Taking Heaven by Force

Intense prayer in S. Korea

Some people are opposed to intense prayer, and they feel it is completely unnecessary.  They feel that it is rude and ungodly behavior.  But I want to show you from God's Word today that when you pray fervently, earnestly, intensely and with focused faith, your prayers are much more powerful. Jesus spoke of this, as recorded in Luke 16:16 and Matthew 11:12.  So let's take a close look at both of those passages.

According to Luke
Jesus said, “the Kingdom of God is being preached and everyone is forcing his way into it” (Luke 16:16).  Some people teach this passage to mean that in Jesus day and now there were bad guys who thought incorrectly that they could force their way into the kingdom.  However, the Greek word for pressing into it is biazitai.  It is nearly always used in the middle despondent tense.  According to the Bauer-Arndt-Gingritch Greek Lexicon, this word may either have a bad connotation of something being violently treated or a good one.  There is a wealth of information found in that Lexicon on page 140.  Among other possible meanings, it may mean:

“to occupy by force”
“is sought with burning zeal”
“makes its way with triumphant force”

Repentance is much like this, rather than a passive act carried out almost imperceptibly while in a neutral state.  It is a radical change of mind, and that’s the first step to entering the Kingdom.   We enter the Kingdom through repentance and faith, and biazitai depicts the forceful, zealous nature of that entrance.  In fact, as Luke recorded within the same grammatical context, Jesus taught, “unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:5). 

Biazitai may also be understood as the “genteel constraint imposed on a reluctant guest.”  In other words, it may mean to invite urgently.  See Judges 13:15 and Genesis 33:11 for examples.  Any of these good connotations fit well with the context of the Luke 16:16 passage. 

All we have to do is go to Luke 14 to find the man who prepared a banquet.  Did he not use “genteel constraint imposed on reluctant guests.”  Yes, he did.  He sent his servant to tell his invited guests, “Come, for everything is ready.” (Luke 14:17)  In the end when they refused his genteel constraint, did he not in burning zeal send his servant to “bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame?” (Luke 14:21)  Yes, and when there was room for more guests, did he not tell his servant to go and “make them come in”?  Yes, he did.  This was Jesus way of illustrating the “feast in the kingdom of God.”  The burning zeal with which the host invited his guests illustrated the preaching of the gospel.  So did the forceful way he sent his servant to “make” more of them come in.

Or for additional context, we may refer to Luke 15 where we see the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son.  Were they not invited urgently and sought with burning zeal?  Yes, they were! Did they not make there way with triumphant force?  Yes, they did!! The lost sheep was sought with burning zeal, found with rejoicing, and returned to the flock triumphantly.  This was compared to the repentance of one sinner.  The lost coin was also sought with burning zeal, found with rejoicing, and returned to the owner triumphantly.  This also was compared to the repentance of one sinner.  The lost son was sought with burning zeal, as his father ran to him while he was still a long way off.  He was found by his father with rejoicing and celebration, and returned to his home triumphantly. 

As Luke went on to record in chapter 16, Jesus did not say the Kingdom of God is being preached and many are trying to force their way into it.  He actually said, “Everyone is forcing his way into it”.  I think he meant what he said, especially when we consider the context in which it was said.  The “everyone” Jesus referred to was “the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind” whom he urged his own host to invite when he gave a luncheon (Luke 14:13).  The “everyone” he referred to who was forcing his way into the Kingdom of God was the tax collectors and sinners that “were all gathering around to hear him” (Luke 15:1)

One of those tax collectors was a short man named Zacchaeus.  In fact, he was a chief tax collector, and we know that tax collectors were despised for their corruption.  But despite this man’s vast wealth, he wanted to see Jesus.  In order to do so, he “ran ahead” of the crowd and “climbed” a tree.  This corrupt man was seeking Jesus with burning zeal.  And when Jesus reached the spot where he was, the Lord looked up at him and said, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately, I must stay at your house today” (Luke 19:5).  The Greek here indicates that Jesus said, “Hurry! Come down!”  There was urgency, genteel constraint, and an insistence in Jesus’ request.  Zacchaeus came down at once, and welcomed Jesus gladly.  He didn’t hesitate for a moment, indicating his burning zeal.  When Jesus went to this man’s home, people said, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner” (Luke 19:7).  But Zacchaeus stood up and repented wholeheartedly, offering full restitution to the victims of his extortion (Luke 19:8).  Here was another violent man who pressed into the Kingdom and made his way with triumphant force. Jesus said salvation had come to his house that day, and that it was lost men like this one that he had come to save.

