The war over God’s word began early in Genesis when Satan came into the garden and asked, “Has God said?” Satan’s whole effort is to challenge and to question what God says. The believer’s victory is found in believing implicitly what God says and absorbing His word until he actually becomes a channel of speaking that word in its purity and in its power.
As you absorb the word, eating and digesting it, your troubles begin. But the blessings begin also, because the word can come forth from you, and you can prophesy it more and more. You can also refuse any oppression by standing in the blessings that the Lord has proclaimed and by voicing them.
In the book of Revelation it is written that an angel came down; and he had in his hand a little book which was open. And he placed his right foot on the sea and his left on the land; and he cried out with a loud voice, as when a lion roars; and when he had cried out, the seven peals of thunder uttered their voices. And when the seven peals of thunder had spoken, I was about to write; and I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up the things which the seven peals of thunder have spoken, and do not write them” (therefore, those things are not written in the book of Revelation). And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his right hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there shall be delay no longer. Revelation 10:2–6. Satan’s tactic is to delay things, but the time has come in which anything that delays God’s word from going forth will be brought down. The authority of the Lord will destroy every force that stands against the word.
But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets. And the voice which I heard from heaven, I heard again speaking with me, and saying, “Go, take the book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the land.” And I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. And he said to me, “Take it, and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was in my mouth sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter. And they said to me, “You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.” Revelation 10:7–11. No verse in the book of Revelation had more significance for the Apostle John than verse 11 in this passage.
On the Isle of Patmos the angel told John that he was yet to stand in the earth and prophesy concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings. In other words, there will be a return of the Apostle John to the earth, and his ministry will be related to seeing the Kingdom of God come forth in all the nations. In that process, much is to come in the way of ministry to peoples and nations and tongues and kings.
It is significant that John took the word that the angel proclaimed, and he ate it. In his mouth it was like honey, but in his stomach it was bitter. The word of God that is coming to us in this day is exactly like that. Whether you want to look around for the reincarnation of John the Beloved or not, you must be aware that in the end time this prophecy is symbolic of companies of people that are coming forth. In this age, every such prophecy will be manifested, not in one John the Baptist or one Prince David coming back (even though Ezekiel prophesied that David would be the prince to rule in that day—Ezekiel 37:24,25), but in companies of people who will have the spirit of these men upon them. Nevertheless, the spirits of these men may also be reincarnated in individuals in the end time in order to project this age into the Kingdom. God knows how to bring back the spirits of these men. Hebrews 12:22,23 tells us that we are coming to the spirits of just men made perfect, to the new Jerusalem and to the heavenly Zion. The spirits of these men will return and minister in the end time.
Even those that sleep in Christ will God bring with Him (I Thessalonians 4:14). The cloud of witnesses will be a part of the Parousia. All those who died in the faith will return. It will be a conjunction of two realms: the visible realm of God’s people and the realm of those who have gone to rest in the Lord. The Scripture is very clear in I Thessalonians 4:15: …we who are alive, and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. The Lord is going to bring them. Do not look for a specific rapture or first resurrection to be a single event scheduled for a certain moment. Look for companies of people to arise. The resurrection began at Christ’s crucifixion when graves were opened and the saints arose from the dead and appeared in Jerusalem.
In the book of Revelation we read that John ate the word; and it was as sweet as honey in his mouth, but bitter within his stomach. Another illustration of this is found in Jeremiah 15:16: Thy words were found and I ate them, and Thy words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I have been called by Thy name, O Lord God of hosts.
A little further on, in Jeremiah 20:8,9, we read, For each time I speak, I cry aloud; I proclaim violence and destruction, because for me the word of the Lord has resulted in reproach and derision all day long. But if I say, “I will not remember Him or speak any more in His name,” then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it. The word of God was not only sweet to Jeremiah as he ate it, but it became like a fire within him. It was like a burning fire shut up in his bones, and he could not hold it in any longer.
In the end time, the living word is coming not just to enlighten you and to direct you; it is coming for you to eat it, to partake of it. Then within your innermost being it will become the most bitter, disturbing thing you have ever received. It will upset the whole course of your nature. It will actually turn you into a fountain. You will not be able to hold back that word, but you will speak it with anointing and in the power of God. This is the key to everything that will happen as one age ends and another age begins.
