As we enter into the new millennium, intercession must take on a new dimension, an apostolic dimension.  It is not a time to stand back and watch, but a time to run with the horses and chariots of God.

To help us understand this, let’s look at the scriptural meaning of the numerals for the year 2000.  Two represents the second person of the Godhead, Jesus, the Sent One.  It is the number of union and denotes submission.  The number two also represents witness.  The meaning of the number thousand is perfect fruitfulness, maturity, and the redeemed Church with her responsibility fulfilled.  In the Hebrew calendar, our year 2000 is 5760. I t means the year or day of the Lord for revelation and the unlocking of treasuries.  As we submit to God and come into union with Jesus, we will overcome by the blood of Jesus, the word of our testimony, or witness, and loving not our lives unto the death. Then we will see the Church come into maturity and the harvest of souls redeemed. God is releasing the funds, strategies, and anointing needed to build His kingdom.  These funds have been held captive in the treasuries of darkness and hidden in secret places (Isa 45:3).

When Jesus came to earth, He was thrust forth, sent by the Father to undo or untie the works of the devil.  He was sent to heal the sick, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and to open the prisons of those who are bound (Luke 4:18).  He came to do the will of the Father, to bring eternal life (John 6:38-44).  The Greek word for "sent" in these passages is pempo.  It means to dispatch and to thrust in.  In John 20:17 Jesus said, "Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you."  In this passage the word "sent" is apostello.  Its meanings include to set apart, to send out, to send forth, and to set at liberty.  The Greek word for "apostles," apostolos, comes from the root word apostello.  Apostolos means a delegate, specifically an ambassador of the Gospel, officially a commissioner (apostle) of Christ with miraculous powers.

Looking at the times and seasons we are now in, we know that this is the appointed time for the apostolic anointing of the Sent One.  In the edition on Redeeming the Time, we wrote that we are in a crucial time in which the plumb line has been dropped and all things must be pulled to that line of righteousness and judgment.  This is the time to pull forward the future and restore the past (Isa. 58:12, 61:4, Amos 9:11) so we can see the restoration of all things spoken by the holy Prophets since the world began (Acts 3:21).  As mentioned, the number thousand means perfect fruitfulness, maturity, and the redeemed Church with responsibility fulfilled.  One of the functions of the apostle, along with the prophets, teachers, pastors, and evangelists, is to equip the saints until we are united in faith and knowledge of the Son and are mature in the fullness of Christ.  We, as God’s servants, have been thrust forth to bring deliverance to captives, to heal the sick, to bind up the brokenhearted, to war against nations that have plundered His people, and to build and finish the work He sent us to do.  Jesus told His disciples, as the Father has sent Me into the world, even so I send you into the world.  The anointing of the Sent One has been given to us!!  We must be willing to be thrust INTO the world.

As we enter this new millennium, we must learn to pray from a new position: seated with Him in the heavenly realm (Eph. 2:4-7).  When we realize we are raised up together with Him and seated with Him in heavenly places, we will know the times and seasons and the redemptive plan of our Father in heaven.  Part of this redemptive plan is that we will allow our souls to be redeemed, so our spirits can be raised up in resurrection life and seated where He is seated.  The book of Ephesians was addressed to a group of believers who were rich beyond measure in Jesus Christ, yet were living as beggars, only because they were ignorant of their wealth.  A Christian’s heavenly bank account is filled with adoption, acceptance, redemption, forgiveness, wisdom, inheritance, the seal of the Holy Spirit, life, grace, citizenship in short, every spiritual blessing. "We are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, that we should walk in them." (Eph. 2:10)  If we are at the right hand of the Father participating in what Jesus is praying, we will know how to pray. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Mat. 6:10)  By knowing what is bound and loosed, we can declare a thing on earth and see it happen.  If we want to see the millennial reign of Christ established, we must know our God, the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of His suffering, and be conformed to His death.  As we respond in prayer to the times and seasons He reveals, we can redeem those foreordained events that must take place.  If we don’t persist in prayer at these appointed times, the completion of these events will be passed on until they are fulfilled by a generation in the future.

