Cleaning Up the Mess in the Charismatic Prophetic World – Part 2
By Asher Intrator
Jezebel and Balaam
Unfortunately, much worldliness and carnality has come into our congregations. This must be rooted out, starting with our own hearts. We must keep ourselves separated from worldly influence, particularly from sexual immorality shown so repeatedly in all forms of media and entertainment.
Separation from worldly influence is a pre-requisite to any kind of prophetic anointing.
The spirit of worldliness is called by several names. One of the most significant is named after the evil Queen Jezebel, King Ahab’s wife (I Kings 16-21). This spirit is quoted as a major sin in the congregation at Thiatyra (Revelation 2:20).
However, this worldliness can also come through a male figure. When this type of sin is promoted by a man, it is called a “Balaam” spirit, as in the congregation at Pergamos (Revelation 2:14), named after the false prophet of Midian and Moab (Numbers 22-25).
This is not an issue of “sexism;” it is not “anti-women.” It is an issue of sinfulness; it comes through both men and women. If we are to “clean up” our prophetic ministry, it must be purged of worldliness, sensuality and immorality. Prophecy should be more “moral” than mystical; more challenging than entertaining.
From Counterfeit to Authentic
Many have become disillusioned with prophetic and charismatic ministry recently because of all the confusion regarding the political, health and economic situation. I believe that God wants to use this disillusionment to call us to a higher level. There is a change of season in the spiritual realm, just as there is a change of season in the political realm.
Let’s not get stuck. Let’s pray and obey. Let’s repent and change. Let’s believe and receive. Let’s go on to what God has for us in this next season.
In many of the Prophets, we notice a pattern in which there is an earlier period of prophecy, more connected to the political situation, and then a later period more connected to the eternal kingdom.
For example, in Daniel chapters 1 through 6, we see Daniel and his friends dealing with the kings of Babylon (Iraq) and Persia (Iran). Chapters 6 through 12 have more to do with Daniel’s prayers and visions. The same is true for Isaiah. Chapters 1 through 39 deal with the kings of Israel and Judah, while chapters 40 through 66 have a more heavenly focus.
Many of us perceive that God is giving special revelation now about the emerging “ecclesia.” This is the global family of believers in Yeshua from every nation. This ecclesia is a type of spiritual or heavenly government, ruling and reigning with Yeshua (Ephesians 1:20-22; 2:6). This beautiful group of people is like “the rainbow appearing in the clouds” (Genesis 9).
May God use the recent disillusionments, just as He did with the biblical prophets, to move us on to the next and higher stage of prophecy.
Stages of Prophecies
As we look at the history of prophetic ministry as described in the Bible, we see a steady development into new and greater understanding of the stages of God’s kingdom. I would summarize them in 7 stages:
Patriarchal – all of the early believers, including Noah, Job, Abraham and so on, had a level of revelation and hearing from God. (it is interesting to note that from the chronology of Genesis, Abraham may have known and been taught by both Noah and Shem.)
Mosaic – Moses not only gave us the Law, He gave us a major prophecy. This is called in Hebrew “Ha’azinu” האזינו and is found in Deuteronomy 32. It is the archetype and “father” of all biblical prophecies.
Davidic Kingdom – all of the prophets from the Judges to Samuel to Kings and Chronicles dealt with the kingdom of God as connected to the Israelite kingdom, with David, being the primary figure and model.
Latter Prophets – the classic period of Israelite prophets, from Isaiah to Malachi, started when they realized that the kingdom of God could not just be a reformed “Davidic” kingdom. It had to be a major regeneration with a Messianic king. They began to prophesy this “higher” level of the kingdom.
Gospel of Yeshua – The good news that Yeshua is the king of an eternal kingdom is the fulfillment of the hopes of the Israelite prophets. It is THE prophetic message (Revelation 19:10).
International Ecclesia – As the message of the Messianic kingdom spread to the nations of the world, so did the gift of prophecy expand to this wider group spiritually connected to Israel. The kingdom was now “inside” the community of faith. This happened during the same years that Israel went into her 2,000 year exile into the nations.
Apocalypse – In the book of Revelation (apokalupsis), all of the prophecies begin to converge as we enter the last days and approach the second coming of Yeshua. This could only happen when the nation of Israel and the international Church would both be in position. We see this happening in our generation, right before our eyes.
(You can read part 1 and Part 3 of this series by clicking on the links above)