South Africa
Feb 25, 2010
During my set-apart time in January the Lord made two statements to me:
He declares the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10)
First the natural and then the spiritual (1 Cor 15:46)
I was on a three week Daniel fast at the time and the Spirit highlighted the time of the end of my fast, being the beginning of February, and then added a further statement, “I declare the end of the year from the beginning”. I was a bit confused by this as the end of January was not the end of either the Roman or Jewish year as far as I knew. However, I knew the Spirit was teaching me something and so using the first two statements He had given me, I realized that something had taken place in the natural realm at the beginning of February last year, which would be taking place in the spiritual realm at the beginning of February this year. I researched the newspaper headlines for that period in 2009 and discovered that terrible wildfires had broken out in Australia at the beginning of February. Having just had a dream that spiritual fires were sweeping the land and breaking out spontaneously and unpredictably in just the same way as those fires in Australia a year before, the fear of God came over me. I am not sure if any of you remember but many people lost their lives in those Australian fires as the flames engulfed their cars and homes before they had time to do anything about it. First the natural, then the spiritual. God was declaring a very strong warning in the natural for any who had eyes to see and ears to hear - that at the end of that season, a similar fire was appointed to fall in the spiritual realm. He was declaring the end of the year from the beginning! The Refiner's Fire would suddenly come to His temple but who could bear it!? My dream of the fleeing of the Bride and the fire falling is speaking of the season we are just entering and I tremble when I think of how many are not ready for it, even in my own family.
I was then prompted by the Spirit to check the dates for Jan/Feb with the Jewish calendar dates to see if any significant date falls around that time and here is what I found: February 9th last yr was Shevat 15th, which is when the New Year for Trees is celebrated in Israel. In Hebrew it is called TU B'SHEVAT. It is called the 'New Year of the Trees' in the Talmud since it is the date from which the tithing year of fruit trees is calculated. At this time the tree is examined and any fruit found on the tree at that date is considered fruit of the previous year. Any fruit which sets after that date is part of the harvest for the next season. In contemporary Israel this day is marked by the planting of trees, and, hence, is often called 'the Jewish Arbor Day.' This is also the season in which the earliest-blooming trees (which are almond trees representing 'resurrection') in the Land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle. So when the Spirit said He was declaring the end of the year from the beginning, He was referring to the calculated year for trees. The bible often refers to men being like trees, for example in psalm one where the one who fears the Lord is like a tree planted by streams of water.
The interesting thing is that because the Jewish calendar year is shorter than the Julian year, this New year for Trees fell on January 30th this year, the first day after my fast ended. I had realized that I was fasting in order to pray for the release of fruit in the coming 'tree' year: corn, wine and oil of Tabernacles harvest according to Joel 2. Then I had the following parable of Jesus impressed on me:
Luk 13:6 He also spoke this parable: A certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard. And he came and sought fruit on it, and found none. Luk 13:7 And he said to the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and find none. Cut it down, why does it encumber the ground? Luk 13:8 And answering, he said to him, Lord, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and throw manure. Luk 13:9 And if it bears fruit, well; and if not, then after that you shall cut it down.
This parable is referring to the practice that occurred on Tu B'Shevat. The amount of fruit on a tree was inspected and counted as fruit of the previous season. This man found no fruit and so he wanted to cut it down immediately because the previous season had yielded no results but someone interceded and bought a further period of time for the fruit tree to redeem itself. If, at the end of that year, no fruit was found, then the judgment declared at the beginning of that year would stand! The owner of the orchard had declared the end of the year from the beginning but there was a possibility for this judgment to be averted.
Notice that the owner had come looking for fruit for three years. This connects us to another interesting principle which the Lord established for His people when they entered the Promised Land:
Lev 19:23 And when you shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then you shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised (untouchable) :three years shall it be as uncircumcised to you: it shall not be eaten of. Lev 19:24 But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD with. Lev 19:25 And in the fifth year shall you eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield to you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God.
