“Beyond the abomination, what else does it foretell?”
“The account begins with the apostasy of God’s people. The people who know God and who were to keep His ways, even His ministers, apostatized, turned away from God, and embraced the ways of the godless and the current spirit of the age. And so it will be in the last days . . . There will be a great falling away, a great apostasy. The account goes on to document the rise of a world culture that seeks to merge all cultures into one and to compel everyone to abandon their faith. Any culture, faith, people, or person that stands in its way, it seeks to stamp out. So it will be at the end of the age . . . a global culture . . . and the persecution of God’s people . . . a civilization that criminalizes the ways of God, abolishes the Word of God, overturns the order of God, blasphemes the Name of God, desecrates the sacred things of God, and wars against the people of God. So it will be at the end.”
“Is there any hope in the blueprint?” I asked.
“Always,” he said. “Though most went along with the apostasy and the darkness, there was a remnant who would not go along, who held strong, and who became the resistance . . . the Maccabees. And God anointed them and empowered them to overcome the darkness and to usher in the light, thus, the Festival of Lights. Learn of the Maccabean Blueprint and follow its keys.” Then he handed me the oil lamp. “Go ahead,” he said, motioning for me to light the remainder of the lights of the menorah. So I did. “And this is how you overcome,” he said. “You fight the darkness by shining into it the light of God.”
The Mission: Live today by the Maccabean Blueprint. Stand with God and don’t be moved. Go against the odds. Fight the fight. Light up the darkness.
Daniel 11:32; Zechariah 9:13–14; Ephesians 6:10–20; Revelation 12:11
The Maccabee Blueprint I–IV
DAY 346
HEAVEN’S WOMB
WE HAD BEEN observing one of the tent villages when suddenly the stillness was suddenly broken by a burst of high-pitched cries of excitement.
“Birth,” said the teacher. “Do you remember when we saw the woman sitting by the tent door, the one who was expecting? That’s the sound of celebration for her newborn baby.”
It was some time before people began emerging from the tent, first a middle-aged woman, a friend or relative of the mother, cradling the newborn baby boy.
“Do you remember when I spoke of the child in the womb . . . how that child would never be able to make sense of his life in the womb, because the womb was not the world he was made for, but the place of preparation for the world he was made for? It wasn’t just a revelation about heaven. It was a revelation about this world . . . and about your life. When Messiah spoke of what comes after this world, He spoke of it as the day we ‘enter life.’ Think about it . . . to enter life. If we will enter life then, then what is this present life?”
“It must be pre-life,” I said.
“Yes,” he said. “Pre life . . . pre-birth. In fact, it is written in the Scriptures that ‘the whole creation groans and labors with birth pains together until now.’ This entire life is prenatal. Do you know what this life really is?”
“What?”
“The womb of heaven,” he said. “This life is heaven’s womb. It’s not what you’re destined for. It’s not your home. It’s the place of your preparation for the place you are destined for. As the womb was to prepare you for this life . . . this life is to prepare you for what is yet to come. As an unborn child can never understand or judge his life by the womb, neither can you understand or judge your life by your present circumstances . . . but only by that which they are preparing you for . . . heaven. And God will use everything of this world, and everything in your life, the joys and the sorrows, the victories and the losses, the mountains and the valleys, all of it, to prepare you, to grow you, and to form you into the child of heaven you are yet to become. From here on, see this world and your life as it actually is, and let it prepare you for the life beyond this life, and the world beyond this world, that you would be ready on that day . . . when you leave this word . . . and are born to eternity. For everything you’ve known of this world and of your life on earth . . . was none other than heaven’s womb.”
The Mission: Take part in a new revelation—see everything in your life, as your preparation for eternal life. See this life as the womb of heaven. And live your life accordingly.
Psalm 139:13–16; Matthew 18:3; 19:7; John 16:21–22; Romans 8:22–23, 29
Heaven’s Womb
DAY 347
THE MASK OF THE EGYPTIAN
HE LED ME into the Chamber of Books and to a large volume bound in blue and much less ancient-looking than most of the other books in that room. It was a book of cathedral art, depictions of Messiah in paintings, sculptures, and stained-glass windows.
“Do you think He looks Jewish?” asked the teacher.
“Not in there,” I said.
“Tell me of Joseph as the shadow of Messiah.”
“He was despised and rejected by his brothers, separated from his family, exiled to a foreign land, falsely accused, and imprisoned. He suffered for the sins of others but was then raised up from his dungeon, exalted, and given a royal position from which he saved a nation.”
“And all the while,” said the teacher, “estranged from his family and they to him. He becomes the hope of a world beyond the world of his family. His brothers have no idea that the savior of Egypt is their rejected and long-lost brother Joseph. Then they go down to Egypt and stand in his presence, face-to-face. But they don’t know it’s him. Why?”
“He would have been dressed up as an Egyptian official.”
