Personal Cleansing

What lessons can I absorb from what I have learned so far from Jesus' house-cleaning exercise?

The Passover – be more aware of the significance of the symbols about truth that God has given me. The more I understand the true meaning of these symbols the more aware I can be of how to more effectively respond and relate to my heavenly Father and to my Savior.

Animals and moneychangers in the temple – be willing to allow Jesus to expose the things in my own heart and belief system that are out of place or don't belong in my life altogether. Instead of resisting His exposing light in my life I can choose to confess and acknowledge that He is right and that my life needs a good clean-out before I can better enjoy His presence within me.

The temple is the Father's house – I need to be much more aware and sensitive of God's ownership and subsequent rights as my Creator and Redeemer and Lord of all of my life, body and spirit. It is failure to truly appreciate God's rights to His own property that causes much of the confusion and resistance in my heart. Especially do I need to be aware that the cravings for love and affection in my heart were put there by God to be connected to His heart and presence more than anything else. It will only be through the experience of being ravished by the extravagant love of my God can I ever feel fully satisfied and fulfilled.

Not only is my place supposed to belong to God, but there is time that also belongs to God. Belonging is another word for holy. I am to be part of a holy people just as the Sabbath is to be a holy time. The more I learn about the real nature of holiness and its true definitions and meanings the easier it is going to be for me to have a meaningful and intimate relationship with my Lover.

Stop making My Father's house a place of business – because religion has turned true spirituality and intimacy with God into something tragically demeaning and enslaving. I must come to recognize the many ways in which my thinking and beliefs and practices still are contaminated with false ideas that make merchandise of the free grace of God. All forms of manipulation, control, exploitation and force are reflections of a counterfeit religion that uses the principles of business instead of the principles of family. The more I learn about the difference between the right way to live as family verses the efficient and profitable way to operate a business, the sooner I will be able to discern the ways of God and be able to draw closer to Him.

I am unavoidably living in the great time of the final cleansing of the sanctuary as prophesied in Daniel 8:14 whether I want to believe that or not. So it is simply for my own benefit that I take this seriously and allow God to teach and mentor me as to what should be happening in my heart as I live through this experience. Part of my education and training is to expose myself to the examples that He provided for me to study in the Bible so I can better understand what He really wants to do in my life and in all those around me who are willing to be cleansed His way.

One thing He has been teaching me over the past few years is that I need to avoid drawing conclusions of fear from the teachings about the great cleansing of the sanctuary. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV) Whenever I tap into fear to motivate or control others or even myself, I am moving away from the pure ways of God and begin to adulterate my temple with corrupt views and representations of God and His ways.

I have much more to learn from these stories and I want to remain open to assimilating them into my life. Especially this problem of having a spirit of business mingled with religion instead of relating to God and to others with His Spirit of love, faith and hope. I have so much to yet unlearn as well as to learn, and I have to trust God to continue to clean out my temple of false ideas and practices that misrepresent Him. I want to see His face and His ways much more clearly. I want my church family to come to know and experience these things more deeply. I choose to allow God access to transform my life, my friends and family and His body here on earth into a sanctuary where it is safe for Him to relax and hang out and live and enjoy each other's company. I want my home and my heart to be a safe place for God to fellowship with me and my friend's all the time.

God, have full access to my temple in every respect. Sweep away all my resistance to you and cause me to rejoice, even at the painful things that must happen to clean out all the garbage, the manure and the false ideas about you that have ruined your property. I open myself up to you and ask your Spirit to blow through and cleanse me in every way so that Your presence and joy and loveliness become the dominate thing that people see and hear and smell and sense when they observe my life and spirit.

Cleansing of the Sanctuary - 4

And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, "Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of business." (John 2:14-16)

What was it that Jesus cleansed out of the temple?

What was the real problem with the “business” going on there?

The things that were all being sold in the temple were the very symbols that God had appointed to represent His ultimate Gift for the redemption of mankind. Therefore, what was really going on was that religious people were taking the very things that were supposed to represent God's free gift of grace to sinners and turning them into merchandise, a way to not just make money for themselves but even as a means to exploit the poor and needy – the very people that needed God's free gifts the most.

