting by the fire. The teacher had a small scroll in his hand from which he was reading by the light of the flames: “‘I saw in my vision by night, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea . . . ’ This,” said the teacher, “is the vision given to the prophet Daniel of the four creatures, the great world kingdoms of ancient times, and one last kingdom of the end times.”
“What were they, the creatures?” I asked.
“The first was like a lion with eagles’ wings, that was Babylon. The second was like a bear, Persia. The third was like a leopard with four heads and wings, Greece. And the fourth represented both the Roman Empire of ancient times and a global civilization yet to come.”
“And what did the fourth creature look like?”
“It’s hard to say,” he replied. “Even Daniel was mystified by it. He described it as exceedingly powerful, destructive, and terrifying. But he used another Hebrew word over and over again to describe it. The word is shainah. Shainah can be translated to mean different. The fourth creature is especially different from all the creatures that went before it. Thus, the civilization of the last days will be different from every civilization that preceded it. The word shainah also means changed or altered. Thus the state of the last days will be a changed state . . . an altered civilization. The first three creatures were based on the forms of nature. But the fourth creature has no clear grounding in nature. Its teeth and claws are of iron and bronze. It’s different . . . altered . . . changed.”
“Sounds more like a machine,” I said.
“The revelation of the fourth creature is this: End-time civilization will be based not on the natural, but on the unnatural. It will exist against nature. It will be of an altered or transmuted nature . . . a civilization at war with creation, with nature, and with the order of God.”
“Sounds like . . . now.”
“And thus,” said the teacher, “those who live in the end times must resist a civilization that wars against the order of creation and uphold the Word of the Eternal. They must stand firm against the power, the nature, and the terror of the altered creature.”
The Mission: Separate your heart, your mind, your actions, and your way of life from any defilement of the present culture and anything that goes against the Word and ways of God.
Leviticus 20:26; Daniel 7:1–7; 1 Peter 2:9–12
The Iron Creature
DAY 115
THE SCROLL OF DAYS
TEACHER,” I SAID, “How does one know the plan of God for one’s life?”
“Come,” he said. He led me into the Chamber of Scrolls, opened the ark, removed the scroll, and laid it on the table. But he didn’t unroll it.
“In the Psalms it is written, ‘And in Your book, they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.’ So all our days are written in God’s book before they come to pass. But in the Hebrew Scriptures, the word for book is sefer. And in the Greek of the New Testament S
criptures, the word is biblion, from which we get the word Bible.”
“And what exactly do sefer and biblion mean?”
“They refer to a scroll, a rolled parchment. God’s book is a scroll. His Book of Days is the Scroll of Days. The scroll holds the Word of God, the will of God, and the plans of God. So how does the scroll reveal His Word, His will, and His plan?”
He placed his hands on the knobs at the bottom of each roll. “You can only see what’s inside the scroll,” he said, “as it unrolls.” At that, he began unrolling it. “So you can only see the fullness of God’s plans for your life as they unfold . . . as the scroll unrolls. And unlike the books you’ve been used to reading, with a scroll, you can’t skip ahead to a future section. Everything has to unroll in its order. So with your life, you can never be shown all that lies ahead of you. You wouldn’t understand it, and you wouldn’t be able to deal with it. Everything must unfold in its order, in its place and time.”
“But what lies ahead in the scroll is already written, finished.”
“So too God’s plans for your life are already written and finished. And so it is written that He has prepared for us good works beforehand that we should walk in them. It’s already there beforehand, but only unfolds in its time. And notice,” he said, pointing to the words on the scroll, “everything in the scroll is connected. You don’t see the words that haven’t yet been unrolled, but the words you do see lead directly to them and foreshadow them. So with God’s plan for your life; you don’t see all that lies ahead, what hasn’t yet been revealed, but the part you do see in the present foreshadows what lies ahead and leads directly to what is yet to be revealed. The key, therefore, is to live in the present. To live the present day and every present moment of your life in the fullness of God’s will. And the words you see, living in the course of His Word, will lead you to the perfect will and the appointed destiny waiting in your unrolled scroll of days.”
The Book of Mysteries Page 17