Running With The Horses

As I sought the Lord about the time and season we were entering, I heard the Lord say, "It’s time to run with the horses." In Jeremiah 12:1-5 Jeremiah expressed his complaint to God about the wicked being prosperous. God rebuked him and said, "If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, in which you trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the swelling of the Jordan?"  God was basically saying, "You haven’t seen anything yet!"  The intensity of the battles ahead would be far greater than Jeremiah had previously encountered.  If Jeremiah tired so easily with the injuries he received during peace time, how would he gain the zeal needed to stand against the pace and strength of the horses and chariots of the enemy that were soon to come against him?

How will you do in the swelling of the Jordan?  In other words how will you execute vengeance, how will you make war when the horsemen of the enemy are in your face like a flood coming over you? How will you work, labor, toil, create, construct, build, accomplish, and handle this time of war?  The Hebrew word for "contend" has many meanings that will help us understand how we need to enter into this new level of spiritual warfare.  The root of the word for "contend" means to burn, to be kindled, to glow with anger, to be incensed, to be zealous, to rival, to act zealously, to grow indignant, and to become angry.  To execute God’s judgment will require these godly characteristics.  Lord, stir them up in us!!

The swelling of the Jordan is more than the river overflowing its banks.  It is a symbol of raging war.  In Jeremiah 46 though 51, one nation after another entered into intense battle.  The difficulties the people were to encounter were far greater than they had previously faced.  It was God’s day of vengeance and there was no reprieve.

In Jeremiah 46, God, fully knowing the outcome of the battle, almost sarcastically told Egypt to prepare for war, put on their armor, harness their horses, and sharpen their spears. "Who is this that cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers? Egypt riseth up like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go up, and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof. Come up, ye horses and rage, ye chariots." (Jer. 46:7-9)  God had stirred up this mighty army coming from the North, rising up like a flood, overflowing all the land, destroying every foe.  But this was a time that He would avenge Himself on His adversaries.  God used Nebuchadnezzer, king of Babylon, as His agent of judgment to devour Egypt by the sword.

The day of the battle of the Lord continued as Jeremiah spoke against the Philistines,

"Thus says the LORD: Behold, waters rise out of the north, And shall be an overflowing flood; they shall overflow the land and all that is in it, the city and those who dwell within; then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall wail; at the noise of the stamping hooves of his strong horses, at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of his wheels... O thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? Put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still. How can it be quiet, seeing the Lord hath given it a charge--there hath he appointed it." (Jer. 47:2-3, 6-7)

This was God’s order against Ashkelon and against the seacoast. I t would not be stopped.  God’s sword would not be quieted until it had accomplished His purposes against the Philistines.  From this we can see that we must learn to contend with the horsemen and chariots of the enemy.

In Jer. 48:10 the Lord said, "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood."  Understanding the meaning of the words "cursed" and "deceitfully" will help us see the expectancy of God when it comes to executing the judgments written against His enemies. "Cursed" means to bind with a spell, to hem in with obstacles, or to render powerless to resist.  The Hebrew meaning of "deceitfully" is remissness, treachery, false, guile, idle, slack, or slothful.  From this we can see that if we are remiss in executing God’s written judgments, we will be rendered powerless to resist, we will be cursed.  This again highlights our need to learn to contend with the horses and chariots of the enemy.

The Lord continued prophesying through Jeremiah to the nations and spoke the same words to Edom and Babylon. "Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? For who is like me? And who will appoint me the time? And who is that shepherd that will stand before me?" (Jer. 49:19, 50:44)  In God’s grace, He foretold them of the devastation and destruction that was ahead as the sword of God would fall (Jer. 50:22-25, 34-37). God had only one plan in mind, a snare for Babylon.  God had used Nebuchadnezzer again and again as His agent of judgment against the nations.  But then God’s vengeance came against the Babylonians and He was looking for another vessel.  God placed His anointing upon Cyrus to spoil the enemy and eventually bring about the destruction of Babylon.