In symbolic language, these Jews had hijacked the very heart of the symbol of God's plan of salvation and distorted the picture of God that the sanctuary service and symbols were supposed to reveal to sinners. What was now being presented instead of the truth about God's free grace, mercy and love for sinners was a picture of a god who demanded ever-increasing payments before a person could satisfy His demands for sacrifice. This was creating a picture of a god more intent on appeasement of his anger, greed or other human-like emotions instead of a revealing of a loving Father deeply involved in reaching out to rebellious and confused children to draw them back to a correct view of Him through love and compassion.

So in light of this activity of God's symbols being misappropriated and held hostage for payment by religious people claiming to represent God in the world, it is no wonder that Jesus felt compelled to dismantle this system of blasphemy against God's name and reputation and to try to restore the temple to a condition closer to its original intent.

But there was still one missing element for this to be a success. Jesus did not choose to stay in the temple indefinitely after cleansing it to keep it under His guardianship. This is because the temple largely represents the heart of each individual that God is seeking to save. And when it comes to people, God is absolutely intent on always respecting their freedom to choose whom they are going to submit their lives to as the authority to govern in their heart. So although He can come in and sweep away the lies about God and introduce us to a better view of God than before, it is always up to us – the keepers of the temple grounds – as to whether He is invited to stay and fill the temple with His presence or whether we will ignore His cleansing or even resent it and thus create an atmosphere that will allow the former demons to come back in with even greater force and with darker deceptions than before.

"Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came'; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation." (Matthew 12:43-45)

Indeed, this is exactly what happened with the Jews as a unique people chosen to represent God to the world. After the repeated offers of Jesus to move in to their lives, to be embraced as their God, their

Bridegroom and their Savior were rejected and snubbed, they went on to seal their divorce from God as a nation and ultimately were recognized by God as a nation beyond hope. While any individual Jews were still free to repent and change their minds about God and turn to Him for salvation, as a chosen nation God was forced by their resistance to Him to acknowledge and confirm their rejection of His advances and His desire for the kind of relationship He had sought to cultivate for many centuries with them. Indeed, their latter condition really did end up much worse than their former.

But this is not just an interesting insight into the fate of the Jews as a chosen nation of God. It has even more significance and impact on those today who claim to be God's chosen people during the time prophesied as the great and last time of cleansing of a much more important sanctuary in the last days. Daniel 8:14 is a word of God that cannot be ignored except at the peril of our souls. The cleansing process is going on even right now and the offer is being made once again to all who claim to be God's people to enter into an intimacy with God that the Jews rejected in Jesus' day. Now the focus of attention has shifted from the Jews and their choices about how to view God, to those of us today who claim, like the Jews, to be the chosen children of God on earth.

If we think this temple cleansing experience that took place in Jesus' time has little or nothing to do with us, we are in the gravest danger of repeating their fatal mistake of resenting God's efforts to expose the lies about Him that fill the temple of our own minds and hearts. Most of us are immersed in a religion riddled with subtle and not so subtle lies about God that we do not view as lies but as fundamental truths. But just because we have believed ideas for all of our lives and our church might reinforce them with repeated assertions of sincerity does not make them gospel truth.

We are experiencing the very same problem as demonstrated in the hijacked temple of Jesus day. We are dealing with many of the truthful facts about God and religion just as they were dealing with the true symbols that God had appointed to represent the truths about Himself and His plan of salvation. These Jews were not trying to introduce new elements into the worship service – except for the presence of money and moneychangers, which was definitely bringing into God's house an evil spirit of mammon. But nevertheless, the way in which they were abusing and misapplying and distorting those symbols resulted in tragically distorting the very truths about God that those symbols were originally intended to convey.

So too, we are not immune to making the exact same mistakes today in the way in which we handle the doctrines of truth that are supposed to reveal the heart of the Father to us. In misapplying and twisting and allowing false spirits in our presentation of facts about God, we end up producing the same affect of distorting God's reputation and confusing the hearts of millions with our counterfeit ideas about God that we present in all sincerity.

Even beyond this initial problem that we find ourselves in of confusion about the real truth about God, we are also in danger of not responding properly even after God reveals the real truth about Him to our minds. As is seen in the demonstration of Jesus in the Jew's day, God can come in and expose our mistaken notions about reality and about God by showing us the real truth and sweeping away the lies about Him from our minds. But if we do not embrace those truths and allow them to permeate not only our minds but sink deeply into our hearts as well, we are in danger of attempting to keep a clean house without inviting the Holy Spirit to occupy it and prevent reentry of even worse spirits of deception to return and make us more deceived and hardened than before.

