November 11, 2000

PART I - The Covenant of Salt

A few days ago the Lord put together for me several different things that He has been revealing for the past several months. Although at first glance they did not APPEAR to be related, He then showed me something in the Spirit that connected all of them.

The first revelation deals with the "Covenant of Salt," which I was not even aware of until approximately two months ago. This covenant is first described in Numbers 18, verse 19.

All the heave offerings [that is, the lifted out and kept portion] of the holy things which the Israelites give to the Lord, I give to you [Aaron and the priests] and to your sons and your daughters with you, as a continual debt for ever. It is a covenant of salt [that cannot be dissolved or violated] for ever before the Lord for you [Aaron] and for your posterity with you.

This "covenant" dealt with the Lord's describing to Aaron and his descendants their inheritance of the Levitical tribe, as many verses in this chapter make clear. Verse 6 is very specific in this regard:

And, I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the Israelites; to you they are a gift, given to the Lord, to do the [menial] service of the tent of meeting.

Verses 8 and 9 in this same chapter discusses just what those "heave" offerings were:

And the Lord said to Aaron, and I, behold, I have given you the charge of My heave offerings, [that is, whatever is taken out and kept of the offerings made to Me], all the dedicated and consecrated things of the Israelites; to you have I given them [as your portion] and to your sons, as a continual allowance for ever, by reason of your anointing as priests.

This shall be yours of the most holy things; reserved from the fire; every offering of the people, every cereal offerings and sin offering and trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render to Me, shall be most holy for you [Aaron] and for your sons.

A "heave" offering is first described in Exodus Chapter 29, verse 27, and is defined by the Bible Dictionary as:

Heave offering - an offering in which the items presented to the Lord were lifted up to Him as gifts before they were given to the priests.

Leviticus 2:13 states: Every cereal offering you shall season with salt [symbol of preservation]; neither shall you allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your cereal offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt. Verse 14 goes on to say - you shall offer for it [cereal offering] of your first fruits.

We find then from these selected passages (and there are many others!) that God made a "perpetual" covenant with His chosen "priests…." And this covenant was for the "most holy things" reserved from the fire, for BOTH sons and daughters, and included the inheritance of those from Aaron's priestly line for perpetuity. It was a "gift" given to God to His priests who were directly chosen BY HIM TO MINISTER TO HIM within the tent of the meeting.

The next passage that deals specifically with the "covenant of salt," is found in 2 Chronicles, Chapter 13. Verse 1 tells us that King Jeroboam [enlarger] is King over Israel. Abijah [the Lord is My Father] is ruler over Judah. Abijah has already reigned for three years in Jerusalem when war erupts between him and Jeroboam. Verse 3 gives us an idea of what Abijah was up against.

And Abijah prepared for battle with an army of valiant men of war, 400,000 chosen men. Jeroboam set the battle in array against him with 800,000 chosen men, mighty men of valor.

Although Abijah is outnumbered two to one, he is NOT deterred from this battle, as he makes clear!

And Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, Hear Me, O Jeroboam and all Israel!

Ought you not to know that the Lord, the God of Israel, gave the kingship over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?

Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord [the king].

And there gathered to him worthless men, base fellows, who strengthened themselves against Rehoboam son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young [as king], irresolute and inexperienced and did not withstand them with firmness and strength. (2 Chronicles 13:3-8)

Abijah is clearly reminding Jeroboam and his troops that they have rebelled against the Lord, their God, by Jeroboam's not being content with the prophesied kingdom he would receive from God, (1 Kings 11:16-40). We are told in 1 Kings 12: 25-33 that Jeroboam was so concerned over retaining his throne after being recalled to Israel after Solomon's death, that RATHER than have the peoples hearts return to the Lord, he made two calves of gold, one in Bethel and the other one in Dan, so that the people would not have to travel to Jerusalem (where Rehoboam, and then his son Abijah reigned) to worship! He also made individuals, irregardless of their tribe - priests, and appointed his own feast days.

Because of Jeroboam's actions the prophet Ahijah gives Jeroboam's wife a prophetic word for her husband.

Behold I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from [him], every male, both bond and free in Israel, and will utterly sweep away the house of Jeroboam, as a man sweeps away dung, till it is all gone.

Any one of Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat; and any who dies in the field the birds of the heavens shall eat; for the Lord has spoken it. (1 Kings 14: 10-11)

Returning to 2 Chronicles, Chapter 13, beginning in verse 8 then, we find Abijah of Judah referring to the multiple sins that Jeroboam has committed.

And now you [Jeroboam] think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and you have with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods.

