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Signs and Tokens - part 1 of 3 (Amp -- unless otherwise specified) From the rainbow in Genesis to the bride of Revelation, God uses signs and tokens to communicate with His people. “I will establish My covenant or pledge with you...This is the token of the covenant (solemn pledge) which I make between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I set my bow [rainbow] in the cloud, and it shall be for a token or sign of a covenant...When the bow [rainbow] is in the clouds, and I look upon it, I shall [earnestly] remember the everlasting covenant...”{Gen 9:11-13}. Never again would God use a flood as His method of destroying the earth and life thereon. Scripture refers to individuals, things and events as signs. For example, when God judged those who rebelled against Moses and Aaron, His designated leaders, the Bible records, “And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, and the fire devoured 250 men; and they became a [warning] sign” {Num 26:10}. “And fire came forth from the Lord, and devoured the 250 men who offered the incense” {Num 16:35}. Then the Lord gave instructions regarding the censers used in the rebellion. “For the censers are hallowed...Let the censers be made into hammered plates for a covering of the altar [of burnt offering]; for they were used in offering before the Lord, therefore they are sacred. They shall be a sign [of warning] to the Israelites” {Num 16:37-38}. Thus we see that even the censers became signs, reminders of the consequences of rebellion and of the misuse of that which is holy. In the book of Isaiah, the Lord challenged King Ahaz to “Ask for yourself a sign -- a token or proof -- of the Lord your God [one that will be convincing to you that God has spoken and will keep His word]...” {Isa 7:11}. Though Ahaz refused, saying, “I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord” {vs 12}, God announced that He would indeed send such a sign: “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign. Behold, the young woman who is unmarried and a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel -- God with us” {Isa 7:14}. Since prophetic fulfillment occurs on progressive levels, we find the historically significant fulfillment of God’s prophecy to Ahaz in the miraculous conception and birth of Jesus. On a continuing level, we find the prophecy’s manifestation through the fruitful uniting of the Christ (the Head) and the pure Church (His Body). The prophets were sent as tokens of Divine promise or signs of forewarnings as they dramatized impending events. To Ezekiel, the Lord said, “I have set you as a sign for the house of Israel” {Ezek 12:6}. If of himself, Isaiah wrote, “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are for signs and for wonders ...” {Isa 8:18}, how much more can the same be said of the manifested sons of God? The Lord sends, He speaks, and He demonstrates His Word. “For I am the Lord; I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall be performed...I will speak the word and will perform it, says the Lord God” {Ezek 12:25}. Though spiritually blind to God’s workings and deaf to His Words, the people finally realize there must be a message contained within the prophetic performances. (How innumerable the ways He seeks to speak to us!). “And the people said to me, Will you not tell us what these things are supposed to mean to us, that you are acting as you do?” {Ezek 24:19}. In addition to giving the literal and symbolic meanings of Ezekiel’s performance, the Lord set forth His motive and His purpose: “Thus Ezekiel is to you a sign; according to all that he has done you shall do. And...you shall know, understand and realize that I am the Lord God [the Sovereign Ruler, calling forth loyalty and obedient service]” {Ezek 24:24}. To the prophet himself, the Lord confirmed “...you shall be a sign to them, and they shall know, understand and realize, that I am the Lord” {Ezek 24:27}. Though seldom aware of the titles of chapter subdivisions in various translations of the Bible, I was amazed at the prophetic significance of the following sequence in the New King James. Immediately after “The Commission of Isaiah” in chapter 6 we find “The sign of Immanuel” in chapter 7; “The sign of Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz,” the name of Isaiah’s second son, in chapter 8; “The sign of Messiah” in chapters 9 and 10 and “The rule of the Branch of Jesse” in chapter 11. Again we find prophetic progression and multiple imagery beginning with Christ’s initial incarnation: “And there shall come forth a Shoot out of the stock of Jesse [David’s father], and a Branch out of his roots shall grow and bear fruit” {Isa 11:1}. Root and branch imagery continue into the book of Revelation: “Then one of the elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin] said to me, Stop weeping! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root (Source) of David, has won -- has overcome and conquered! He can open the scroll and break its seven seals!” {Rev 5:5}. In the final chapter of Revelation, Jesus records of Himself: “I, am [both] the Root (the Source) and the Offspring of David...” {Rev 22:16}; and the verse immediately following states, “The (Holy) Spirit and the bride [the church, the true Christians] say, Come!” {Rev 22:17}. Between the promise of the Root in the Old Testament (covenant) and the final invitation of the Bride in the New, we find promise and direction for the growth and fruition of the branches: “I am the True Vine and My Father is the Vinedresser” {John 15:1} and “I am the Vine, you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit.” {John 15:5}. When God reveals the purged and purified remnant, we will realize the righteousness of His judgments and the reason for all He has done: “Then you shall know -- understand and realize -- that I have not done without cause all that I have done in Jerusalem, says the Lord God” {Ezek 14:25b}. God is still looking for those who are willing to serve as His tokens, His signs and His manifestations. Will we, like Isaiah, answer the call? “Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me” {Isa 6:8}. As with the prophets of old, if we are willing, He will make us able. -Ruth French April Newsletter 2002 | Latter Rain Outpouring part 1 of 2 | Roots of Revival part 2 Pastor's Journal April 2001 | Double Minded | Signs and Tokens part 1 of 3 |
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