The fruit of the fourth year is holy to Lord and in 5th year one gets to eat the fruit. At the New Year for Trees, fruit of tree from the last season is inspected and counted. So when the owner came to inspect the fig tree at the end of three years and there was still no fruit, He was angry. It seemed that this particular fig tree had no progress whatsoever to show. Jesus said 'you shall know them by their fruit'. The fruit of a man's life is evidence of what kind of tree he is. Is he of the seed of Christ or of Belial? This fig tree was weighed in the balances and found wanting but because of intercession, because of a man who stood in the gap, the was a stay of execution of judgment for one more year. The tree would be fertilized and carefully tended and if, after that season, it showed no fruit of repentance, then the judgment of the ax and the unquenchable fire would be carried out.
Beloved, I believe we have entered a period when the fruit of our lives is being weighed in the balances. Many will be weighed and found wanting and only intercession will stay that judgment for a limited period in order to provide time for repentance because God is merciful. However, at the end of that time, the judgment can no longer be held back. Remember the hand that wrote on the wall declaring 'numbered, numbered, weighed, divided' to the Babylonian king? That very night judgment was carried out. It could no longer be averted. Those terrible wildfires in Australia on the New Year for Trees in 2009 were a sign in the natural, a declaration of what was to be released at the end of that year in a spiritual form. It is not a coincidence that the Spirit spoke of releasing messengers of fire who would plead and minister to a wayward church at the time of Tu B'Shevat in 2010. We have entered the season of final grace for the House of God, where the tree will be dug around to loosen hard ground and manured in the hope of bringing forth fruit of repentance in this year. However, this is the final stay of judgment. The church has been weighed in the balances and found wanting. There has not been sufficient fruit of repentance found and now is the time of the application of spiritual fire (represented by the digging and the manure) in the manner described in Malachi 3. Jesus is going to thoroughly cleanse His Church and purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer righteous offerings. He is going to deal with the adulterer and the sorcerer and those who do not fear Him.
On the 12th January another powerful sign occurred in the natural which carried a message to those who had ears to hear. God was once again declaring the end from the beginning. The magnitude 7 earthquake which hit Haiti in the natural prophesies a spiritual earthquake in the Church at the end of the year which does a complete work (no 7) of destruction of the constructions of man and the doctrines of man. If that does not fill one with the fear of God and drive one to get one's house in order without delay, then nothing will.
We all know the story of Jesus looking for fruit on the fig tree after he cleansed the temple and finding none, cursing it. However, if we look closely at the timing of this event, we find it occurred after three years of walking the land of Israel ministering. The message of bearing fruit worthy of repentance was first given by John Baptist for 6months before Jesus was revealed as the Lamb of God. Listen to John's message:
Luk 3:7 Then he said to the crowd that came forth to be baptized by him, O generation of vipers! Who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Luk 3:8 Therefore bring forth fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Luk 3:9 And now also the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bring forth good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire.
Here is the message declaring the end from the beginning. First the natural Israel and then the spiritual Israel (the Church). Israel and its religious system heard this message and had time to repent and produce fruit that was holy to the Lord by the end of the fourth year. So at the end of four years Jesus once again inspected the fig tree, which represented Israel and the religious system of the day, and finding no fruit, cursed it. He was declaring an end to this religious system which produced nothing worthy to offer to God. When Jesus was crucified (at Passover),there was a division between those who believed on the Son of God and those who bore no fruit of repentance.
God's judgments are always based on fruit. The separation of the sheep and the goats was based upon the fruit of people's lives, what they had been doing.
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Mat 7:19 Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them. Mat 7:21 Not every one that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven.
God is looking for good fruit on the tree of our lives. So in this final grace period, it is time to make decisions. It is time to bring forth fruit worthy of repentance. Real heart repentance produces a changed life AND fruit of that inner change is seen outwardly. What kind of tree will you be?
Mat 12:33 Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit. Mat 12:34 Offspring of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Mat 12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings out good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings out evil things. Mat 12:36 But I say to you that every idle word, whatever men may speak, they shall give account of it in the day of judgment. Mat 12:37 For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.