I believe that it is vitally important for us to perceive the lessons about our relationship to God in these stories of Jesus cleansing the temple. That is because it is unavoidably true that we really are living in the time of the great cleansing of the sanctuary and that we are all involved in this ongoing event. We are all faced with the choice of how we are going to relate to the cleansing process of Jesus in our lives, especially in how we choose to act and think after His initial cleanup in our minds.

Am I willing to keep on inviting Him back in to continue to clean house?

Am I willing to keep having more lies exposed and request that He not stop cleaning my heart?

Am I willing to let go of the resentment that will naturally spring up whenever I have been exposed?

Am I willing to confess and agree with Him that many things I have assumed about God are actually lies and need to be relinquished?

Am I ready to invite Jesus to be the permanent caretaker of my temple and to live in me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness?

Am I willing to agree that this temple really belongs to Him and is not my house after all?

Three Day Sign

What is starting to emerge in my study of this exclusive nature of a sign that Jesus talked about is that it was His own death and resurrection that He considered to be the only real sign that would be given to a wicked generation. He used both the story of Jonah being in the belly of a sea creature for three days and the analogy of the temple being destroyed and rebuilt in three days as indicators of what His plan was to produce a sign for this world.

I took a little time to peruse some of the references to demands for a sign and found some interesting clues that I would like to further pursue. But for right now I will simply list them.

Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you." He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:38-40 NIV)

The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. But He replied to them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' "And in the morning, 'There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah." And He left them and went away. And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread. And Jesus said to them, "Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." (Matthew 16:1-6)

And immediately He entered the boat with His disciples and came to the district of Dalmanutha. The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. Sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, "Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation." Leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side. And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. And He was giving orders to them, saying, "Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." (Mark 8:10-15)

While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed." But He said, "On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it." As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, "This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah. "For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. "The Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. "The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. (Luke 11:27-32)

The Jews then said to Him, "What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" But He was speaking of the temple of His body. So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken. (John 2:18-22)

For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent. Some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying, "We heard Him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.'" Not even in this respect was their testimony consistent. (Mark 14:56-59)

Signs for the Wicked

As the crowds were increasing, He began to say, "This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah." (Luke 11:29)

As I have been contemplating the frequency of the mention of signs in the book of John, the above verse caught my attention. This brings up something I have not thought about much in my pursuit of finding out why John seemed so intent on this subject. Evidently there is a difference between the kinds of signs John talks about and the signs Jesus was talking about here. Or maybe there is yet another way to approach this. Maybe it has something to do with the difference between offering signs and demanding signs.

I have always been puzzled by the fact that many of the Jews in Christ's day seemed so out of it by repeatedly asking for signs when it seemed so obvious that the life of Jesus was chock full of signs. It seemed that even after dozens of very obvious miracles that the Jews could still turn right around and demand yet another sign claiming that they would then believe. What was really going on here? And are we just as inscrutable as were the self-conflicted Jews who seemed intransigent in their refusal to believe in Jesus despite an abundance of miracles?

I have long ago become very convinced that we are in at least as bad a condition spiritually as were the Jews in Christ's day. Therefore, since this is true we have the advantage of observing their mistakes, and by taking them to heart we can have the opportunity to recognize the same dangers and blind spots in our own hearts as what they had and take corrective action. It really is not necessary to plow through all the same mistakes that others have made before us when we have their examples as a warning to do something different.

Sometimes I have thought about this and have caught myself having similar feelings of wanting to see something miraculous, thinking that if only I could have something dramatic happen in my life that it would cause me to believe so much easier. But that kind of thinking is all too similar to that of the Pharisee's and others in Christ's day who seemed to always be looking for signs but unwilling to have their hearts changed by the many signs that were already right in front of their eyes.

So it seems that the real problem is not the lack of signs but the spirit inside of a person that shows itself by demanding more signs. According to Jesus, this spirit is what causes a whole generation of people to be seen from heaven's perspective as being evil and wicked. An attitude of wanting signs before one is willing to believe the truth about God creates a block in the heart which keeps God from being able to enter in and transform the life. An insistence on making signs a prerequisite before believing is a symptom of unbelief itself which is one of the most viral forms of the infection of sin.

On the other hand, according to John there are many who come to believe in Jesus because of the many signs that they see in His life. Evidently there is a different spirit in these people that causes them to respond differently than those who are demanding more signs before they are willing to believe. In this case, God seems sometimes happy to provide signs to attract as many as possible into a much deeper level of relationship with Him which later does not require the constant presence of signs in order to maintain belief.

