SPEAK TO THE ROCK! by Doug Fortune

I believe all of us are familiar with the account in Numbers chapter 20, where the Lord tells Moses to SPEAK to the Rock to bring forth water and he SMITES it twice instead. I find it interesting that this account directly follows the instructions for the Red Heifer offering in Numbers chapter 19. In a previous article (see Ashes of the Red Heifer) we saw how the Red Heifer offering pointed to the New Creation Man of the Third Day and the Seventh Day, and the importance of ‘not touching’ the ‘dead man’- the Adam / sin nature. Now, we must keep in mind that all these things happened to them as examples for us (1Cor.10:11), so these accounts are not so much just the telling of historical events, but rather the prophetic proclamation of God’s purposes.

Let us also weave into the canvass of this prophetic picture that Rom.5:10 says that as "...we were RECONCILED to God through the DEATH of His Son, it is much more certain now that we ARE reconciled, that we SHALL be SAVED through His resurrection LIFE..."; in other words, His death brought reconciliation, but it is His resurrection LIFE (zoe) that brings salvation. Also let us weave in the truths that "...they drank from a spiritual Rock... and the Rock was Christ..."(ICor.10:4); and that Jesus said in John 6:63 that His WORDS are Spirit (pneuma) and Life (zoe).

With these Scriptures in mind, let us now bring some clarity: Just as the Rock is symbolic of Christ, so the smiting of the Rock is symbolic of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ; "...we considered Him smitten by God..."(Is.53:4). This ‘smiting of the Rock’ brought forth the water of the ‘earnest of the Spirit’; "...out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water... the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified."(John 7:38-39). This smiting of the Rock ONCE was ordained of God and necessary to provide the ‘spiritual water’ of the baptism or earnest of the Spirit. The ROD also is symbolic of power, and we know that we receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us (Acts 1:8).

We can see this ‘ROD anointing’ evidenced in the Pentecostal / Charismatic movements, where the emphasis is tapping into an anointing for a season, for a reason... like an external anointing that comes upon an individual for a time... the proverbial ‘getting under the spout where the glory comes out’ (I’m NOT poking fun, I’m just trying to bring definition). It is, as it were, a drawing upon the power of the BLOOD- the DEATH of Jesus Christ (the smiting of the Rock) that breaks bondage’s and curses. We see this principle evidenced in the Revival / Renewal movements also, and certainly the ROD anointing does provide for NEEDS while in the wilderness. However, I don’t believe that the ROD anointing is what takes us into the Promised Land... rather, it is the PROCEEDING WORD, the speaking to the Rock that takes us there. Mind you, I’m NOT trying to denigrate the ROD anointing at all; remember that in Numbers chapter 20, God told Moses to take the rod WITH him as he spoke to the Rock.

You see, it is not the ROD that keeps us out of the Promised Land, it is the smiting TWICE that keeps us from our destiny. TWO is the number of duality, of double-mindedness; it is also the number of agreement ("...if two of you shall agree..." Matt.18:19). This smiting TWICE speaks of the DUALITY of the Adam / sin nature, the carnal reasoning of the mind; it’s the inaccurate belief that after you come to Christ you now have TWO natures, TWO spirits that are at war with each other... this is a product of religion, the result of eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In reality, your old Adam / sin nature has ALREADY been dealt with ("...our old unrenewed self WAS nailed to the cross with Him..." Rom.6:6); it is just our MIND that must be renewed to this reality.

About now, I’m sure someone is saying, "What about Paul’s discourse in Romans chapter 7?... I do the thing I hate (sin), and I can’t do the thing I desire (righteousness)." Well, if you will read Romans chapters 6 and 8 for the context of this discourse, you will find he is speaking of the person under the Law (Rom.7:1), and the impossibility of the Law producing righteousness. He even asks the question, "...who will deliver me from this body of death?"(Rom.7:24), and then answers, "...He WILL, through Jesus Christ our Lord!"(v.25)... I believe that the Father meant what He said when, by the Holy Spirit, He inspired Paul to write those words! Paul goes on to say that "...God HAS DONE (past tense) what the Law could not do... condemned sin in the flesh- subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over ALL who ACCEPT that sacrifice." (Rom.8:3). We MUST see that the smiting of the Rock ONCE was sufficient, and we must see OURSELVES in Christ- crucified, dead, and buried! Only then will we be able to see ourselves as risen, ascended, and seated IN Christ.