According to Matthew
Before we look at the companion passage found in Matthew 11:12, read the chapters preceding Matthew 11, and you will see numerous examples of people laying hold of the kingdom with burning zeal or triumphant force.  This is a perfect example of understanding a verse in its proper, larger context:

Matthew 8:2 - The leper
Matthew 8:6 – The centurion
Matthew 9:2 – The paralytic
Matthew 9:18 – The ruler
Matthew 9:20 – The hemorrhaging woman
Matthew 9:27 – The blind man

These people stood in stark contrast to that fickle and impenitent generation, who on the one hand complained that John the Baptist was too straight-laced and on the other hand complained that Jesus was a friend of sinners (Matthew 11:18,19). 

Now we come to the companion passage in Matthew’s gospel.  Since the two inspired writers were recording the same incident where Jesus spoke these words, we can better understand what Jesus meant by cross-referencing the passages.  Here’s a comparison of Matthew’s record and Luke’s record of Jesus' words:

Matthew's Record	Luke's Record
For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John	The Law and the Prophets proclaimed until John
From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing	Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached
Forceful men lay hold of it	Everyone is forcing his way into it

Matthew 11:12 – “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”  The main difference in this passage is that instead of saying “everyone is forcing his way into” the kingdom, the term “forceful men” is used.  The term here for forceful men is biastas.  Whenever this term is used it is in a bad sense to mean violent, impetuous men.  This could be viewed as a reference to the fact that sinners were the ones repenting and entering the kingdom, not the righteous.  Was Jesus pointing out here that these violent impetuous people are laying hold of the kingdom now since the time of John the Baptist?  I happen to think so. It is not those who are righteous in their own eyes that are entering the kingdom, it is the sinners.  It is not the healthy that Christ came to save, but the sick.  There’s more rejoicing over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent (Luke 15:7). 

Once again, please note that Jesus did not say the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men try to lay hold of it. He actually said, “Forceful men lay hold of it.” I think he meant what he said.  If there is any question about what it means to “lay hold” of the kingdom, we can refer to the companion passage in Luke to see it means “press into it”.  If these men were simply trying to enter through some unauthorized means of violence, then they would never have successfully entered as Jesus said they did.

Determining the meaning of the phrase “lay hold of it” is further aided by a Greek word study.  The single word harpazo is used in the Matthew 11:12 passage, so let’s take a moment to see what it means. 

The Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament states on p. 472 of volume I:
Since harpazo does not here mean either to bring in by force or to plunder, only three alternatives are open in the difficult saying at Matthew 11:12 [emphasis mine].  a. It may mean that the kingdom of God is stolen, i.e., taken away from men and closed to them; b. it may mean that violent men culpably try to snatch it to themselves; or c. it may mean that men forcefully take it in a good sense [emphasis mine].  Linguistically all three are possible.  The first and third are to be taken most seriously.  The former is suggested by the emphatic use of biazomai, by the correspondence between biazetai and biastai and perhaps by the Matthean context.  The latter is supported by the fact that the decisively new thing since the appearance of John the Baptist is the powerful irruption of the kingdom of God.  This is the presupposition for its being taken.  It demands resolute earnestness on the part of men if they are to enter it [emphasis mine].  Furthermore, the idea of men themselves taking away the kingdom of God is strange and is hardly supported by such parallels as Mt. 13:19, where the evil one snatches away the seed and not the kingdom, or Mt. 23:13, where closing the kingdom to men is not quite the same as taking it away.

So while Kittel’s Dictionary acknowledges the difficulty in determining the meaning of harpazo in this Matthew 11:12 passage, it supports the meaning that men forcefully take the Kingdom in a good sense.  Likewise, the Bauer-Arndt-Gingrich Greek Lexicon acknowledges the difficulty in determining the meaning of harpazo in this particular passage. But it points out that the use of harpazo beside the word biasein probably means something like “seize” or “claim for oneself.”  Both these reputable and scholarly works help us to better understand the meaning of harpazo. 

