Pilgrim Heart

Useful Website

I've just come across this website www.bible-researcher.com

It has a wealth of resources from some excellent writers - check it out!

The Radiance of the Majesty of God's Presence

Not so long ago I would have been sceptical about this sort of thing, but as I'm coming to a deeper understanding of God's glory now I'd say, "with God nothing is impossible."

What the Thunders Said

So what did the Thunders say? What was so amazing and wonderful that John was not permitted to record it? Well first let's consider the imagery of what is going on here. There are no new prophetic images in the book of Revelation - everything we find here has already been seen earlier in the Bible.

The Thunders were thundering in response to the lion's roar voice of the Mighty Angel. This angel should be taken as being Jesus himself, everything about his description points to that. Back in the book of the prophet Amos we read:

For the Lord does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy? (Amos 3:7-8)

So Amos shows us that when God roars, prophets prophesy. Amos uses the literary device of parallelism: the Lord revealing his secret to the prophets is the Lion roaring; and when the Lord speaks, prophets must prophesy.

Applying this illumination from Amos back to what we have read in Revelation, we can see that the Thunders are in fact the prophecies of God's prophets, which in one sense includes all members of the Church (see Numbers 11:29 and 1 Corinthians 14:31). This is why John was not permitted to record what the Thunders said; they were not speaking the eternal, inspired word of God: what they said was not Scripture. Remember what John was told:

And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down." (Rev 10:4)

Now contrast this with what John is told toward the end of the book of Revelation, which emphasises the distinction between Scripture and prophecy:

And he said to me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near." (Rev 22:10)

So, how can we know what the Thunders said? Because you've probably heard it many times before: whenever the Spirit-filled people of God gather as those who have an ear to hear the Lion's roar of heaven then you will hear those Thunders as men and women prophesy the now word of God out of the heavens and into the earth.

The Seven Thunders Revealed

Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down." (Rev 10:1-4 ESV)

Ever wanted to know what the seven thunders said, and why John wasn't allowed to write it down? I'm currently preparing for a short trip to Norway this weekend where I shall be sharing at a prophetic conference. I will be sharing about the impact of the prophetic word and its part in God's restoration purpose.

I will post more fully when I return: I shall also let you know what the seven thunders said, and why John was not permitted to record it.

Inspiration from Mick and Keith

I've just been listening to the wonderful Blind Boys of Alabama, and particularly enjoyed their version of this old Stones number:

That's all right, that's all right, that's all right.
Sometimes you feel like trouble, sometimes you feel down.
Let this music relax you mind, let this music relax you mind.
Stand up and be counted, can't get a witness.
Sometimes you need somebody, if you have somebody to love.
Sometimes you ain't got nobody and you want somebody to love.
Then you don't want to walk and talk about Jesus,
You just want to see his face.
You don't want to walk and talk about Jesus,
You just want to see his face.

(Mick Jagger & Keith Richards)

Planning for Peace

Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy. (Proverbs 12:20)

Do you plan peace? We probably all want peace, like peace, appreciate peace, but do we plan it? Do we even think we can? Isn't it something that is a consequence of external forces? Not at all!

Not only can we, but we must plan peace. I'm not talking peace on a global or national scale (though we really need those in positions of authority to plan peace!) but at a personal level, in the family, in the church, in the workplace.

What does it mean to plan peace? It probably means re-prioritising, re-evaluating our motives, re-assessing what we consider to be a successful outcome. Is success to get my own way or is it to bring peace? Is it possible to be so caught up in a desired outcome - even one that apparently furthers God's Kingdom - that the way we go about it works against the Word and purpose of God?

And here's a great promise - if we plan peace we have joy: God gives the joy whilst we're still at the planning stages! God also gives us a clear indication as to how to plan peace: Philippians 4:4-7 gives a 4 point plan to bringing the peace of God to a situation:

1. Rejoice in the Lord always
2. Be blatantly reasonable
3. Don't worry
4. Pray

Plan peace - be joyful!

Revealed Glory

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Rom 8:18-23)

I've been home from India for about a week now. It was a good trip and definitely a two-way street of encouragement, revelation and fellowship. My father and I spoke 10 times each, for me mostly at a worship conference and for him mostly at a leaders' conference.

My faith was stirred and my expectations of God multiplied as I spoke with many of God's people there and heard their stories of the power of God and the miracles God has worked through them in recent months.

I heard two different accounts of small children being raised from the dead after doctors had pronounced them dead! That is outstanding.

I also heard something I had never heard before: I spoke with a young man who explained to me that seven years ago his father became the first believer in his region when a visiting evangelist prayed for him and he was healed of cancer and TB. At that time the man and his 3 sons (including the young man telling me the story) owned a piece of land that "only produced thistles and thorns" and they worked as migrant labourers and were starving.

But something happened as the father and then his sons became Christians. Crops began to grow on their unproductive land. Today their farm is known for its exceptional fruitfulness: producing more than enough to support four families. I asked that man whether God had given him special insight into what he needed to do to make the land productive: which crops to plant or some treatment of the soil. He said, "No, but as we heard about tithing and giving and began to do practice it, things started to grow on the land." Today all the farms that touch this one are becoming more fruitful and productive!

Creation, that has been subjected to futility because of the sin of Man, has always been in hope - in hope of a day when the glorious children of God will bring freedom to the world. And here we can see how the substance of creation responds to being under the care of citizens of God's kingdom. Praise God!

Off to India

I'm off to India this evening with my father, Tony, to visit the brothers and sisters in Gujarat, India. I am sure I will have a lot to post when I get back. I know that God has something wonderful in store for us! Your prayers are appreciated.

Every blessing

The Purpose of the Power

Here's a great quote from Bill Johnson from his book "When Heaven Invades Earth" (p111). This book is one of the best I've read on the Kingdom of God. Why not visit his church's website or buy the book.

Many believe his power exists only to help us ovecome sin. This understanding stops very short of the Father's intent for us to become witnesses of another world. Doesn't it seem strange that our whole Christian life should be focussed on overcoming something that has already been defeated? Sin and its nature have been yanked out by the roots. Many constantly call out to God for more power to live in victory. What more can he do for us? If his death wasn't enough, what else is there? That battle had already been fought and won! Is it possible that the process of constantly bringing up these issues dealt with by the blood is what has actually given life to those issues?

Many in the Church are camped on the wrong side of the Cross. The apostle Paul spoke to this issue when he said, "Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom 6:11). The word reckon points to our need to change our minds. I don't need power to overcome something if I'm dead to it. But I do need power for boldness for the miraculous and for the impossible.

Part of our problem is this: we are accustomed only to doing things for God that are not impossible. If God doesn't show up and help us, we can still succeed. There must be an aspect of the Christian life that is impoosible without divine intervention. That keeps us on the edge and puts us in contact with our true calling.

It's All in the Book

There are just over 750,000 words in the Bible. Seems like a lot doesn't it? Until you consider that there are over 200,000 different English words listed in the Oxford English dictionary. (Most of us only use 20,000 of them though.)

But in those 750,000 is everything we need to know - I find that amazing. The Infinite God can reveal himself in a finite number of words: it shows that words are more than carriers of information: they are vehicles for truth.

And the truth is all in the book! It's not (believe me I've looked and I'm sure you have too) on the internet! There are over 20 billion web pages on the internet - roughly half a million times more words than there are in the Bible - but they are just information. Information is good, but it's no substitute for truth.

The truth isn't out there, it's in here: