The Holy Pause

As I sit here in the quiet morning before anyone else is awake and listen intently for the voice of God, sometimes the sounds of all the clocks in my house feel like a heartbeat, ticking away the seconds, ticking away time, underlining the fact that there is no pausing, no stopping the journey. 

The steps of the journey may look different for each of us; some run with fevered speed, some pause or lag along the way, but the Promised Land is the final destination, the finish line. The question is... will we recognize it when we see it? 

"Then I said to you, 'Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as He did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the desert...' In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go" (Deuteronomy 1:29-33). 

Open our eyes, Lord. "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints" (Ephesians 1:18). 

Give us wisdom and knowledge, because You know all things. "He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him" (Daniel 2:21-22). 

Often, when I start to pray, I don't know how to best direct my prayer times. I am on the alert, though. I know there is a war in the spiritual realm that is more intense now than I have ever known it to be before. 1 Peter 5:8 says: "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." I want to stand in the gap with my brothers and sisters who are interceding for this world, set myself up against the enemy by the power of the Lord. 

But I need wisdom, insight to know how best to do that. "Call to Me, and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know" (Jeremiah 33:3). God does give wisdom, but that wisdom - He never promised - would be comfortable. In fact, it's downright uncomfortable most of the time. By His very nature, the Spirit pulls us outside of our comfort zones. He constantly calls us to the Father, and our comfortable houses we build for ourselves are straw and stubble that need to be burned away. 

Malachi 4:1-2 says: "'Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,' says the Lord Almighty. 'Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere My Name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.'" 

Malachi was one of the prophets of the Old Testament, and generally referred to (among other Old Testament prophets) by Peter in the New Testament where he says in 2 Peter 1:19: "And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." 

Are we paying attention to the fulfillment of prophecies, true ones (Peter warned immediately after the above Scripture about false prophets)? So often, I think it's tempting to push the ending of our journey back and back and back, because we haven't reached it yet, and we've been on the road for such a long time. Sometimes it's tempting to let the words of the prophets go, to let the promises of God through Scripture fade away. 

Peter keeps going. In 2 Peter 3:3-4, he says: "First of all, you must understand that in the last days, scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, 'Where is this 'coming' He promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation."

In 3:8-9, Peter jabs back at the scoffers: "But do not forget, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." 

Not our timetable. His time. The Lord has His kingdom calendar set, and only the Father knows what day that is. It is coming, and we need to be ready. 

"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief [suddenly and unexpectedly for those who are not watching the signs]. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare" (2 Peter 3:10). 

This morning, I read Revelation 6-7. You may have noticed I've been in Revelation the last few blog entries; here's why: after I finished my deep study of Acts, I thought: That was fun. Lord, where should I go next? Anywhere but Revelation. Your Word is literally an open book.

Guess where the Lord told me to go? Sigh. There is so. much. in this book that overwhelms. It's interesting reading material, for sure, but... how to even begin to comprehend it?! (Read: Jeremiah 33:3, quoted above, and Daniel 2:21-22, also quoted above). I'm asking the Lord daily for wisdom and knowledge and revelation as I pray over the words I read in this... interesting and enthralling and terrifying book.

So, with that said, in chapter 6, the Lamb Who was slain [Jesus], the only One in heaven, earth, or under the earth found worthy to open the scroll of judgment... opened the first six seals, one at a time. 

The white horse and rider emerged with the first seal: the spirit of conquest. He rode out, bent on winning by warfare. 

Then came the red horse with the breaking of the second seal. This one was the spirit of rebellion, revolt, the other half of the conquest rider. War from without was the name of the white horse, war from within was the name of the red. 

The third seal was opened, and the black horse came: the spirit of famine - hyper-inflation, starvation, the scarcity of most foods. 

The fourth seal brought out the pale horse: "Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine, and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth" (Revelation 6:8). 

Seal #5 showed the outcry of the martyred who had died for their faith. "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" (Revelation 6:10). They were given white robes and told to wait just a little longer. 

The sixth seal brought true apocalyptic distress: earthquake, darkness, blood red moon, stars falling to earth, the sky receding like a scroll, rolling up, mountains and islands shaking apart. 

Y'all, I have no idea how literal or figurative this language is; I don't think that's the important thing here. What I do think is important to note is that God will do what He said He will do: He will send His Son, Jesus, for the faithful, and He will take His glorious throne as the Ancient of Days. "The court will be seated, and the books will be opened" (Daniel 7:10).

Hallelujah! 

Revelation 7 brings a holy pause before the 7th and final seal is opened. It's where the nations stand before the Lord and cry out: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" 

And as the people praise... As the people praise... 

Y'all... did you hear that?! As the people praise... the angels standing around the great throne of the Ancient of Days fell down on their faces in worship. 

When we praise, heaven... moves!!! The throne room resounds in response!! "Amen!" the angels say. "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength [seven attributes, the number of perfection: perfect praise] be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" Amen, meaning: Let it be! So be it! It is inscribed. It is done. Amen! 

Can't you just hear it!? Hallelujah! And Amen! 

In that holy pause before the last seal, in spite of the foregoing, earth-shattering events, there is praise that makes the throne room of heaven resound with worship! 

As I was praying this, the Lord showed me a dark night. It was lit with a blue light and a picture of a large deck where there was a party going on: revelry, people dancing and drinking, intoxicated, loud, stumbling. On the edge of the deck where the people were partying was a large clock, a grandfather clock. The picture rapidly zoomed in, and I could see the hands pointing to 9:00. I heard: "The final hour." 

I don't know if I should read into the number 10:00 (the hour following 9:00). That may not mean anything, but as I thought about the hands at nine, and as I heard: "The final hour," I thought about the ten virgins with their lamps and their readiness and the Groom, who was coming. In this context, in this word that is a reminder of Jesus' imminent return, I thought that might be significant.

In this final hour, I sensed the Lord saying: "This is the holy pause, but they won't listen." 

It breaks my heart that there is a throne room in heaven waiting to resound with our praises, but so many will deny it until the end, bypassing that holy pause, that same breathlessness in the presence of God where even the angels fall on their faces in worship. 

I am well aware how often people over the centuries have proclaimed the "soon" of the Lord's coming, and how long it has been. Just remember: "The Lord is not slow as some understand slowness." We need to be ready when He does come. 

When we reach the Promised Land... don't be caught unaware. Don't let doubt blind you. Like Joshua, like Caleb, stand strong in faith right up until the day you set foot over the border into the land flowing with milk and honey.