Calm Before The Storm or Silence Before The Thunder  Part3

We see seven churches listed in the book of Revelation, and how it speaks of the birth, growth, death of the church and her resurrection as a whole. It deals with her shortcomings and lack as well as her complete victory and fullness in Christ. After the seven judgments of seals, trumpets, angels, etc., and the seven Spirits which minister life, New Jerusalem comes in full manifested glory from the heavenlies.

 

The impact of seven when applied to God's creation is profound. It ultimately brings completion/fullness/perfection of His mystery to everything that sees, hears, or is touched by it.

 

 For it is in God's foreordained purpose for all men to see and fellowship the mystery which has been hidden since the foundation of the world. It has been the plan of the ages which God formed in Jesus Christ, and we expect it to be expressed without much more delay. (rf. Ephesians 3:9-12). Since this seems to be next on God's agenda, we can count on the trumpet to be sounded and to know the reality of what it brings.

 

The groaning creation is standing on tiptoe, waiting for this sound. And God is raising up a people not content to remain in the old, any more than Jesus could have been content to stay in Nazareth. What will the manifestation of God’s sons be like? I don’t fully know what it will be like, any more than the early disciples knew what the day of Pentecost would be like when they went into the upper room with their Lord. I do know what it will NOT be like! It will not be like any move of God, any revival, any experience, or anything we have seen in our life-time! The move of God on the day of Pentecost and the new order of the church age was as different from the old order of Israel and the law as anything could possibly be. It is a new sound and the sons of God are on standby, waiting in the wings to hear the sound. Because there is silence in their heavens, they have been given the wisdom and understanding to distinguish the sound and to move at once when it is proclaimed.

 

That reality, however, will not come until there is an open declaration in the earth by God's own sons; but lest we get ahead of ourselves, we must keep in mind—silence comes before thunder and the trumpets.

 

"And when he had opened the seventh seal,  there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour." Revelation 8:1. Every member of that heavenly realm was seen in holy awe and humble reverence in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. The opening of the seventh seal makes a way for the seven Spirits of God, the seven messages of God, the fullness of God to be manifested. All who see Him, first those round about His throne, and those throughout all the subdued heavens, shut their mouths at the presence of His majestic glory. Crowns are cast at His feet; for none are found worthy to wear them but Him. Mighty is He in all His splendor, and His beauty to behold is beyond compare.

 

There is no clamoring in this place, no vying for position, no competition or jealousy, no desire to be seen or heard; for unless He is seen and unless He speaks, there is nothing worthy to do or of value to say. And the silence does not end until the seven angels are prepared to sound! When the inner preparation is complete in the Lord’s people and the conditions are right for the seven spirits of God to be revealed out of them, the silence will be broken. It will be broken by a mighty blast of God’s breath!

 

“And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.” Revelation 8:6.

 

That is what the word sound in this verse means—to trumpet, to sound a blast. It is neither a mellow sound nor an appeasing sound. It is far from being a gentle murmur, a suggestion, or a quiet whisper in the mulberry leaves. When the fullness of the revelation, glory, and power is to be known, the thundering trumpet sounds within and without the sons of God. The sudden blast will not tarry. There will be a great voice sounding from heaven. It will transform the sons of God and empower them with irrefutable authority. The sound will also shake the nations of the world and kingdoms of men. The thundering trumpet of revelation will come with resounding overtures, and it is in the bed of silence where it is conceived.

 

Ah, silence in heaven. All the messengers of God, the living creatures, and all the saints of fire are in such awe that they reverently hold their peace. Not a word is spoken for half an hour. It is a time hold back their thunder. There is no sounding of the trumpet. Although the hour of a new message is drawing near, it cannot be proclaimed until our voices are released to thunder His sound.

 

We know how to continue trumpeting and thundering the sounds of Passover and Pentecost; is it not better to be still in the utter silence of God’s awe than to keep on blowing the trumpet of a dying age? If a trumpet must be blown for this old age, let it be Taps and not Reveille.

 

The hour of a new day is upon us that will bring a wonderful change. Things will be vastly different. We believe that the hour is swiftly approaching for the silence to end, and the new will swallow up the old as surely as the dawn swallows up the night. When the old has been brought to its conclusion, the new becomes a reality! There has come upon us a deep and marvelous work in the elect during this silence. It is a transition in the apprehended ones of their Father, and the new move of God will break forth within each vessel when the silence has finished its purpose. Many things are being hushed within His body, for the Lord will not permit the new sound of the Kingdom to be mingled with the old sounds that are passing away. If that happened, it would be giving an uncertain sound. It would be confusing. But this sound will be clear and certain in the ears of God’s firstfruits.