Ezekiel had one of the highest planes of anointing of any prophet in the Old Testament. Many times he said, “Thus saith the Lord,” or, “The word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Prophesy this; prophesy that.’ ” There were waves of captivity, and Ezekiel was taken a number of years before Jerusalem fell, shortly after Daniel was first taken captive. During that period Ezekiel prophesied and commuted back and forth in the Spirit. Ezekiel was one of the greatest mystics who ever lived. The book of Revelation drew heavily upon the symbols and the imagery in the book of Ezekiel.
In Ezekiel 2:1, 2 we read, Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!” And as He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me. Then God told Ezekiel to go and speak to the people. “…Whether they listen or not…they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words, though thistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house. But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.” Verses 5–7.
Verse 9 tells that the scroll was presented; this occurred again in the book of Revelation. Then I looked, behold, a hand was extended to me; and lo, a scroll was in it. When He spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back; and written on it were lamentations, mourning and woe. Then He said to me, “ ‘Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and He fed me this scroll. And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach, and fill your body with this scroll which I am giving you.” Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth. Then He said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel.” Ezekiel 2:9–3:5.
Ezekiel 3:10,11 continues with the same thought: Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, take into your heart all My words which I shall speak to you, and listen closely. And go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or not, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ”
A new level of prophesying is yet to come. For years there has been a carefulness, directed by the Holy Spirit, in teaching people not to prophesy in the first person. But the day will come when people will know the sure leading of the Lord and say, “Thus saith the Lord, ‘I say unto you….’ ” In former years, the lower level of prophecy had little revelation in it. Those who prophesied in the first person seemed to be claiming infallible revelation that was on the same plane as Ezekiel’s; yet their prophecies were far removed from Ezekiel’s plane of revelation, because they had not heard the word or eaten the word or digested the word. It had not become bitter within their stomachs. Prophesying will be refined to a high level, and only then will people begin to speak forth unto the nations. Everything within their being will become a compulsive word from God. Look for the Lord to speak and to bring this high level of the word to your heart.
The Lord told Ezekiel to take the word into his heart and to listen closely to all of it; then He sent him forth to speak it. Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place. I heard also the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels over against them, and a noise of a great rushing. So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me. Then I came to them of the captivity at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days. (What really happened was that the people were in consternation.) And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man…. Ezekiel 3:12–17.
God did two important things for Ezekiel. He caused him to eat the word until it became a living part of his being, and He identified him with all the people to whom he was going to prophesy and minister by setting him down in their midst. From this example, you can learn not to criticize anyone until you face all that he must face. It is easy to judge and to feel superior to a person who is involved in certain problems, if you have never been involved in those same problems. You never know the difficulties that another person has experienced.
Ezekiel was not an exclusive, aloof person who did not know what was happening; neither are today’s disciples who are coming forth by the living word of God. God is exposing them to the needs of people. God’s realistic believers today are not living in ivory towers, nor are they being taught in seminaries to preach sermons that are like flowery book reports. God has redeemed a remnant of believers out of the hand of the enemy, bringing them out of a miry pit. He has placed their feet on solid rock and deposited the word within their hearts; and that word is like a burning fire shut up in their bones. They have eaten the word, and it is as sweet as honey. They have digested that word, and it has upset the whole process of their being. Out of it is coming forth in this day a living word from God that will minister to people everywhere.
In chapter 25, Jeremiah prophesied this word of the Lord: “ ‘And I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. (For many nations and great kings shall make slaves of them, even them; and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their hands.)’ ” For thus the Lord, the God of Israel, says to me, “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. And they shall drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.” Then I took the cup from the Lord’s hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom the Lord sent me. Jeremiah 25:13–17.
God’s ultimate purpose is to have a people through whom He will minister a word to the nations. It will be like the wine of madness as it projects them into the dealings of God that will bring judgments upon this age. The grace of God will open up a new age to the hearts of men. As it was in the days of Jeremiah, so it will be again in our time. Those days of prophesying a living word have dawned upon us again.