“That’s correct. They couldn’t see past his Egyptian clothes and adornments. They could only see a lord of Egypt, a Gentile savior of a Gentile land. What does the mystery reveal?”
“For the last two thousand years Messiah has become the Savior to people of every nation and tongue . . . and yet, He’s been estranged from His own family, Israel, the Jewish people. To them He’s the Savior of the Gentiles. They can’t see past the foreign clothing, the adornments . . . ”
“The stained glass, the statues, the icons, the cathedrals of a culture cut off from its Jewish roots. But that’s not the end of the story. What happens at the end?”
“Joseph’s brothers finally realize that the Egyptian is their long-lost brother . . . and their hope as well.”
“So too the story of Messiah and His people will end when they stand before Him face-to-face and finally see through the clothing, the adornments, and the mask of two thousand years. And then they will realize that the Savior of the Gentiles is their long-lost brother, Yeshua, their Joseph, and their hope as well. Pray for that day. For when it comes, it will be Messiah’s joy, Israel’s redemption, and, as it is written, riches for the world.”
The Mission: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for His ancient people to see through the mask and behold Messiah, their long-lost brother, Yeshua.
Genesis 44:18; 45:1–2; Hosea 3:4–5; Zechariah 12:10–13:1; Matthew 23:37–39
The Shadow Man I–VI
DAY 348
AS A MAN CARRIES HIS SON
WE WATCHED FROM a mountain ridge as a family of nomads made their way across a barren plain. The father was carrying in his arms his infant son.
“As a man carries his son,” said the teacher. “When is it that a man carries his son?”
“When his son is a baby,” I replied.
“Yes, and when else?” he asked.
“When his son is too tired to continue walking, or when his son is sick or disabled.”
“And when else?”
“When he holds his son . . . to embrace him.”
“Did you know that it is written in the Scriptures that, as that father is to his infant son, so God is to His people? When the Israelites reached the end of their journeying, Moses told them, ‘You saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came
to this place.’ Remember this image . . . a man carrying his son. It’s a picture of God and His people . . . It’s a picture of God and you. The wilderness journey is a symbol of our journey through this life. So in your journey through this life, there will be times when you’ll find yourself too weary to go on. It will be then that He will carry you in His arms. And there will be times when you find yourself with infirmities, wounds, disabling wounds, brokenness, and in some way unable to go on. It is then that He will carry you. And when you find yourself in a valley, down, in the lowest times of your life, and unable to raise yourself, it will be then that His hand will grab hold of yours and lift you up. And there will be times when you feel alone and abandoned. And it will be then that the arms of your Father will hold you and embrace you. You will not see His arms with your eyes and only sometimes will you feel them. But they will be there, always lifting you up, always keeping you, always holding you, and always carrying you on, to bring you to the appointed place and day.”
He was quiet as he stared at the family still making its way across the plain.
“And there is one other time,” he said, “that a man will carry his son . . . when his son has died. And so when you close your eyes for the last time in this life, the arms of your Father will once more hold you and bring you from this wilderness into the Promised Land . . . as tenderly and as lovingly as a man carries his son.”
The Mission: Thank God for the times in your life when you couldn’t go on, but God carried you. Let those same arms carry you and your burdens now.
Deuteronomy 1:31; Song of Solomon 8:5; Isaiah 40:11; 46:3–4; John 10:27–29
As a Man Carries His Son
DAY 349
THE IMMANUEL PARADOX
SOMETHING I DON’T understand . . . When Messiah was dying, He said, ‘My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ Why would He have said that?”
“Would it have been better,” said the teacher, “if He hadn’t said that? Would it have been more fitting or more glorious if dying on the cross was easy for Him . . . if it was not excruciating . . . and if He was not overwhelmed? That’s the point. It cost Him everything. It was the ultimate sacrifice even for God. It’s all the more glorious . . . It’s the love of God.”
“But how could He be forsaken?”
“Remember, He was dying in our place. He became sin. He made Himself the focal point of all judgment. So He had to be separated . . . It’s part of judgment—separation from God . . . And there’s another reason, a beautiful reason. Did it ever occur to you, the paradox?”
“What do you mean?”
“He said, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ But who is it that is saying those words? The One saying, ‘My God, why have You forsaken Me’ . . . is God. God is the One asking God why God has forsaken Him.”
“God become God-forsaken . . . a colossal paradox.”
“And He’s speaking those words in our place. The One saying those words is Immanuel, ‘God is with us.’ So the One asking why God is not with Him is ‘God is with us.’ Why is that an awesome thing? Because it means this: When you come to the darkest moments of your life, when you feel God has forsaken you, even then He will be with you. When you cry out, ‘My God, why have You forsaken me?,’ God will be right there saying those words with you. When you feel infinitely far away and hopelessly separated from God, God will be there feeling just as infinitely far away and hopelessly separated from God with you. That it was God Himself saying those words in our place means that even if you were forsaken by God, God would choose to be forsaken with you . . . and so you will never be forsaken. If God was with us even when He was separated from God, then there is nothing in this world or beyond, nothing in this age or in the ages to come, that will ever separate you from the love of God in Him who is the love of God . . . and who will always be with you.”