 

In the presence of Deity comes the silence of our souls—our minds, our wills, our wants, our emotions. Every particle in the heaven between our ears ceases its stirring. That is the heaven wherein there will not be a word uttered or even a thought to rise when the seventh seal, the floodgate of perfection, is opened, and we will minister from that high and Holy Place of God. We neither need nor are we appeased by the sounds coming from the heavens of soulish fervor. Neither can we become one with the Amens nor praises from the heavens of the outer-courts, especially from loud and disruptive religious spirits. There is no place in the Holiest of all for self-serving people, whether ministers or those being ministered to. Nor is a party spirit welcomed therein. It is an offense to the somber place of God.

 

 When one enters the Most Holy place and ministers from therein, he will refrain from inciting the people to worldly laughter. Although joy is one of the basic elements of the Kingdom of   God, it is joy in the Holy Spirit, not joy in the spirit of drunkenness. Laughter will heal hurting souls; but the carnal wit of Adam has no place in the Holy sanctuary of God. The people may be lifted into the roar of laughter by it; however, the wine of intoxication will keep men from ministering unto the Lord. Ezekiel said that "Neither shall any priest drink wine when they enter into the inner court." Ezekiel 44:21. The inner court, whether the holy place or the Most Holy place, is not a place for drunkenness. It is solemn. It is serious. It is a place that demands silence from all flesh and the soulish heavens round about. When those of honor become too humorous while ministering, they can become, as it were, court jesters which are as dead flies in the apothecaries ointment as noted in Ecclesiastes 10:1.

 

Although unknown by many, we are experiencing silence today in His cloud of glory. It is a strange and difficult time for some; the quietness is unsettling. But others are anxiously resting. They are enraptured by its overwhelming peace. In humble repose, they view God's works which were finished at the founding of the world. Rather than looking for what He is going to do, they see what has already been done as the Son's glory beams upon those finished works. Heaven's Holy host is taken aback by the vista of flaming glory. With bated breath, the cloud of His saints anxiously abide in their place until the time for their thunder to break the deafening silence.

 

Then comes the awaited hour. The moment arrives when the seven thunders utter their voices, voices John heard resounding throughout God's high and holy realm, but was forbidden to write. Rather than making a record for others, He was told to hold his pen and seal up those heralds of truth. (Rev 10:4). We can, therefore, only speculate what he heard in our day and what will be its thundering manifestation.

 

This, no doubt, was akin to what Paul wrote about concerning the one who heard things that were inexpressible in human terms, things which would only become defiled when conveyed by the inquisitive mind of man. It was so foreign to the earthy that the natural tongue could say nothing to enlighten the elect.

 

In the presence of our Lord, when He is seen in His temple, in you and in me, what is there to say? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Unless, however, it is the hour for us to thunder the word of His earthshaking sound. Until then, we rest in utter silence. If we do not see Him high and lifted up, and He is not seen or heard—be hushed! Be still! For if you shout, holler, clamor, and run the aisles in heated fervor with hopes of raising His presence, all that will likely be raised is a dust cloud. Therefore, rest. Be at peace. Be still.

 

 "...Let all the earth be silent before him." Habakuk   2:20 NASB). There are no positions or places for untransformed particles of earth in His presence. Oh, but praise God! When religious demagoguery is quelled, when Babylon is fallen, and all of man's schemes are history—the earth can, and will, stand in awesome wonder before Him. It is then that "The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet..." And then "...they break forth into singing" Isaiah 14:7.

 

This is a perfect picture of today—the tooting of horns, the squeaking and squawking, the plucking of stringed instruments, the discordant tones that seemingly have no coherency; every man intent on doing his own thing, and this is alright if they are part of the orchestra; for it is the time of fine-tuning. We might not sound like much at the moment, but just wait a little while. After the silence of the Conductor's raised baton, what a sound will be heard reverberating from the Holy Cloud of Heaven!

 

Much of what we witness is doubtless part of the symphony that is tuning up. And some, sad to say, is the sound of people who feel they have to work up a religious fervor before the Spirit will come in, not realizing He is already in their presence. He is as much there as lightning is in the cloud before it strikes. We do not attend many meetings these days; but when we did in the past, at times we endured that which had been done the same for years on end. There was a lot of routine singing, clapping, loud voices, teaching, preaching, prophesying, or whatever else people did to "get in the spirit." And I say we endured, because a lot of it was exactly that, an endurance. Of course, it could be that they were members of the orchestra, and that was merely part of the tuning process; but it seems that a tremendous amount was the sound of men being busy about church.