In the day of judgment- judgment of what? Judgment of fruitfulness, judgment of the fruit of our mouths! Why will we be justified or condemned by our words? Because words produce. The power of life and death is in the tongue and those who love it will eat the fruit thereof!. God spoke a word over us which was intended to bring forth the fruit of life but have we been aligning our tongues to His Word or have we been speaking words of death from a heart full of darkness? Whatever we have habitually spoken will be evidenced in the fruit of our lives. According to Leviticus 19, in the 5th year we get to eat the fruit of what we have spoken in the last four years (at end of 5th year when tabernacles harvest comes in).
Remember the message of Haiti and the tower of Siloam - unless you repent, you will also perish. FRUIT OF REPENTANCE IS BEING LOOKED FOR IN THIS YEAR. WILL WE BE FOUND WORTHY TO ESCAPE THE THINGS COMING ON THE EARTH AND STAND IN THE PRESENCE OF THE SON OF MAN?? OR WILL WE BE ALLOTTED DESTRUCTION AND THE AXE AT THE ROOT OF THE TREE?
Isa 3:10 Say to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Isa 3:11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
The fruit harvest is at Tabernacles. However, it is at the New Year for Trees, way back in the beginning of spring when the cut-off is made between the old season and the new. There are many people whose hearts sincerely love the Lord but they have been led captive by their leaders into a Babylonian religious lifestyle. God knows that there is a mixture in the present-day Church. However, He intends to separate and bring clarity and we find this process described in a vision given to Jeremiah:
Jer 24:1 The LORD showed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. Jer 24:2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very bad figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad. Jer 24:3 Then said the LORD unto me, What do you see, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. Jer 24:4 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Jer 24:5 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good. Jer 24:6 For I will set my eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. Jer 24:7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. Jer 24:8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus says the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt: Jer 24:9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them. Jer 24:10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave to them and to their fathers.
Here we see the separation of good and bad fruit. They were numbered, numbered, weighed and divided according to whether their lives had good or bad fruit. Beloved, this is a year to bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance rather than giving mere lip-service to it. God is not mocked. Yes, He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger but He is also just and abides by the parameters of His unchanging Word. If we sow to the flesh we will reap corruption, but if we have sowed to the spirit we will, in due season, reap a harvest, if we faint not. For those who have been weighed in the balances and found wanting, a final period of grace and stay of judgment is extended, but the fruit of this year will determine either destruction or safety; the ax at the root or just pruning shears on the branches.
We can also learn from the principle portrayed in Leviticus 19. It explains that in the first three years a tree's fruit is just left to fall to the ground and is not tasted. The fourth year's fruit belongs to God but in the fifth year, we get to eat the fruit and taste and see that God is good. This '5th year' is the due season, the appointed time of harvest for those who have not fainted. For some of us, the years of tasting no fruit of the promises we have been nurturing have been hard and testing as far as our allegiance to God and His Word is concerned. We have been through a long season of praising God for who He is rather that what we experience. Our lives have been holy to the Lord and we have been through much pruning in order to bear more fruit. For those who are forerunners, like the almond trees who blossom while all the other trees are still sleeping, I believe there is a firstfruits company who are in a sense a 'year' ahead of the rest of the Body. They have already provided fruit that is holy to the Lord in the past season. For these who have been abiding in the vine and have brought forth much fruit and have given Him pleasure, there is a time of reward, a time of receiving and possessing the kingdom is at hand. For these, as explained in Leviticus 19:25, they are now entering the year of tasting and eating the fruit of their labors, while others whose futures are in the balance, are going through a grace period to bring forth fruit worthy of repentance. The Refiner's fire will purge the dross in them
All in all, this year 2010 is not a year to play Church or to make a mockery of the grace of God. The earthquake in Haiti is a sobering reminder that God is not playing games and further dealings are intended as judgment begins with the House of God, it is time to walk in the fear of the Lord and live in the light as never before. Remember He declares the end from the beginning. First the natural and then the spiritual.
Selah