“Then He already did.”
“And His Name is carved into the witness of history . . . the God of all nations . . . the God of Israel.”
The Mission: Whatever is of God is in the center. Put the things of God in the center of this day. And make God the center around which your life revolves.
Deuteronomy 4:34–35; 32:8; Zechariah 8:23; Isaiah 2:3
The D328 Secret of World History I–II
DAY 310
THE JOSIAH PRINCIPLE
WE SAT IN the shade of an olive tree on a warm breezy afternoon.
“Josiah,” said the teacher, “was one of the most righteous kings ever to sit on the throne of David. In pursuing God’s will, he went up to the high place of Beth El, to break down the altars of the pagan gods. While doing so, something caught his attention—a grave. It was then that a mystery of centuries was revealed. The grave was that of a prophet who, centuries earlier, had come to Beth El with a prophecy: A man named Josiah would, one day, come to that same place and do exactly as Josiah had just done. But Josiah had no idea of the prophecy. He came there that day simply to do the will of God. And yet he did exactly as was prophesied centuries before he existed . . . the outworking of destiny.”
“How does that work?” I asked. “Without knowing the prophecy, he fulfilled it. How do you fulfill God’s plan for your life . . . your destiny?”
“I would call it ‘the Josiah Principle,’” he said.
“Which is what?”
“How did Josiah, without knowing the prophecy, end up fulfilling it?”
“By following the way of righteousness?”
“Yes,” said the teacher. “By following the will of God that he knew from the Word of God.”
“But except for the prophecy, which Josiah didn’t know,” I said, “the Word of God wouldn’t have told him exactly where to go or when to go for him to end up at the exact right place and time.”
“But it did,” he said. “And it will in your life as well. The Word of God will give you the overall direction and leading for your life. As you follow the direction of the Word, you will be led to walk into the exact and specific will of God that is your destiny. You see, the Scriptures are not so much focused on finding the will of God that you don’t know, but on obeying the will of God that you do. Obey the will of God you do know, and it will lead you to the will of God you don’t. Follow, with all your heart, that which is revealed, and it will lead you into that which is not . . . and as it was with Josiah, you will find yourself standing on a high place in the exact place, and at the exact time that was appointed for your life before the foundation of the world.”
The Mission: Take God’s Word today and obey it. By obeying the revealed will of God, you will be led into the unrevealed will of God—your destiny.
2 Kings 23:15–17; Psalm 37:23; Proverbs 2:20–21; 3:5–6; Ephesians 2:10
Entering Your Prophetic Destiny
DAY 311
THE NIGHT CANDLE
THE TEACHER LED me outside his living quarters to a terrace where we sat down by a table. On the table was a lit candle. The sky began to darken.
“When we first sat down,” he said, “the sun was still shining, even on the candle. The light of the candle blended in with the light of the day. The two lights were in harmony. But then what happened?”
“It grew dark,” I said.
“So now the light of the candle was no longer in harmony with its surroundings. It no longer blended in. As the sky darkened, the candle stood out more and more dramatically. It was not the candle that changed, but everything around it. So now it was shining in marked contrast to its surroundings and against the darkness.”
“And what does this reveal?” I asked.
“The candle in the day,” he said, “represents the believer who shines in the midst of a Christian civilization. Its light blends in with the surrounding culture. The culture is in harmony with the light, at least on the outside, and appears to support it. But the candle in the night represents the believer who shines in the midst of a post-Christian civilization, an apostate civilization, an anti-Christian, anti-biblical, anti-God civilization. Now the cultural supports and the external props are removed. The light of the Gospel is no longer in harmony with the surrounding culture. The surrounding culture now stands increasingly in opposition to the light. The light cannot blend in. It must now increasingly stand out in contrast to its surroundings, and increasingly shine against the flow. So if you had a choice, which candle would you rather be, the candle of the day or the candle of the night?”
“The candle of the day.”
“But it is the candle of the night that changes the world. The candle that shines in the daylight can hardly be seen. But the candle that shines in the darkness can be seen miles away. It is at the very time when it’s hardest to shine the light, that it is most crucial that you do. It is then that the light is most needed. And that is when the light becomes its most powerful. So never fear the darkness. You’re a light. Shine into it, especially into the night . . . and you’ll light up the world.”
The Mission: Live today as a candle in the night. Don’t fear the darkness or be intimidated by it. But shine all the more brightly against the night.
Matthew 5:14–16; 13:43; John 1:5; Philippians 2:15; 1 Peter 4:14
The Stars
DAY 312
THE I AM REDEMPTION
DO YOU REMEMBER,” said the teacher, “at the very beginning, when I told you that when you speak of your existence you must speak the Name of God?”
“I Am,” I said.
“Yes,” he said. “But there’s another side to it. We’ve all fallen. So when we speak of our existence, we speak of a fallen existence. But how can the Name of God be linked to that which is fallen, sinful, defiled, broken, and marred? If you say, ‘I am sinful,’ you’re telling the truth, but you’re joining the sacred name I Am to sin. And if you say ‘I am unholy,’ you’re joining I Am to unholiness . . . and defilement. You’re bearing witness against God. It could be called blasphemy . . . the I Am of God and the I am of man now infinitely separated from each other.”