Signs have their place, but they can either be an attraction to draw people into closer examination and embracing of the gospel, or they can become a stumbling block used as an excuse to cover over a spirit of insistent unbelief. So sometimes signs can be a real blessing but sometimes they can cause hardening of the heart depending on the spirit of the observer.

I also sense that what John and Jesus considered real signs were not often considered the kinds of signs the Jews were really craving to see. I strongly suspect that they may have had some specific ideas of the kinds of things they hoped Jesus would do in answer to their demands but that Jesus was not interested in doing. I am not sure right now what those might have been, but evidently the kinds of things that John viewed as good, legitimate signs that should have had an impact in helping people to believe were not considered as qualified signs according to the expectations of what the Pharisee's classified as signs.

I suspect that the kinds of signs that the Jewish leaders wanted might be signs that were more in line with their own spirit of selfishness and their distorted views of God. Because the signs of Jesus always proceeded from a completely selfless spirit of love, compassion and purity, the signs that flowed from Jesus' life were found to be repulsive to the Pharisee's because they tended to expose their own selfish spirit by contrast.

I want to know more about this subject and will continue to listen and study and meditate on this over the coming days and weeks. And I also want to be more attuned to noticing and remembering the signs that may be in my own life that can encourage me to believe more deeply in the truth about God. I want to not only be more aware of the signs that God is providing for my benefit but I also want to be available for God to make my own life a sign to attract others to want to know Him better.

Sanctuary Cleaning, Rain and Authority

He said to me, "For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be properly restored." (Daniel 8:14)

And he said to me, "For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed." (Daniel 8:14 NKJV)

And he said unto me, Until two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings: then shall the sanctuary be vindicated. (Daniel 8:14 DBY)

So rejoice, O sons of Zion, And be glad in the LORD your God; For He has given you the early rain for your vindication. And He has poured down for you the rain, The early and latter rain as before. (Joel 2:23)

Look at the parallels seen here.

The first rain was poured out on the early church and may parallel to the first cleansing of the temple by Jesus in some respects.

The second or latter rain will be poured out in our day near the end of time and may parallel the second cleansing of the temple by Jesus.

Just like the latter rain is to be greater than the former rain, there are three records of Jesus' second cleansing of the temple compared to only one record of the first cleansing.

There are interesting differences between these two cleansings that may or may not be significant.

1^st cleansing of sanctuary or temple.

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves He said, "Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of business." His disciples remembered that it was written, "ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME." (John 2:13-17)

2^nd cleansing of sanctuary or temple.

And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And He said to them, "It is written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER'; but you are making it a ROBBERS' DEN." And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became indignant and said to Him, "Do You hear what these children are saying?" And Jesus said to them, "Yes; have you never read, 'OUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF'?" And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there. (Matthew 21:12-17)

Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves; and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And He began to teach and say to them, "Is it not written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS'? But you have made it a ROBBERS' DEN." The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching. When evening came, they would go out of the city. (Mark 11:15-19)

Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling, saying to them, "It is written, 'AND MY HOUSE SHALL BE A HOUSE OF PRAYER,' but you have made it a ROBBERS' DEN." And He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Him, and they could not find anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to every word He said. (Luke 19:45-48)

Notice some interesting things connected between these events and the prophesies about the early and latter rain.

Do not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad, For the LORD has done great things. Do not fear, beasts of the field, For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green, For the tree has borne its fruit, The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full. So rejoice, O sons of Zion, And be glad in the LORD your God; For He has given you the early rain for your vindication. And He has poured down for you the rain, The early and latter rain as before. The threshing floors will be full of grain, And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil. "Then I will make up to you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten, The creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent among you. "You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; Then My people will never be put to shame. "Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am the LORD your God, And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame. "It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. "Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (Joel 2:21-29)

On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again!" And His disciples were listening. (Mark 11:12-14)

As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. Being reminded, Peter said to Him, "Rabbi, look, the fig tree which You cursed has withered." And Jesus answered saying to them, "Have faith in God. "Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. "Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. "Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. "But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions." (Mark 11:20-26)

Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, "No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you." And at once the fig tree withered. Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, "How did the fig tree wither all at once?" And Jesus answered and said to them, "Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it will happen. "And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." (Matthew 21:18-22)

The more I think and read about this the more I am beginning to think that possibly Jesus was ready and willing to pour out the early rain of the Holy Spirit right then when He cleansed the temple if the response of the religious leaders had been different from resenting His presence in His own house. Instead of having a dried up, withered fig tree as a symbol of the Jewish nation, the possibility existed that they could have received the Holy Spirit and could have produced abundant fruit like the prophecy in Joel had declared.

