All Consuming Fire
“The highways are deserted, no travelers are on the roads. The treaty is broken, its witnesses are despised, no one is respected. The land mourns and wastes away, Lebanon is ashamed and withers; Sharon is like the Arabah, and Bashan and Carmel drop their leaves. “Now will I arise,” says the Lord. “Now will I be exalted; now will I be lifted up. You conceive chaff, you give birth to straw; your breath is a fire that consumes you. The peoples will be burned as if to lime; like cut thorn bushes they will be set ablaze.” You who are far away, hear what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge my power! The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning? He who walks righteously and speaks what is right, who rejects gain from extortion and keeps his hand from accepting bribes, who stops his ears against plots of murder and shuts his eyes against contemplating evil–this is the man who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. His bread will be supplied, and water will not fail him. Your eyes will see the king in his beauty and view a land that stretches afar.” (Isaiah 33:8-17)
This is a very long passage to post here. But, I find it churning around in my heart the last couple days, and feel it proper to bring out at this time.
We are in a very serious place as a nation. With every passing day, there is more and more evidence of outright abuse of power in the high places of government, and blatant disregard for moral, ethical decency in daily life. We are living in a day described by David, “..there is no fear of God before his eyes. For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin. The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and to do good.” (Psalm 36:1b-3). And, as a so-called ‘Christian nation’, we are seeing the literal fulfillment of Paul’s words to Timothy concerning the human condition in the ‘last days’, “..having a form of godliness but denying its power..” (2 Tim. 3:5 see verses 1-4 for context).
The ‘covenant’ of “In God We Trust” set in place at the founding of this nation to guide us as a people has long been broken. The voices of men and women who, over the last several generations, would desire to speak ‘truth’ and lead by the example of ‘humility’ have long been silenced. The light we were called to carry, portrayed by the Statue of Liberty, has long been extinguished by greed, ego, vanity, pride.
This condition is dramatically pictured by Isaiah as deserted highways; broken treaties; despised and disrespected witnesses; and, the condition of grief, fear, shame, and fruitlessness. Literally, everything that can be shaken is being shaken. And, yet, there seems to be an attitude of defiance in the hearts of many. The Apostle Paul wrote of those who have hardened their hearts saying, “Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.” (Ephesians 4:19) In light of this passage, it is interesting that leaders in Washington D.C. were described this past week as being, “drunk with power.” This has nothing to do with ‘personalities’. It is the very atmosphere of the nation’s capitol and beyond. It permeates literally every sphere of influence in the country.
Yes, a serious condition; yet, not one without hope.
The passage in Isaiah 33 is a clear call to REPENTANCE. If the prophets are correct (and I believe they are) when they say this year is one of ‘completion’, of ‘prophetic fulfillment’, and the outpouring of God’s Presence as never experienced before; then, it will come on the wings of repentance giving birth to a powerful move of humility and purity in the hearts of God’s people. And, this nation will then begin to experience real ‘change’.
This is what I am hearing the Lord say.
“I AM moving, I AM bringing with Me change; for, I have heard the cries of the poor. I have seen the wickedness of men upon the land. Filled with pride, vanity, and greed, wicked men have exalted themselves. They have said, ‘Our kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. Our rule is the one true power.’ There is no fear in their eyes; for, they are blinded by darkness. And the very land is writhing in grief and crying out for deliverance.”
“Now I AM moving. I told you of My coming long ago. I clearly spoke of the outpouring of My Spirit upon all flesh, of the signs and wonders of My coming in the heavens above and upon the earth below. I revealed this through My prophets; but, you were not listening. Having ears to hear, you would not hear. Having eyes to see, you would not see.”
“And the Day of My Glory has come upon you like a sudden storm. With thunder and lightning; with the roar of many waters; with the trembling of the earth, I AM moving in this hour.”
The Lord says, “Open your eyes, what do you see? You see powerful storms pouring out upon the land with the raging of mighty waters and the howling of strong winds, bringing with them great destruction. You see and feel the shaking of the earth, the splitting and moving of great cities, bringing widespread devastation upon the land. Be warned. I told you of these things. These are NOT simply natural occurrences; but, the Move of My Spirit.”
“I AM calling to you through the storms. I AM shaking you awake through the quaking of the earth. Arise, RETURN TO ME. For, I AM releasing FIRE upon the earth. A REFINERS FIRE is coming. All that is built upon the foundations of man shall be burned away. Only what is built upon Me shall remain.”
“I AM revealing the deceitfulness of man by the Light of My Glory, and the Burning of My Fire. All that can be shaken is being shaken, and all that has been hidden in darkness shall be exposed by the Light of My Glory Fire.”
“I AM not finished with this nation; but, calling her back to her true destiny. And, I AM doing this through the Spirit of Repentance. All that is happening is to call My people, those who are called by My Name, to RETURN. Judgment is at hand in the pouring out of My Spirit. And, it is beginning with My Church. Return to Me. DO NOT DELAY! For the destiny of this nation is at stake. I can turn this nation in a day, in a moment; and what has become a land of descration and desolation shall burst suddenly into bloom, and become once again a land of glory.”
“Return to Me, Beloved. I AM all consuming Fire. Enter into the Fire. Do not be afraid of the Everlasting Burning. This is not for your destruction; but, for your TRANSFORMATION. I have not forgotten My promises, My very great and precious promises. My purposes, My plans for you are for your Prosperity, not your harm. But, you MUST enter the Fire. You MUST come to Me. And, in the Fire you will receive the Fire Woven Garments of Humility and Purity. Garments of Glory, Garments of Praise, forged in the Refiners Fire of My Love,” says the Lord.
“In the Fire, you shall see what I AM doing. In the Fire, you shall hear what I AM saying. And, you shall burn with a passion beyond all your imagination. You shall become ALL FLAME. Made ONE with Me in the Fire, you shall move forward confidently in the days ahead. You shall move AS ONE in Me. You shall speak My word, and do My works. You will not be just another religious voice of death upon the land; but, MY VOICE of LIFE. You will not be subject to the powers of darkness; but, shall cause them to shake and tremble at your coming. This is what will turn this nation. This is what will bring hope to the hopeless, and set the captives free.”
“You shall see Me, and you shall Know Me; for, you shall BE like Me. These are the Days of My Revealing, of My Appearing. You shall lift your eyes and look upon this nation, and it SHALL be one of GLORY. For, My Glory FILLS the earth. You are My Glory, Beloved. Do not be afraid; but, COME-come Taste and See that I AM GOOD.”