It is time to spoil the enemy’s camp and contend with the horses and chariots of the enemy.  There is only one way.  Although the horses and chariots of the enemy are many, more are with us than with them.  God’s horses and chariots outwit and defeat the enemy every time.  Elijah and Elisha were well acquainted with the horsemen and chariots of Israel.  At that time, Israel was the nation God had carved out of all the nations on the earth, a people who would be His representative.  Since we are now a part of that kingdom which Jesus came to put in order - that Holy Nation - we can expect these chariots and horsemen to be on our side as they were on the side of Israel.

In 1 Kings 18, God told Elijah, go and show your face to Ahab and I will send rain on the face of the earth.  When Ahab and Elijah met, Ahab accused Elijah of being the troubler of Israel.  Elijah quickly turned Ahab’s words back, saying, no, it is you Ahab who has been the one to bring trouble on Israel. The face off was soon to follow.  Elijah had to enter the camp of the enemy to bring forth the glory of God and destroy the prophets of Baal, then the rains would come.  The defeat of the enemies of God and the destruction of the prophets of Baal had to come before the victory could be realized.  The word of God to Elijah was that he gird up his loins (the armor of God - the Word) and outrun the chariots of the enemy to the gates of Jezreel.  The meaning of "Jezreel" is "politically strong."  This is a day and hour when we too must be alert in the spirit in such a manner as to perform the work we are sent to do and then move quickly to outrun the enemy.  God is positioning some of us to invade the political arena with the anointing to reverse the decree of death pronounced against the Church of the Living God.

How do we tap into this anointing to bring forth God’s glory and bring destruction to the enemy? Elijah’s relationship to Elisha provides the pattern God has ordained.  In 2 Kings 2, the Lord sent Elijah to Bethel and to Jericho where the school of the prophets was located.  In each place, God gave the sons of the prophets (the next generation) an opportunity to receive the anointing from Elijah.  They realized that this was the day the Lord would take Elijah from them, but they did not want to pay the price to receive that anointing.  Repeatedly Elijah tried to discourage Elisha from continuing on in the journey, but Elisha said, "As the Lord lives and you live, I will not leave you." Elisha’s heart was knit with Elijah’s, and he was committed to receiving the anointing from his spiritual father.  The next place God sent Elijah was the Jordan.  When Elijah and Elisha reached the Jordan, the prophets of the area stood back and watched, but they chose not to cross the Jordan to receive the new anointing from God.  Elisha was the only one who was willing to sacrifice his future and move on with God.

Three separations had to occur before Elisha received the anointing God had for him. T he first came when Elijah took his mantle and struck the waters so he and Elisha could cross on dry land.  This separation was to isolate those that stayed behind watching Elisha and Elijah, the ones who were not willing to move on in God’s plan, from those that were willing.  After they crossed over the Jordan, Elijah asked Elisha, "What shall I do for you before I am taken up?"  Elisha requested a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Elijah said, "You have asked a hard thing, but if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if not it shall not be so."  As they continued on, a chariot of fire and horses of fire parted the two of them (the second separation) and Elijah went up in a whirlwind.  Elisha saw it and cried, "My Father, My Father; the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!" and he took hold of his own clothing and tore them in two pieces (symbolizing a change of kingdom and anointing).  Elisha took up the mantle (anointing) that had fallen from Elijah, struck the waters of the Jordan, and said, "Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?"  The waters parted and Elisha crossed over.  This was the third separation - leaving the old and moving into the new.