The Mission: Remember those times in your life when you felt farthest from God. Now ponder this: God was there feeling just as far from God with you. So nothing will ever separate you from the love of God.
Isaiah 43:2; Matthew 27:46; 28:19–20; Romans 8:35–39
Immanuel I–II
DAY 350
THE GREAT ASCENDING
THE TEACHER HAD given me a day’s notice to prepare. We were to go hiking. I was to pack food and other necessities and get to bed early, as it would take the entire day. We left before dawn. Our hiking took us on a mostly level path surrounded by low-lying hills on both the right and the left. Because of the hills, for most of the journey our view of the surrounding landscape was limited. We talked for hours, stopped several times for breaks. By late afternoon the hills that flanked us began to recede. Finally we came to a ledge from which we were able to catch our first glimpse of the wider landscape. What I saw then stunned me, not just because of the view, which was breathtaking, but what it revealed about the journey we had just taken. We were standing at the edge of a high mountain. It had to be one of the highest mountains I had ever ascended during my days in the desert.
“Look over there,” he said. “That’s where we came from.”
“I had no idea,” I said. “The path seemed so level.”
“It seemed level in the short run. But in the long run, over time, it was a colossal ascent. So how did we get here? We just walked . . . and continued to walk . . . and kept walking. You see,” he said, “over the long run, continuance, consistency, and perseverance overcome everything else. And the small upward steps, taken every day, will end up lifting you to the heights. God has called you not only to love, but to keep loving; not only to believe, but to press on in believing; and not only to do right, but to persevere in doing it. When you do that, then the power of your love, your faith, and your righteousness will be multiplied . . . And something else . . . Don’t ever judge your life or what God is doing in your life by how it appears in the moment on the journey. You’ll rarely see it. But when you get to a vantage point like this one, and look back at your journey, at the big picture, at the long run, it is then that you’ll see the magnitude of the miracle of what God has done in your life. Remember this day, and this journey. It’s the journey you’re on. Walk this good road, and no matter what . . . keep walking it. Never give up, but keep walking, and you will end up standing on heights you dreamed you could attained . . . and looking back at the magnitude of a miracle and a journey you never realized you were on.”
The Mission: Take time today to look back at the big picture. See how far God has taken you. Press on in your journey step by step to the heights.
Psalms 18:36; 84:5–7; 122; Isaiah 2:1–2; Philippians 3:13–14
Higher Ground
DAY 351
THE GARDENER
HE ARRANGED FOR me to meet him in one of the school’s gardens of fruit trees. I found him there wearing a large straw hat for shade and working the soil with a farming implement.
He laid down the implement, sat down on one of the garden’s low stone walls, and motioned for me to join him. So I did.
“In the beginning,” said the teacher, “God created man in His own image. And where was man?”
“In a garden.”
“And what was man?” He waited for a response, but I couldn’t think of any. “He was a gardener. God placed the man in Eden to till and keep the garden. Man was a gardener. So what would that mean?”
Again, I didn’t know how to answer the question.
“Man,” said the teacher, “was created in the image of God. And man was created specifically to be a gardener. Therefore . . . ”
“God is a gardener?”
“Yes.”
“But how?” I asked. “What’s His garden?”
“The creation is His garden. He keeps it, He tends it, and He sows into it His seed . . . He sows into the creation His Word, and into His garden His life . . . that it might bear its fruit. But the garden didn’t bear its fruit.”
“Meaning,” I said, “the creation never brought forth the life it was meant to bear?”
“God came into His creation that the creation might bring forth life.”
“And when the creation bore the firstfruits of new life, when He first appeared outside the tomb, in what form did He appear? What was He mistaken for?”
“A gardener.”
“And what kind of tomb was it that bore the firstfruits?”
“A garden tomb.
“He is the Gardener . . . ”
“And we are His garden.
“So let the Gardener come into His garden. Let Him till its soil, sow its seed, and bring forth its new life. For every garden that is touched by the Gardener will bear the fruit it was meant to bear.”
The Mission: Today, let the Gardener come into His garden, to every part of your life, especially the untouched soil, that every part would bear its fruit.
Genesis 1:29; 2:15; Song of Solomon 4:16; 5:1; 6:2; John 20:13–20
The Gardener
DAY 352
THE MISSION PLANET
IHAD GONE WITH the teacher to the city to do some errands for the school. By the time we started our return journey, it was nightfall. Rather than travel the entire way back in the dark, we decided to sleep overnight on a nearby mountain. We talked late into the evening as we gazed at the darkness of the desert, the light of the city, and the stars in the night sky.
“Every child of God has a calling,” said the teacher, “a mission to fulfill. What do you think is yours?”
“I don’t know,” I replied. “But I can’t see myself as a missionary.”
The Book of Mysteries Page 50