Let’s return now to our comparison of the Matthew and Luke passages, aided by the table above.  When we carefully interpret these two companion passages in their proper context, and rely on each one to interpret the other, we find that Jesus basically spoke of two things that were successfully happening: 1) The first one was a good thing, which was that the kingdom of heaven was forcefully advancing.  This was happening through the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom.  Jesus clearly said, “the Kingdom of God is being preached.” 2) The second thing was that “everyone is forcing his way into it.” Or as Matthew phrased it under the anointing of the Spirit, “Forceful men lay hold of it.”  There is no reason to believe that this second thing that was successfully happening did not also have a good connotation.  Why was it good?  It was good because up until John the Baptist started preaching, all the prophets and the Law prophesied about this day. Now it was actually coming to pass! 

If we read this in context, I think this interpretation fits quite clearly.  Jesus was still responding to those the imprisoned John had sent to him asking if He was the one who was to come, or whether they should expect someone else.  Jesus was clearly saying that the Prophets and the Law had prophesied or spoken in advance about this day and now it was coming to pass.  What a wonderful report to send back to John to answer his questioning mind.  The “blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.” (Matthew 11:5). 

It’s often good to ask the question, “Why did the inspired Bible writer record this at this point in the text?”  We may ask this about verse 5 as was just mentioned and about verse 12, where he records Jesus saying, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”  In answer to the question why Matthew recorded these statements at this point, first they were all part of Jesus’ response to John’s famous question. And secondly, they flow perfectly with Matthew’s previously documented the healings of the leper and centurion (chapter 8), the paralytic, the ruler, the hemorrhaging woman, and the blind man (chapter 9).  It was all good news (11:5 and 11:12), because it was all coming to pass as it had been foretold, and John could rest assured he had not missed the Messiah!

According to brother Yong Doo Kim

I've been blessed by the ministry of Yong-Doo Kim, pastor of The Lord's Church, in Incheon, South Korea. I'd like to share some of the things he says about this subject.  He states, "Sometimes a contemplative prayer is required, but when the person praying is dynamic, strong, and active, the Lord will powerfully work in us. The Lord often shouts to us, 'If you powerfully pray with a mind of a warrior, rather than in a contemplative way, I will become exclusive in your life!' The type of prayer that will make the Lord exclusive to us! The type of prayer in which forceful people can take the Holy treasures from heaven. The prayer that shouts in tongues all throughout the night with passion, which never wearies and perseveres. In heaven, there are many treasures a forceful people can take.

Putting it All Together
I strongly agree with brother Yong-Doo Kim, of the Lord's Church in South Korea, who says, "The violent take the kingdom by prayer...Your faith can change everything. You can take bread and fish, attack the Kingdom like a bank!"

We know that scholars have disagreed for centuries over the meaning of this passage.  But the correct interpretation of this passage can be rendered by studying the historical and grammatical context.

Its meaning is full of importance to us today.  It speaks of our Messiah, the good news about Him, His Kingdom, and how we enter it.  It shows how, once we enter the Kingdom of heaven, it causes violence on the inside of us, as we stir up that glory -- that resident power on the inside of us.  In this way, the violent take by force from the enemy that which is ours in Christ.  Through our powerful prayers, we possess our inheritance that God promised us. These are fundamental aspects of our Christian faith, and the passage is a great example of why we need to rightly divide the word of truth.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like "Crying Out Loudly to God."  Also see the following:

Baptized with the Holy Spirit
Link Between Two Realms
Holy Fire Baptism
The Spirit is Willing
Lifting Hands in Prayer
Holy Living in a Perverted World

You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."  

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Crying Out to God Loudly

In a previous post, I taught that praying with your hands lifted up is more powerful.  I realize that this is controversial, but I am going to teach and practice what the Bible says, not what's popular.

So today I'd like to ask another question.  Does it make a difference if we cry out to God loudly or if we simply pray softly?  Many would say it makes no difference at all.  Some feel they can pray just as powerfully when they pray silently.  Some say it is just a cultural thing, and that it doesn't matter to God.  Others say it depends on your temperament, and that we all have our own preferred style of prayer that we are comfortable with.  But I would like to show you what the Bible says about this.

Loud prayers
First of all, the Bible is full of examples of people praying loudly, as well as exhortations inspired by the Holy Spirit that instruct us to pray this way.

Brother Yong-Doo Kim, of The Lord's Church in Incheon, South Korea, says, "Jesus told me go to all nations to explain loud prayer...We, the Lord’s Church, pray with very loud music and very loud prayer...We need to pray loudly to experience Heaven and hell...But we also need to discipline and train our body...Cry out loud! Make sure your voice gets stronger...The louder it is, the more (is) your spiritual force...In these days more prayer is needed. Loud prayer with both hands in air."