There are many significant things in this passage.  In order to receive the anointing that had been on Elijah, Elisha had to honor his father from whom he had received training, teaching, and spiritual birthing.  The horsemen and chariots brought a separation between the temporal and the eternal - the old from the new.  So as Elijah was taken up in the whirlwind, Elisha had to be ready to run with the horsemen of God onto the next move of God.  He had to take hold of the anointing of the last move of God and move onto the next, finishing what had not been accomplished by the last move of God. God had given Elijah three mandates to accomplish - anoint Hazael as king of Syria, Jehu as king of Israel, and Elisha in his place.  The sword of these three would bring destruction to the enemies of God.  Elijah only accomplished one of these, the anointing of Elisha.  It was up to the next generation to finish what Elijah had not completed, the anointing of Hazael and Jehu.  Elisha accomplished one of these mandates (appointing Hazael king) and sent one of the sons of the prophets (the next generation) to anoint Jehu.  We must also be ready to take the anointing from the last move of God, allow the separation by the horsemen and chariots of God, and let them carry us on to the next move of God.  We must continually allow God to separate the temporal from the eternal so that we are able to move on in the accomplishing of God’s foreordained events.  All things about which God has spoken by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time must be restored (Acts 3:21).  God, help us to be those who are willing to move on with You in Your redemptive plan to restore all things.

As we look at the life of Elisha, it is interesting that the anointing on his life seemed to go to the grave with him and was not passed on.  The double portion anointing remained on his bones, because when a dead man was thrown in Elisha’s grave he came alive when he touched Elisha’s bones.  In 2 Kings 13:14, when Elisha was dying, the king of Israel came to him and spoke the same words to him that Elisha had spoken to Elijah, "My Father, My Father, the horses of Israel and the chariots." This meant another change of kingdom and anointing was coming.  Elisha seems to have tried to pass the anointing on to the king.  He said, "Put your hands on the bow and shoot the arrow of the Lord’s deliverance," and Elisha put his hand on the hand of the king.  Then he told him to take the arrows and strike them on the ground, but apathy and passivity held the king back from receiving the anointing of Elisha, thereby preventing his completion of the task at hand - the slaying of the Syrians. Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, also had the opportunity to receive Elisha’s anointing.  But Gehazi could not receive the anointing because of the deceit, love of money, and lying that was in him.  What was different about the passing of the anointing from Elijah to Elisha?  As Elijah’s servant, Elisha would not leave him.  His heart was knit with the heart of Elijah and was set on receiving the anointing from him.  Elisha’s servant was deceitful.  For God’s anointing to pass on there has to be a people who earnestly desire to move on with God.  Neither the prophets who stood back and watched Elisha and Elijah cross the Jordan, nor Gehazi, nor the King of Israel had that heart.

Malachi 4:5-6 says, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."  The relationship between Elijah and Elisha was a perfect reflection of this scripture.  We can see that without this relationship the anointing cannot be handed to the next generation.  In Judges 2:10 after Joshua and all his generation had died, it says, "There arose another generation which knew not the Lord nor the works he had done for Israel."  God was angry with this generation and sold them into the hands of the enemies round about them.  Every time the anointing was not passed to the next generation, thereby stopping the work of the Lord, God smote the earth with a curse.  God is looking for that finishing generation that will honor the fathers of the faith, take the anointing of each move of God, and move on to the finish (Acts 3:21).  God help us to raise up that finishing generation.

When we are separated from something, we must be separated unto something.  We are separated unto HIS GLORY!  2 Cor. 4:17-18: "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." What is the eternal weight of glory?  Could it be the anointing?  When the priests in the Old Testament were anointed, the oil was poured from the top of the head and ran down to the bottom of the robe.  That robe was passed from generation to generation.  Imagine the weight of it.  Oh, the eternal weight of glory just keeps getting heavier and heavier.  We are to be taking the anointing from each move of God and adding the anointing released for the new move of God - adding weight to weight, glory to glory, faith to faith - and passing it on to the finishing generation.

The Cyrus Anointing

Today, God is adding to us the Cyrus anointing.  We are in a time of war unlike any time since the fall of man.  We must stand against Bel, the kingpin of Babylon.  This anti-Christ or Babylonian spirit has permeated every kingdom on the earth.  We see it in the governmental, financial, religious, medical, educational, and business arenas.  It must be rooted out, pulled down, thrown down, and destroyed in order to build and plant the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.  Three years ago the Lord spoke to me that he had three anointings to release: the anointing to destroy the yoke, the anointing to bring down the high places, and the anointing to spoil.  These have been prepared since the foundation of the earth.  Now is the time to see them in their fulfillment.