Consider Heb.9:26-27, "...He has ONCE for ALL at the consummation and close of the ages appeared to abolish sin by His sacrifice... (smiting the Rock ONCE, my notes)... Christ having been offered to take upon Himself and bear as a burden the sins of many ONCE and ONCE for ALL, will APPEAR a SECOND time, NOT carrying ANY burden of sin nor to deal with sin, but to bring to FULL SALVATION those who are waiting for and expecting Him.". My friend, full salvation is our ‘Promised Land’ and the place He is appearing this SECOND time is IN HIS PEOPLE! In the Book of the REVEALation of Jesus Christ, John hears a VOICE and when he TURNED from his present position (some of us need to turn from our present position to see Christ!), where did he see Christ appearing?... in the MIDST of the Lampstand- the Church! (Rev.1:10-13)

Now we’ve got to see this progression: 1. John HEARD a VOICE like a trumpet- The voice (message) of the Apostolic is sounding as a trumpet in the earth today, declaring the message of the Mystery of the Seventh Trumpet of Rev.10:7 which is Christ IN YOU, the HOPE (Promised Land) of manifesting His glory / nature (FULL salvation). 2. John TURNED from his present position- We have to lay down inaccurate doctrines, our focus and vision must be on the VOICE. 3. John SAW Christ revealed in the MIDST of His people. You see, His appearing this SECOND time in His people, is not for the purpose of being smitten a second time (to continue to deal with sin), but rather to bring forth FULL salvation- the Promised Land... and I believe the way this is appropriated is by SPEAKING to the Rock.

The Rock of REVEALation (Christ) is WITHIN US and as we speak the words of the Father, calling forth the ABIDING anointing (1 John 2:27), the abiding ‘christos’ in Greek or the abiding Christ, we will begin to enter the Promised Land of being conformed to His image and likeness. Remember that Jesus said His words are SPIRIT and LIFE (zoe) and that He only said and did what He heard and saw from the Father; and He also said that man does not live by bread alone, but by every WORD that PROCEEDS from the mouth of God. You see, it is the PROCEEDING WORD- speaking the words of the Father that brings forth Life (zoe)... not ‘smiting the Rock’. We must move from a ‘smiting the Rock’ mentality, to a ‘speak to the Rock’ mentality... from a ROD mentality (external anointing coming upon us for a season), to a PROCEEDING WORD mentality (internal abiding anointing).

By now, someone is probably saying, "But I thought the Bible taught us that the life is in the blood!" This is very true, but we must understand that there are two types of LIFE... two different words, psuche and zoe, both translated as life, but having very different meanings. Jesus said it very emphatically in Matt. 16:25, "He who seeks to save HIS LIFE shall lose it...". The word for life in that verse is ‘psuche’ from which we get the word psyche, which is the mind, the SOUL. That verse literally says that if we seek to protect and preserve our SOUL life (life lived from the mind, will and emotions), we will lose it... the word lose, apollumi, means to destroy fully. The verse goes on to say that if we lose our SOUL life for HIS SAKE, we will find it, or better translated we will OBTAIN. What is it that we obtain?... well, Jesus said His WORDS (the incorruptible Seed of Life) were Spirit (Pneuma) and Life (Zoe), or Spirit Life. Jesus said His purpose in coming was that we may have LIFE, Zoe or Spirit Life! He did NOT come to give us ‘psuche’, or SOUL Life! THAT is the life (psuche) that was crucified with Him!

The verses in John 10:11, 15, 17, all say that Jesus laid down (in death) His LIFE for us; the word used there is psuche in Greek (NOT His Zoe). Is 53:10 says that His SOUL (nephesh in Hebrew, psuche in Greek) was an offering for sin... NOT His Spirit (Ruach) but His SOUL. Verse 12 goes on to say "... He hath poured out His SOUL (nephesh) unto death...". This is significant because according to Lev. 17:11 "...the life (nephesh or SOUL) of the FLESH is in the blood... the blood maketh atonement for the SOUL...". In other words, the SOULISH life is in the BLOOD, and it was the BLOOD of Christ that was poured out, His SOUL (psuche, NOT His Spirit) an offering for sin. Furthermore, "...the Son of Man came... to give His life (psuche - SOUL) a ransom for many..."(Matt. 20:28), His BLOOD shed as the sin offering, that WE may have LIFE (ZOE), SPIRIT LIFE!

Friends, it is His LIFE (zoe) that brings forth FULL salvation, being conformed to His image and likeness, and His WORDS are SPIRIT LIFE... we do not live by bread alone, but it is the PROCEEDING WORD that brings forth Life. As we speak the WORDS of the Father, what God says concerning who we are in Christ, as we speak to the Rock of REVEALation within us (Christ IN us) calling forth the NEW MAN within, we will go beyond just meeting needs in the wilderness... we will be on our way to conquering those things that appear to be ‘giants’ standing in the way of our Promised Land of manifesting the fullness of Christ.

Quit smiting the Rock within you in the duality of carnal reasoning; quit depending on the ROD anointing... start speaking to the Rock within, calling forth the ABIDING anointing... watch as the water of the PROCEEDING WORD flows freely from your life... watch the ‘giants’ in your life topple as the victory that has ALREADY been won is appropriated!

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