“Then what’s the answer?”
“When Messiah died for our sins, it was I Am. It was I Am joining Himself, rejoining Himself, to our I am . . . to our fallen, sinful, and unholy I am. It was I Am joining Himself to our sins . . . I Am becoming sin, I Am joining Himself to all that is not I Am . . . that by so doing all separations would be ended. So when you find yourself saying ‘I am condemned,’ then look at the cross, and what will you see there? You will see I Am condemned. When you find yourself saying, ‘I am guilty,’ look at the cross and you will see I Am guilty. When you’re hurting, you will see there I Am hurting. When you’re broken and crushed, you will see I Am broken and crushed. And when you’re rejected, you will see on the cross I Am rejected. And when you find yourself at your end, you will see I Am at the end . . . I Am finished. What happened there is a mystery . . . the Holy One joining His I Am to your I am, that nothing, no sin, no shame, no darkness, not even death, could ever separate you from Him again . . . that even in those things He will be there with you . . . He who is I Am has joined His I Am to your I am that your I am would be joined to His I Am. And this is the other side of this mystery . . . For after His death comes the resurrection. And it is in the resurrection that we find our new I am. For what is it that we find there? We find I Am alive . . . I Am victorious . . . And we find . . . I Am risen!”
The Mission: Let your fallen I Am be finished in His death and let His risen and victorious I Am become the I am of your life.
Exodus 3:14; John 8:58; Colossians 2:9–12
The I Am Revelation
DAY 313
MOUNTAINS AND CAPSTONES
WHEN THE REMNANT of Israel,” said the teacher, “returned to the land, after their exile in Babylon, they knew it was the will of God to rebuild the temple. The man in charge of the rebuilding was Zerubbabel, a descendant of King David. But a
s they began the undertaking, they encountered resistance and conflict. And because of it their work was brought to a standstill. Then God spoke through the prophet Zechariah saying ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’ So then what was God telling Zerubbabel?”
“God would remove the obstacles and cause the temple to be rebuilt. And Zerubbabel himself would complete the work by laying the capstone.”
“That’s right,” said the teacher. “And the prophecy would come true. What was the symbol, in that word, of the obstacles to God’s purposes?”
“The mountain,” I replied.
“And what was the symbol of the fulfillment of God’s purposes?”
“The capstone.”
“Do you notice anything about that?”
“They’re both stone.”
“Yes,” he said, “both the obstacle to God’s purposes and the fulfillment of God’s purposes are made of the same substance, the same material. But it’s even more than that. Where do you think the capstone came from?”
“A mountain?”
“Yes,” said the teacher. “The capstone came from a mountain. And what does this reveal? God never promises that our lives will be free of obstacles, problems, crises, and adversities. He promises something better. He will use every obstacle in your life to bring to fulfillment the very purposes He has planned for your life. Every problem, every crisis, every adversity, every setback, and every sorrow will be turned around to bring breakthrough, blessing, and triumph. And in God, every mountain, every obstacle that has hindered God’s purposes in your life, will, in the end, be turned around and become a capstone to bring about the completion of those very purposes.”
The Mission: Today, see every problem, obstacle, trouble, and adversity as a mountain to be turned into a capstone. Take part in turning it.
Genesis 50:15–21; Isaiah 60; Zechariah 4:6–9; James 1:2–4
Mountains and Capstones
DAY 314
THE GLORY INSIDE THE TENT
IN THE DISTANCE before us was an encampment of desert dwellers. Their tents were dark, mostly black, and a few of a very dark shade of brown.
“What do you think the Tent of Meeting, the Tabernacle, looked like?” asked the teacher.
“I would imagine very impressive,” I replied.
“Not really,” he replied. “More likely it looked like one of these . . . much larger, but of a similar appearance. Its outer covering was of badger’s skin. So its appearance would have been dull, plain, and unattractive. But if you were able to step inside, then everything changed. The first of its chambers was called the holy place. Inside the holy place was the table of the presence, the altar of incense, and the seven-branched menorah, each of gold, each a treasure of inestimable value. And if you ventured even deeper, you would find yourself in the holy of holies with the ark of the covenant, within which were the Ten Commandments and on top of which rested the glory of God. All these things were hidden from the outside and could only be seen from within. So what looked plain, dull, unattractive, and of little worth on the outside turned out to contain the greatest of treasures on the inside. What does this reveal?”
“You can’t judge a tent by its coverings?”
“Yes, and much more than that. In the world, most things appear more impressive and attractive on the outside and on the surface than on the inside. The reality is less than the appearance. But with God and the ways of righteousness, it’s the opposite. On the outside and on the surface it tends to look hard and unattractive. So the way of the cross and of sacrifice, on the outside, looks hard. But the deeper you go, the more beautiful it becomes. The deeper you go, the more treasures you find. So too the deeper you go into prayer and worship, the more awesome it becomes. The deeper you go into His presence, the more glorious it becomes. And the deeper you go into the love of God, the more golden it becomes. Therefore, go deeper . . . and deeper . . . and deeper still. Go ever deeper . . . beyond the surface, beyond the appearance, and beyond the tent skins . . . to the treasures and the glory that await only those . . . who go inside.”