So, what made the difference? What postponed the presence of a fruitful fig tree until the day of Pentecost and bestowed on a new group of chosen ones instead of happening when Jesus cleansed the temple?

It seems from the context that part of the core issue was a proper recognition and acknowledgement of authority. Notice the striking contrast in attitudes between the Jewish leaders and the early Christian believers in the upper room when it came to acknowledging the authority of Jesus. This issue of authority shows up both at the first cleansing of the temple and the second.

The Jew's attitude about the authority of Jesus.

(after 1^st cleansing)

The Jews then said to Him, "What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?" Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" But He was speaking of the temple of His body. So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken. (John 2:18-22)

The Jew's attitude about the authority of Jesus.

(after 2^nd cleansing)

When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, "By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?" Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. "The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?" And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Then why did you not believe him?' "But if we say, 'From men,' we fear the people; for they all regard John as a prophet." And answering Jesus, they said, "We do not know." He also said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. (Matthew 21:23-27)

They came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to Him, and began saying to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?" And Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. "Was the baptism of John from heaven, or from men? Answer Me." They began reasoning among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Then why did you not believe him?' "But shall we say, 'From men'?" --they were afraid of the people, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet. Answering Jesus, they said, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things." (Mark 11:27-33)

On one of the days while He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders confronted Him, and they spoke, saying to Him, "Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?" Jesus answered and said to them, "I will also ask you a question, and you tell Me: "Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?" They reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why did you not believe him?' "But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet." So they answered that they did not know where it came from. And Jesus said to them, "Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things." (Luke 20:1-8)

Now notice the relationship and attitudes of those who came to choose Jesus' authority willingly and entered a much deeper acknowledgement of the real truth about Him from their hearts.

But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (Matthew 28:16-18)

But this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: 'AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' God says, 'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT And they shall prophesy.

"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know-- this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. "But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

"This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.

"Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ--this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. "For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." (Acts 2: 16-18, 22-24, 32-33, 36-39)

In essence, this whole speech by Peter was simply about who is really to be recognized as having authority in our life. The whole power struggle going on in this world is about who we should recognize as being the authority to which we should submit our lives and our wills. And more importantly, the real core issue is which authority we allow to pervade and dominate the atmosphere within our hearts and permeate our spirit.

And they prayed and said, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place." (Acts 1:24-25)

There is another very important thing to understand about this issue of authority. And I believe that a lack of appreciation for this most important aspect of authority may be one of the main reasons we are unable and unready to receive the latter rain ourselves. It prevents us from effectively recognizing and surrendering to the authority of Jesus despite all of our public claims that He is our Lord.

True authority can never be imposed. It must be given freely and from the heart, by those who choose to come under its dominion.

False or counterfeit authority on the other hand, is always attempting to employ force, intimidation, deception and fear to rule over others. This is the normal function carried out in Satan's kingdoms of this world. But God cannot be released to pour out His Spirit in our lives while we are using the methods of His enemy to exercise or impose authority. Just as God could not excuse Moses for using the wrong method and spirit to procure water from the rock, neither can He bless us by entrusting the Holy Spirit to us in its full measure while we are living in confusion about this issue of how to effectively acknowledge and live within His authority.

A large part of what took place in the days leading up to Pentecost was the processing and recognition of this issue of how to rightly understand and relate to the full authority of Jesus Christ in the minds and hearts of those believers. We have often assumed that what prepared them to receive the Holy Spirit was the fact that they spent enough time confessing their sins and putting away their differences, and that somehow they got themselves good enough for God to give them this gift. But that kind of thinking emerges from a legalistic, perfectionistic kind of belief system which is based on a false picture of God in the heart.

While it is true that confessing sins and putting away all differences is an integral part of preparation for the Holy Spirit, it must be understood from a very different perspective than as a means of twisting God's arm or convincing Him that we can be trusted with lots of power. I am starting to see that these things were merely symptoms of a change that was taking place much deeper in the heart of these believers as they saturated their imaginations with the real truths about God as revealed through the life and death of Jesus.