 

We were so encouraged by what our friend, Alyce McPherson, said a few years ago concerning this sort of thing. She was relating about being in a "Kingdom" meeting and so much religious nonsense was going on. She asked the Lord, "How much longer must we endure this?" An immediate answer came, saying, "As long as you remain you will have to endure it, and as long as you remain—you give it life."

 

I fear that we have for much too long been feeding and energizing untransformed earthiness in the gatherings around the world. We don't want to be rude and walk out every time we don't feel the Spirit moving, or the meeting is not going the way we think it should; but neither should we simply endure the antics of flesh and children. Frankly, kindergarten, marbles, and mud-puddles have no place in the regal halls of God's Kingdom. They may be alright in certain places, at certain times, and with certain people, depending on their level of maturity and the order of the day; but let us be serious in the holy courts of God. Folly should not be seen where the elders cast their crowns in humble reverence.

 

It was sad to see in those days that some teachers and preachers were more like court jesters than ministers of the Lord’s word, and surely, the King was not humored by it. Some of the people may have been; but the King and His court were surely not. Reflecting on this reminds me of what Solomon wrote: "Dead flies make a perfumer's oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor." Ecclesiastes 10:1. The Amplified makes it little more clear: "Dead flies cause the ointment of the perfumer to putrefy [and] send forth a vile odor; so does a little folly [in him who is valued for wisdom] out-weigh wisdom and honor."

 

I am not suggesting that we should put on some sort of Pharisaical facade of somber faces, and mope around with no joy in our lives; but we should not replace ineptness with humor. If we do not have a life-giving word from the throne, then let us sit down and be silent! If our music and songs are merely for entertainment—stop it! If the featured speakers, the prophets, the healers, the singers merely  serve as talent shows—don't do it anymore.

 

 There were times when we would gather together and reverently sit in silence until there was something to be said or done by the Spirit. Although I do not think it happens much today, silence might be the only thing necessary at times. Or perhaps, just perhaps, the word is to be ministered first, and then the spirit of worship and praise could sweep over the people in anointed song, praise, and thanksgiving. We can, no doubt, find a few scriptures which will support our formulas for conducting meetings; but, brethren, WE should not attempt to be the conductors when we meet in the name of our Lord, and formulas fit very awkwardly in the Kingdom of   God.

 

Back in the late 1970s and early 80s, we had Bible studies in our home, and I was the primary teacher, that is, until my Lord spoke to me. In essence, He said: “My body has more than one member, and each member has a truth and expression of me that no other can express. As long as you are the only speaker, everyone will be limited, and as long as you are their only voice, they will only express what you have taught them rather than me. Therefore, since all who attend the meetings are members of my body, give them the liberty to express me in their unique way of myself.”

 

This was shared with the others at the next meeting, and I told them that this would be the last time I would be the principle one to share, that everyone else who had something should share it as well, and this was expected to be the norm starting with the next week’s meeting. I also said that if no one had anything that there would be no reason to try and whip up something.

 

 Well, as you might have suspected, NO ONE, had anything to share when we met the following week, and since I had nothing stirring in my spirit, I said: “Ok! Since no one has anything, including me, let’s have some ice cream and cake.” That is what we did, and I waited to see what next week’s meeting would bring, and it was a remake of the former week. And I told the same thing. The third week was different. Everyone had something to share that was precious to them that they share, and after a couple of weeks more, they all had so much to express of the wonders of the Lord, I had a hard time sharing what was so real in my life, and it continued that way until the Lord spoke again to let me know it was time to stop the meetings so they could continue on in the journey in which they were called. This is not for everyone, since there are no molds or set ways to form the lives of the saints; but that was how He did it with us back then, and it was good.

 

There are those occasions in gatherings, of course, when the King of Glory comes among us in His Imperial presence, with the conductor’s baton in hand, and not a breath can be heard. Then there are those times when we should come together in humble reverence, quiet our heavens, silence our earth, and wait for the King. If He remains obscure or silent, then perhaps we should be a little more obscure and silently, go home, and continue in such. And again, it could be that after the space of half an hour, the trumpeting voice of thunder will be birthed, and we will be heard resounding from the clouds of heaven and raining/reigning God's glory, judgment, and restoration upon the earth.

 

Indeed, there is Calm Before The Storm and great wonders when it Thunders!