Have you not driven out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands? So whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may be a priest of idols that are not gods. (2 Chronicles 13: 8-9)

Jeroboam has brought the golden calves with him to this battle! Effectively, Jeroboam has set himself up as "God…" picking and choosing those who will serve as priests, and using the golden calves, "idols," for worship.

Then we find in verse 10 how Ahijah and Judah is different than Jeroboam and Israel.

But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken Him. We have priests ministering to the Lord who are sons of Aaron, and Levites for their service.

They offer to the Lord every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and incense of sweet spices; they set in order the showbread on the table of pure gold, and attend to the golden lampstand that its lamps may be lighted every evening; for we keep the charge of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken Him.

Behold, God Himself is with us at our head, and His priests with their battle trumpets to sound an alarm against you, O Israelites, fight not against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you can not prosper. (2 Chronicles 13:10-12)

The nation of Judah were following the Aaron priestly line and using the Levites to do the menial service of the meeting. Incense [representing prayer] was offered up, every morning and evening. Showbread - [representing the heavenly manna and the Bread of Life] were presented on a table of pure gold and the golden lampstand and its seven lamps [representing the Light of the World and the seven-fold Spirits of God] were lighted every evening. Their priests were also arrayed for battle - fully prepared to sound the alarm that an enemy was approaching. This was a far cry from the "form" that Jeroboam's "religious observances" had become.

As Ahijah shouts out to Jeroboam and his troops however, Jeroboam causes an ambush to come up from behind so that Ahijah is surrounded by the Israelites.

When Judah looked, lo, the battle was before and behind; and they cried to the Lord, and the priests blew the trumpets.

Then the men of Judah gave a shout; and as they shouted, God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Ahijah and Judah.

And the Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hand.

And Abijah and his people slow them with a great slaughter, so there fell of Israel 500,000 chosen men.

Thus the Israelites were brought low at that time, and the people of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the Lord, the God of their fathers. (2 Chronicles 13: 14-18)

We must note here that verse 15 clearly tells us that it is "GOD" who smote Jeroboam and those troops he had assembled. Why? Because they had forgotten the perpetual "covenant of salt," of their fathers and had attempted to approach God on THEIR TERMS. We are also shown in this chapter in 2nd Chronicles another comparison - first read in Exodus - where Aaron (who was ordained the first High Priest) , ALSO (lest we forget) made the "first" golden calf to be worshipped.

And he [Aaron] received the gold at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a molten calf; and they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, which brought you out of the land of Egypt! (Exodus 32:4)

PART II - A Tree and A Whip

The 11th Chapter of Mark begins with Jesus making His Triumphant entry into Jerusalem to the cries of "Hosanna!" from the people. Beginning in verse 11 we pick up what happened next:

And Jesus went into Jerusalem, and entered the temple (enclosure); and when He had looked around, surveying and observing everything, as it was already late He went out to Bethany [house of affliction] together with the twelve.

On the day following, when they had come away from Bethany, He was hungry.

And seeing in the distance a fig tree [covered] with leaves, He went to see if He could find any [fruit] on it [for in the fig tree the fruit appears at the same time as the leaves]. But when He came up to it, He found nothing but leaves, for the fig season had not yet come.

And He said to it, No one ever again shall eat fruit from you. And His disciples were listening [to what He said]. (Mark 11: 11-14)

Jesus arrives to the exhalations of the crowds of people who have crowed into Jerusalem for the annual Passover celebration; a celebration of the liberation of the Israelites from their Egyptian overlords. He enters the temple, observes what is happening and then leaves for the day. The next morning as He and His disciples are returning to the Temple He sees a "fig tree" - in the distance. The tree is "covered" with leaves, meaning it SHOULD be "covered" with fruit [figs], but it's not.

In Hosea 9, verse 10 we find an explanation of the meaning of this verse.

I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first ripe fruit on the fig tree in its first season; but they went to Baalpeor,* and consecrated themselves to [Baal] that shameful thing, and they became detestable and loathsome like that which they loved.

The fig tree is symbolic of the nation of Israel and as this verse tells us, the "fruit" of the fathers of the nation had never come into season, because of their continual "worshipping" of other gods. After observing the "religious" ceremonies at the Temple the day before - Jesus, on His way there again - is hungry for FRUIT, but He finds NONE. Only the "evidence" [i.e., leaves] that the fruit SHOULD be ripening on the tree. He curses the tree for its barreness then He and His disciples continue on to Jerusalem.

And they came to Jerusalem. And He went into the temple (area, porches and courts) and began to drive out those who sold and bought in the temple area, and He overturned the (four-footed) tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who dealt in doves.

And He would not permit any one to carry any household equipment through the temple enclosure [thus making the temple area a short-cut traffic lane].