I agree with him.  There is a Hebrew word found in the Old Testament, שׁוע  shâva‛.  It speaks of yelling for freedom from some trouble. It means cry (aloud, out), shout. Here are some Scriptures that teach us to cry out like this.

I cry aloud with my voice to the LORD; I make supplication with my voice to the LORD. (Psa 142:1)

I cried out to You, O LORD; I said, "You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living. "Give heed to my cry, For I am brought very low; Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are too strong for me.  (Psa 142:5-6)

Hear my prayer, O LORD, Give ear to my supplications! Answer me in Your faithfulness, in Your righteousness! (Psa 143:1)

For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding; (Pro 2:3)

Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the fish, and he said, "I called out of my distress to the LORD, And He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice. (Jon 2:1-2)

"Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, (Isa 58:9) 

I rise before dawn and cry for help; I wait for Your words. (Psa 119:147)

But I, O LORD, have cried out to You for help, And in the morning my prayer comes before You. (Psa 88:13)

As for me, I said in my alarm, "I am cut off from before Your eyes"; Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications When I cried to You. (Psa 31:22)

O LORD my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me. (Psa 30:2)

Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help, When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary. (Psa 28:2)

In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears. (Psa 18:6)

Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, For to You I pray. (Psa 5:2)

A Prayer of the Afflicted when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the LORD. Hear my prayer, O LORD! And let my cry for help come to You. (Psa 102:1)

Brother Kim says, "Sometimes a contemplative prayer is required, but when the person praying is dynamic, strong, and active, the Lord will powerfully work in us. The Lord often shouts to us, 'If you powerfully pray with a mind of a warrior, rather than in a contemplative way, I will become exclusive in your life!' The type of prayer that will make the Lord exclusive to us! The type of prayer in which forceful people can take the Holy treasures from heaven. The prayer that shouts in tongues all throughout the night with passion, which never wearies and perseveres. In heaven, there are many treasures a forceful people can take."

Even Jesus Christ prayed like this!
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?"...And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.  (Mat 27:46,50).  Someone may say that the only reason he prayed loudly was because of the pain.  Actually, when you are on your last breath, crying loudly does not come naturally, especially after hanging on a cross for six hours with your arms lifted up.  In fact, Jesus prayed loudly on other occasions, as well, such as when He raised Lazarus from the dead.

When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth." The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus *said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go." (Joh 11:43-44)

The apostles and early disciples raised their voices to God this way:
And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, "O Lord, it is You who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM...And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness. (Act 4:24,31)

Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" Having said this, he fell asleep. (Act 7:60)

At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother's womb, who had never walked. This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be made well, said with a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet." And he leaped up and began to walk. (Act 14:8-10)

There is a Greek word, κραυγή (krauge) found in the New Testament.  It means "an outcry (in notification, tumult or grief): - clamour, cry (-ing)." -- Strongs.  Most people know how to yell at someone when they are angry, and have no problem doing so.  But they don't believe in making a loud clamor in prayer.  Yet this is exactly what Jesus did.

"In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety."  (Heb 5:7). Where it says, his prayers and supplications were with "loud crying," it means "loud clamor" or yelling. That's a holy clamor, which the Lord says we should make.

On the other hand, we must put away the sinful kind of clamor, which is yelling at other people, usually done in anger. As Paul said, "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice." (Eph 4:31)

Loud voice
Just as God's Word teaches us to pray loudly, there is a strong, biblical basis for speaking with a loud voice, as well. When you proclaim God's Word or read it, lift up your voice and call it out.  When you say, "Amen" or "Hallelujah,"  shout it loudly!!  Brother Kim says, "If you speak loudly, you will have more power, and if you live a holy life."

After all, our Lord Jesus often speaks with a loud voice.  The apostle John described Jesus voice that way when he wrote, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet..." (Rev 1:10).  He went on to say, "...His feet shone like brass that has been refined and polished, and his voice sounded like a roaring waterfall." (Rev 1:15, GNB)

Likewise, in heaven they cry with a loud voice.  "When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?' And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also." (Rev 6:9-11) In fact, all throughout the book of Revelation, a total of twenty-one times, it is recorded that John heard loud voices in heaven (Rev. 1:10, 15; 5:2,12; 6:1, 10; 7:2,10; 8:13; 10:3; 11:12,15; 12:10; 14:2,7,9,15,18; 16:1,17; 18:2; 19:1,6,17; 21:3).  I strongly encourage you to look up each of these verses, and see for yourself.