As the real issues became more and more clear to them, they also began to see more clearly their own faults, the ugliness of their own prejudices toward each other, the silliness of their own grudges and the danger of their own faulty concepts of God that had clouded their thinking and appreciation of Jesus the whole time He had been with them on earth. This is what always takes place when light is intensified in a dark place. As they allowed the impressions of the Spirit to reveal to them the real truth about God, about the things Jesus had been trying to show them about reality, and as they remembered so clearly His recent words to them about His having all authority in heaven and on earth, they found themselves ready to surrender fully to His authority at much deeper levels of their heart than they had ever considered doing before.

This surrender was not from a submission to imposed authority over them as we are too familiar with as humans. Jesus never imposed authority on anyone, for God only deals in truth and freedom and values only heart-based obedience that springs from a heart filled with appreciation for Him. God always respects and protects our freedom to choose.

But when a person begins to catch a glimpse of the real truth about God's amazing love for them personally, it naturally follows that they will feel compelled to surrender everything they thought was their own and plunge into a willing, joyful surrender to the service and Lordship of their beautiful, gracious Redeemer who has surrendered everything in heaven for them. Their complete surrender to the authority of Jesus is not from a sense of duty nearly as much as it is a reflection of His demonstration of willing submission to the perfect love and will of His Father while living here on earth as a human.

So what does all of this mean for me? How does this relate to the outpouring of the latter rain and the prophecy of the cleansing of the sanctuary in Daniel 8:14 that was to begin in 1844?

I believe that for God to be allowed to genuinely cleanse the sanctuary, we must come to the place, like the early disciples in the upper room, of properly appreciating the real truth about who God really is and how He feels about us. For it will be impossible to surrender our hearts to His authority in the way God views authority before we have first come to a significant appreciation of the way God exercises authority. We must come to understand the ways of God in His dealings with us much better than what we now believe. We must let go of the misconceptions about how God relates to us and allow His Spirit to reveal His heart to us much more clearly. Otherwise, increased power in our lives would only serve to intensify our ability to spread false ideas about God mingled in with factual truths that we have come to believe.

The issue of belief that I am uncovering in the book of John is also central to this issue of authority. But to properly appreciate the kind of authority that God wants us to understand with Him, we must differentiate between the kinds of authority and their use that we are so familiar with in this world and the kind of authority that Jesus talks about and demonstrates. I believe that when we finally begin to perceive the kind of authority that Jesus wants us to enjoy, then we will eagerly begin to put away our differences, will readily confess the lies and pain and sins that have obscured our view of God's face and will begin to embrace the real truth about God in joyful abandon.

At the same time while this is happening our attitudes towards those around us will also be radically transformed. We will see others through the eyes of heaven instead of through our own prejudices and selfish desires. Our focus will move away from clinging to our possessions and seeking to get things for our own benefit toward spontaneously sharing all things with our fellow believers with a heart full of faith, gratitude and praise for our heavenly family. We we see ourselves as simply siblings who are all sharing the same household and as such, will be eager and willing to help our Father supply all the needs of those who share this family arrangement in the body of Christ.

This authority that Jesus is talking about is the authority that is seen modeled by a loving Father in a healthy family. This is not the kind of abusive, forceful, imposed authority seen in those who exploit their families or their neighbors for their own desires. This is an authority that is freely and joyfully created through the loyalty of those who choose to come under its structure and guidance. It is radically different than any earthly imitation claiming to use this word but which is contaminated by sin and selfishness.

The results of living life under the full authority of Jesus Christ is best described in these verses.

Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:43-47)

Notice the stark contrast between this kind of relationship with those around us compared with the attitude of the Pharisee's in response to the demonstration of Jesus' authority in the temple.

But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became indignant... (Matthew 21:15)

"For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him. (Matthew 21:32)

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. When they sought to seize Him, they feared the people, because they considered Him to be a prophet. (Matthew 21:45-46)

And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away. Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. (Mark 12:12-13)

"But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.' (Luke 19:14)

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples." (Luke 19:39)

And He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to destroy Him, and they could not find anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to every word He said. (Luke 19:47-48)

The scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and they feared the people; for they understood that He spoke this parable against them. So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could deliver Him to the rule and the authority of the governor. (Luke 20:19-20)

Notice how earthly authority is utilized to discount heavenly authority.

I want to know much more and to enter more fully into life under the true and kind authority of Jesus Christ. I want to learn and to experience the real preparation needed for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in my life and those around me that will empower me to speak the glorious truth about God with much greater boldness.