And He taught, and said to them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? But you have turned it into a den of robbers. (Mark 11:15-17)

Now the Passover of the Jews was approaching, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

There He found in the temple enclosure those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting there [too at the stands].

And having made a lash (a whip) of cords, He drove them all out of the temple enclosure, both the sheep and the oxen; spilling and scattering the brokers' money and upsetting and tossing around their trays - their stands.

Then to them that sold the doves He said, "Take these things away - out of here! Make not My Father's house a house of merchandise - a market place, a sales shop!" (John 2:13-16)

These two passages from Mark and John are important because this "cleansing of the temple" takes places the SAME DAY that Jesus has "cursed" the fig tree for not producing FRUIT. It is of "particular" interest to this study that it was to those who sold the "doves," that the Lord seems most incensed. Since the "dove" is a symbol of the Holy Spirit - and therefore, a symbol - still recognized today of the "church," we should pay particular attention to "what" the Lord is telling us in this passage.

The nation of Israel [represented by the "fig tree" verses]; is given to us immediately before the verses in Mark, where Jesus "overturns and rebukes" those who are buying/selling in the temple. He literally "whips" them OUT of the temple itself! He reminds all who are watching that His Father's House is to be a house of prayer - NOT! a house of merchandise.

The parallels to our modern-day church system can NOT be overlooked. These passages show us the Lord is very serious with those whose "seats are those who deal in doves," surrounded by the seeming sanctity of their temple enclosures, but in reality using that position - or "booth" if you will, to SELL THEIR WARES.

Continuing in Mark 11 we read:

And the chief priests and the scribes hear [of this] and kept seeking some way to destroy Him, for they feared Him, because the entire multitude was struck with astonishment at His teaching.

And when evening came on, He and [His disciples] as accustomed went out of the city. (Mark 11:18-19)

So, on the very day that Jesus cleanses the temple enclosure the chief priests and scribes seek some way to destroy Him.

Verse 20 tells us:

In the morning when they were passing along, they noticed that the fig tree was withered (completely) away to its roots.

The "fig tree" - has been completely destroyed - just as the buyers/sellers business was destroyed by the anger of the Lord. The tree has "withered" away TO ITS ROOTS!

Picking up the passage again in Mark 11, verse 27.

And they came again to Jerusalem. And when Jesus was walking about in the (courts and porches of the) temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders come to Him,

And they kept saying to Him, BY WHAT (SORT OF) AUTHORITY ARE YOU DOING THESE THINGS, OR WHO GAVE YOU THIS AUTHORITY TO DO THEM? (Mark 11:27-28)

The priests and scribes waste no time in coming to Jesus and demanding that He tell them by "whose authority" He has cleansed the temple. This takes place the day after He has done so. The religious leaders were given a percentage of all sales made in the courtyards of the temple, the "latest" golden calf. Jesus has cost these men, no doubt, quite a bit of money - considering it was the Passover when Jerusalem's population swelled from the influx of pilgrims who came to celebrate the feast. The priests and scribes consider themselves the "righteous authority" - those who judiciously followed the precepts set down by Moses in the Law. They were incensed that Jesus had not ONLY "cleaned out the temple enclosure" but boldly stated that "His" Father's house was a house of prayer - effectively taking back the authority of the temple that they considered theirs alone.

Jesus told them, I will ask you a question. Answer Me, and then I will tell you by what (sort of) authority I do these things.

Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men? Answer Me. (Mark 11:30-31)

The Lord's question puts the religious leaders in a quandary. Probably most of those present had seen and heard John preach. There are numerous verses in the Gospels that tell us that many of the Pharisees and Sadducees had gone to observe and find out what John's "mission" was. Certainly, none of the religious hierarchy could state that the authority for him to preach and baptize had come from men, for they all knew that he had no formal schooling or training; even though he was the son of a priest, (Luke 1:8) Their deliberations were further exacerbated by the fact that most of the people, now crowding around to hear their arguments, held John in high esteem.

So they replied to Jesus, We do not know. And Jesus said to them, Neither am I going to tell you what (sort of) authority I have for doing these things. (Mark 11:33)

Jesus effectively ends their argument "by whose authority" He had taken such actions the day before. For the priests and scribes are unwilling to categorically state that John had a divine commission from God. They are ALSO unwilling to state that his mission was from "man," since to their minds, that meant it could only have come from themselves. Added to all of this was their desire not to anger the crowds, who all held John to have been a prophet sent from God. John who dressed in an animal skin and ate wild locusts and preached a "fiery" gospel - John who had refused the religiosity of his lineage and lived alone in the wilderness. John who had said of Jesus, "He must increase, so I must decrease."

The following verses from Luke give us pause today, just as they must have caused the Lord's followers to pause and meditate when He first uttered them.