The prophet Isaiah wrote, "A voice says, 'Cry!' And I said, 'What shall I cry?' All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field." (Isa 40:6)

Loud praise
The same can be said for our praise as we have just said about prayer, proclamation, and declaration.  We could cite scores of Scriptures about this, but the following ones will suffice:

Clap your hands for joy, all peoples! Praise God with loud songs! (Psa 47:1)

Now one of [the lepers], when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. (Luk 17:15-16)

As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, shouting: "BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" (Luk 19:37-38).  The religious crowd wanted to shut these loud-mouthed people up.  But Jesus said that if these become silent, the stones will cry out!

And so he and all the Israelites took the ark of the Covenant up to Jerusalem with shouts of joy and the sound of trumpets. (2Sa 6:15)

When the priests came forth from the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without regard to divisions), and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and kinsmen, clothed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps and lyres, standing east of the altar, and with them one hundred and twenty priests blowing trumpets in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised the LORD saying, "He indeed is good for His lovingkindness is everlasting," then the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God. (2Ch 5:11-14).  The Hebrew in this passage indicates that they raised their voices up high and yelled.  And I'm sure it made a loud sound of praise since it was accompanied by all those trumpets and loud cymbals!

This is not just for special occasions.  The Lord loves loud praise that is full of love and joy. Shout out loud profusely and from the depths of your heart, "GLORY TO GOD! HALLELUJAH! HOLY, HOLY, HOLY! PRAISE YOU, JESUS!" In doing so, you are pleasing God and giving the enemy a headache, wreaking havoc on his kingdom of darkness.  The angels enjoy this kind of praise and will join in with you also.  If you need help with your praises, why not get some help from the Psalms and other Bible passages, like the ones I have listed on my other post, called "Praise the Lord!"

Loud shouting
There is another Hebrew word, רוּע (rûa‛),  in the Old Testament.  It means "to mar (especially by breaking); figuratively to split the ears (with sound), that is, shout (for alarm or joy): - blow an alarm, cry (alarm, aloud, out), destroy, make a joyful noise, smart, shout (for joy), sound an alarm, triumph." -- Strongs.  Here are some Scriptural examples of shouting:

So the people shouted, and priests blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight ahead, and they took the city.  Jos 6:20)

So David arose early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper and took the supplies and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the circle of the camp while the army was going out in battle array shouting the war cry. (1Sa 17:20)

O clap your hands, all peoples; Shout to God with the voice of joy. (Psa 47:1)

so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away. (Ezr 3:13)

O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. (Psa 95:1)

Brother Kim states, "All Christians must awake through prayer. We need to be spiritually alert and on guard and prepare for the Lord's return. A prayer warrior is a guard on duty! Moreover, the time of the Lord's return is imminent! Wake up, you sleeping guards! Now is the time to wake up! Groups of secular men and the forces of satan are waiting for us to sleep. Therefore, you must open your sleepy eyes wide open and wake yourselves up by shouting. Awake by praying, singing hymns, and reading the word. Let us carry out the mission of guardianship!" (Yong-Doo Kim, Baptized by Blazing Fire Book 5, 206 )

Even the Lord Himself shouts with this kind of battle cry:
The LORD will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies. (Isa 42:13)

Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! (Zep 3:14)

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zec 9:9)

Of course there are many more Scriptures you could look at.  Also see: Job 19:7; Job 24:12; Job 29:12; Job 30:20; Job 30:28; Job 35:9; Job 36:13; Job 38:41; Psa 5:2; Psa 18:6; Psa 18:41; Psa 22:24; Psa 28:2; Psa 30:2; Psa 31:22; Psa 72:12; Psa 88:13; Psa 119:147; Isa 58:9; Lam 3:8; Jon 2:2; Hab 1:2;

Delta IV Medium Rocket DSCS

A Prayer That Soars High Up To Heaven
Here is an interesting excerpt from the third volume of brother Kim's book, Baptized by Blazing Fire. One of brother Kim's church members, named Lee, Haak-Sung, gave this testimony called, "A Prayer That Soars High Up To Heaven."