Included in the Cyrus anointing is the anointing to build and to spoil.  Isaiah prophesied of him, "He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure - even the building of Jerusalem and the laying of the foundation of the temple."  God also promised to dry up the rivers and command them to be dry. This is interesting in remembering the swelling of the Jordan. (Isaiah 44:27-28)  In Isaiah 45 we find that God had taken hold of Cyrus’ hand and gone before him to subdue the nations, open gates, etc. He was anointed to bind and loose the strength that resided at the gates of Babylon, the strength of false gods and idol kings, and to open the two-leaved gate, the gates of hell.  God gave him the key to the house of David and went before him to make the crooked (swollen) places straight, lawful, and right.  God promised him the treasures of darkness and the hidden riches in secret places.  In all this, God used a gentile king for the sake of Israel, His elect.  Cyrus was provided the needed resources to build Jerusalem.  To see God’s kingdom built, a progressive anointing to spoil is needed.  This is also true for us today.  That is why this anointing is being released and is available to those who will receive it and move with the horses and chariots to the next move of God.  Not only will this result in the needed finances, but also a transfer of souls from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jeremiah 51 gives further insight into the Cyrus anointing.  In God’s day of coming against the Babylonians, He called Cyrus to be His battle-axe and weapon of war.  He used Cyrus to break the nations, the horse and rider, the chariot and its rider, the man and woman, the old and young, and the governors and the commanders into pieces.  Through Cyrus destruction came to the kingdoms and Babylon was repaid for all the evil that it had done in Zion.  Cyrus was a standard set up by God to execute God’s judgment.  Just like Cyrus was in his day, we must be that standard, prepared to spoil Babylon and execute judgment.  When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Lord will raise up a standard against him. Zech. 2:8, "After the glory hath he sent me to the nations that have spoiled you."  God is sending us after the glory: the wealth and the souls of men.

Jesus gave us instruction on how to spoil and divide Satan’s kingdom and cause it to fall.  Matthew 12:28 says if demons are cast out by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. How can you spoil the strongman’s house and carry off his goods without binding the strongman?  But once you bind the strongman, then you can spoil his house.  We have to learn how to contend with and overcome the kingdom of darkness and how to cause Satan’s kingdom to divide and destroy itself.  Our war is not against flesh and blood as in Joshua’s day, but against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness.  Paul reminded the Ephesians of this when he told them to be strong in the Lord and in the power of HIS might.  It is only when we stand without wavering in the full armor of God, with all prayers and petitions in the anointing of the Holy Spirit, executing the judgments written, that we will see the spoils transferred into the Church. God, grant us the grace to do whatever it takes to move in the anointing to spoil.

This is God’s appointed time for us to be thrust into a new level of intercession - the Apostolic Dimension.  Once we have understanding of the "Sent One" and of what we’ve been sent to do, we can pray it from the heavenly realm to the earthly.  Some are calling this new move an "Apostolic Reformation."  The Protestant Reformation brought 128 years of war with untold number killed.  It brought separation of church and state.  The last 30 years of the war were the worst, and when it was over one third of Germany was dead.  Will the Apostolic Reformation put church and state back together with the government on HIS shoulders, with the law of heaven becoming the law of earth?

Lord, teach us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven," so we won’t have to experience war in the earth. T each us how to fight this war in the spiritual realm.  We know it is not time for the war prophesied in Revelation to happen.  The gospel of the kingdom has not been preached in all the earth, and all HIS enemies have not become his footstool, etc. Therefore, we need to pray for a silencing of the warring demons (see the Watchman newsletter on the 40/70 window) so a time of peace rather than war can take place and these things can be accomplished.  Father, pour out the spirit of wisdom and revelation so we know and understand how to work with You to bring all the foreordained events to completion so Your kingdom will be established on earth as it is in heaven.  And Lord, place a hunger in our hearts for the return of our Lord and Christ, so we are willing to do whatever it takes.