The Mission: Go beyond the curtains today, deeper and deeper into the tent of meeting to the innermost sanctum, until you find His glory.
Exodus 40:34–36; Psalm 27:4; Ezekiel 44:16; Hebrews 4:16
The Glory in Your Tent
DAY 315
THE SECRET HEBREW PROPHECIES
THE TEACHER WAS giving a lesson before a gathering of students in the open-air tent. Reading from a scroll of the Prophets, he expounded on the Hebrew prophecies of Messiah’s coming: the prophecy of Micah that Messiah would be born in Bethlehem; of Zechariah that He would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey; and of Isaiah that He would be despised and rejected of men, die for sin, and yet become the light of the Gentiles. At the end of the lesson he left the tent and invited me to join him for a walk.
“Consider the Messianic prophecies,” he said. “Each one created by God, each one unique, each containing a different piece of the mystery, a different promise of Messiah’s coming. Each existed for centuries waiting for the day of its fulfillment. Many of these prophecies are mentioned in the New Testament, along with a particular Greek word used to speak of their fulfillment. The word is plero’o. Plero’o has to do with the filling up of that which was empty, as in the filling up of a cup. It is recorded over and over again that an event took place so ‘that what was spoken by the prophet might be fulfilled’ or rather ‘that what was spoken by the prophet might be plero’o.’”
“So a prophecy is like an empty cup to be filled up at the appointed time.”
“Yes,” said the teacher. “But there’s more to it. In the second chapter of Colossians it is written ‘in Him you are complete.’ But behind the word translated as ‘complete’ is the Greek word plero’o. So the word used of Messiah fulfilling the ancient Hebrew prophecies is the exact same word used of Messiah fulfilling your life.”
He stopped walking, turned to me, and said, “Do you understand? Your life is like a Hebrew prophecy. You came into existence by God’s ordinance. And as a prophecy is unfulfilled and empty until its fulfillment, so too your life was unfulfilled until the day you found Him. Your life was a shadow of what it was created to become. So every life exists to find its plero’o. And only in Messiah can the plero’o be found. Your life is as a prophecy in waiting, a prophecy of Messiah, unique from all others, a promise waiting for its fulfillment, and that can only be fulfilled by Messiah’s coming . . . into your life. Messiah is your Plero’o. So make Him the aim and purpose of all you are and all you do. And He will fill every part of your being. For He is the Plero’o of your life . . . and your life is the prophecy of Him.”
The Mission: Live today as if your life was a prophecy, existing solely to be fulfilled by His presence and, in that fulfilling, to glorify Him.
Philippians 1:6; Colossians 2:9–10; 1 Thessalonians 5:24; 2 Thessalonians 1:11
Finding Your Destiny
DAY 316
YOUR PRESENT AFTERLIFE
WE WERE SITTING on the top of a high mountain, a vantage point from which we could see a multitude of other high mountain peaks far into the distance, into the increasingly orange horizon of the sunset.
“How do you enter heaven?” he asked.
“You get saved,” I replied. “You become born again.”
“Yes,” said the teacher, “but assuming you are saved, how do you actually enter into heaven?”
“You die,” I said. “You die and go to heaven.”
“So that’s the only way?” he asked. “You have to die to get into heaven?”
“No? It’s not the only way?”
“It is the only way,” he said, “but there’s more to it. In the New Testament the kingdom of heaven is spoken of as that which is beyond and not yet, and yet also as that which is here and now and in our midst.�
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“But heaven is the afterlife,” I said.
“Heaven is the afterlife,” he said. “It has to be. One must leave the old world to enter the new, and that which is of the flesh, to enter that which is of the Spirit. One must leave the imperfect of the earthly to enter the perfect of the heavenly. So heaven must be the afterlife. But . . . ”
“But there’s a but?”
“For the child of God, the heavenly life cannot be limited to the afterlife. It is too great to be contained in that which is not yet and not here. For the child of God, heaven has to be known and lived in this life as well.”
“Then how do you enter it?”
“You have to die to get to heaven.”
“But I thought you just said . . . ”
“You have to die go to heaven,” he said again. “So the key is to die. But the secret is, don’t wait until you die in order to die. If you do, you’ll never know the heavenly life until this life is over. But there’s a way to die now even while you live. In Messiah you have that power . . . to depart from this realm, from the old and the earthly, even now. Die to your old life, and you will enter the new. Die to the flesh, and you’ll live in the Spirit. Die to the earthly, and you’ll enter the heavenly. Learn the secret of living in your afterlife now. It’s as simple as dying and going to heaven.”
The Mission: Today, live as if your life was over. Then enter your afterlife, beyond the flesh and the earthly, to live in the Spirit, in the heavenly.
Romans 6:4–11; 8:10–14; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:1–9
The Book of Mysteries Page 45