So then, whoever of you do not forsake - renounce, surrender claim to, give up, say good-bye too - all that he has cannot be My disciple.

Salt is good - an excellent thing; but if the sale has lost its strength and has become saltless (insipid, flat), how shall its saltness be restored?

It is fit neither for the land nor for the manure heap; men throw it away. He who has ears to hear, let him listen and consider and comprehend by hearing! (Luke 14: 33-35)

PART III - The Smokehouse

One night in prayer the Lord showed me a "smokehouse." Inside hung large slabs of meat, curing. The Lord asked me what was used to preserve "meat." I answered "salt…" and He began to open up the revelation of how the "covenant of salt," related to the "cleansing of the temple," AND how it relates to the here and now. The verses in Mark are a "foreshadowing" of this day and age. Just as the Israelites became "saltless," so has the Lord's "church." He cursed the fig tree - representing Israel, and THEN "cleaned out the temple," from those who were buying and selling. God removed the "golden calf," yet again!

Today, is no different. The Lord is "separating" the sheep from the sheep. Those sheep that have been promoting themselves - or merchandising their positions, rather than remembering that His house is a HOUSE OF PRAYER, can expect no less of a reaction than the temple priests and moneychangers received from the Lord. The church has lost its "salt," and the "covenant of salt," which God ordained to be a perpetual convenant - one for both sons and daughters - that HE has appointed. The "covenant of salt," has become watered down to one person speaking from a pulpit! Don't forget! The FIRST "golden calf," was made by Aaron. Aaron effectively set into motion - by reason of his ALSO being High Priest - a false religious system as well as the one that God had ordained. This "false system," according to scripture is:

1) gods to go before the people (Exodus 32:1) 2) another god that had delivered the people OUT of Egypt (Exodus 32:4) 3) a god to give offerings too and one that allowed man - not God - to set "feast days." (Exodus 32:5) 4) a god to eat and drink and be merry with (Exodus 32:6) 5) a god to worship and sacrifice to (Exodus 32:8)

In other words, a "god(s)" that took the place of the One True God! Anything that is worshipped, be in a golden calf in reality, or a golden opportunity at the marketplace, is an abomination before God.

Jesus cursed the "fig tree" and it withered away at the ROOT…. And so - will, those sheep who have bought and sold from His house. The church has never abided by the perpetual covenant of salt that God made with Aaron's sons and daughters. Indeed, they have set up their own "golden calves," just as the Israelites did after they left Egypt. And those who object to this- are asked by "whose authority" they dare do so!

Just a couple of days ago I received several visions from Richard Sutcliffe who lives in South Africa. Realizing that what he had sent me tied in so well with what the Lord had shown me, I am using them (with his permission) in this article.

Richard wrote:

As I stood and looked I saw the church and it seemed to have no roof .

A LIGHT, the GLORY of GOD a circular shaft of LIGHT was shining through into the building from the top to the bottom.

When I looked again the LIGHT was a WAVE and it washed out the leadership, and I heard a voice say "Followship."

6 May 1999

It was morning, and I was praying and asking GOD about the controlling of the international money markets, and I heard "rottenness", and saw in the SPIRIT that the markets where rotten to the core with corruption, stealing, manipulation and every kind of vile thing. I saw the economy, it was black and looked like a half flat tire with a root holding on to something, It was very thin in comparison, to the whole. Just like a string on a balloon. I asked the LORD to set HIS ax to the root.

I was taken to ISAIAH 5: 24

Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as the dry grass sinks down in the flame , so their root shall be like rottenness and their blossom shall go up like fine dust, (burnt paper rising?) because they have rejected and cast away the law and the teaching of the LORD of HOSTS and have not believed but have treated scornfully and have despised the word of the HOLY ONE of ISRAEL.

Then this afternoon while praying the LORD showed me that HE is all ready at war, and HIS power has been released, HE already has the victory. The nations have come against HIS power with every thing they have, and now their resources are drained. And there will be an economic collapse, and even a limited war.

Indeed - we must all seek and humble ourselves before the Lord in this day and hour and REFUSE to "go along" with any who put "golden calves" for us to worship in our paths! We can not allow the "priests and scribes" of our own day, no more than Jesus allowed them in His, to dictate how we should worship! When asked, "By Whose Authority?" do we deny the current church structure and those who have abused their positions, our best response is the Lord's response!

BY WHOSE BAPTISM DO YOU PREACH? FROM MEN OR FROM GOD?

* Baalpeor was a place of worship for the Moabites, Midanites and the Ammonites, see Numbers, Chapters 22-25. The incidents of the Israelites worshipping this deity would bring divine judgment for later generations.

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