While I was praying, Jesus came to me and He passed between all the praying individuals, and smiled, while mumbling under His breath. “I want to especially see whose prayer will soar highest to heaven, so let’s see,” and as soon as He said this, every single one of us simultaneously began to pray, trying to be filled with blazing fire of the Holy Spirit. I felt like we were firing a pistol of prayer.

Jesus said aloud, “Let’s see. That’s right, all right! As expected, Pastor Kim is doing very well! Yes, yes, you’re doing great. Be louder, more fire, much more earnestly! Oh yes, you’re doing great. Awesome… Sister Kang, Hyun-Ja, and is my bride to be also praying out loud? Yes, that’s it!” Then Jesus concentrated on hearing Joseph, Joo-Eun, myself, Yoo-Kyung, my mom, and Deaconess Shin. Jesus passed back and forth among us to examine how high our prayer was traveling. I can see visually that our prayer was like a race and how we performed was intensely displayed as bars on a graph. [end quote]

This is consistent with the testimony of another woman, who wrote a book called "Sunshine, Daughter of Sacrifice."  In it she describes how she was caught up into heaven during praise and worship.  And she saw people's prayers ascending from earth to heaven.  Some were like arrows.  Others were moving slowly and weakly upward and she wondered how they would ever make it to heaven.  Still other prayers were going up to heaven like rockets, front-loaded with praise.

Putting it All Together
This is not meant to imply that we should never pray quietly, or that there is no value in contemplative prayer. However, I hope this post has helped you to see the greater power of praying loudly, crying out to God, proclaiming and declaring loudly, praising loudly, and shouting to God.  If you have never been baptized with the Holy Spirit, then you should seek this gift from the Lord.  Ask Him to also baptize you with fire.  Then you will have the blazing fire of the Holy Spirit all over you, which will will enable you to live a holy life, and you will be able to pray and praise God in tongues.  This will transform your prayer life in a way you never imagined! 

Your voice should be strong and confident.  Your prayers must have a red-hot fervency!  This is the way David, our Lord Jesus, the early apostles, and many others in the Bible prayed. When you are living a holy life and pray with a strong voice like this, your prayers will be more powerful.  If you agree, then right now you can loudly shout, "AMEN!"

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, please also see the following:

Loud Voices and Shouting in God's Kingdom
Baptized with the Holy Spirit
Link Between Two Realms
Holy Fire Baptism
Taking Heaven by Force
Lifting Hands in Prayer
Lifting Your Face in Prayer
Holy Living in a Perverted World
The Spirit is Willing 

You may find the Main Directory for this blog at Home, and you may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Holy Fire Baptism

I was first introduced to the holy fire baptism through a book by brother Yong-Doo Kim, called Baptize by Blazing Fire.  I encourage you to read all five books, as I have described in another blog (see here).  There you will see from one church's experience how we receive it, why it is so important, and some of the practical aspects of it in the life of the disciple of Christ.

I have personally experienced this and it has changed my life.  But sometimes I meet people who say that the holy fire is not found in the Bible.  I realize this is controversial, but I want to ask you to be very careful not to deny the Holy Spirit's work.  Consider this matter reverently in fervent prayer to the Lord, searching the Scriptures and seeking to know whether it is truly from God.

In order to help you, I would like to first show you the Scriptures about God's holy fire.  And then I would like to share some people other than brother Kim, who have had divine revelations regarding the holy fire that further corroborate this teaching, and confirm my own experiences.  Lastly, I would like to explain what usually happens when a person receives the holy fire.

Jesus Baptizes in Holy Blazing Fire
John the Baptist said, "As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Mat 3:11)

John answered and said to them all, "As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Luk 3:16)

Some people make the mistake in thinking that when you are baptized in water, you simultaneously receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit. This is an incorrect belief.  There is a second experience in which the Lord baptizes the believer with the Holy Spirit.  Those who refuse to acknowledge this are missing one of the greatest blessings God has for His people.  For more about the Holy Spirit baptism, you can read my blog about that (see here).

However, some people who have received both water baptism and the baptism with the Holy Spirit also fail to realize that the Lord has a third baptism.  They assume that the fire baptism is one and the same as the Holy Spirit baptism.  This too is error.  The Lord truly has a third baptism for us.  And John the Baptist made that clear when he said, "He [Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."

God a consuming fire
For our God is a consuming fire. (Heb 12:29)  Therefore it should not surprise you that the Lord is able to baptize His people with fire.  In this same passage, He says that He is once again going to shake both the heavens and the earth, so that everything which can be shaken will be shaken.

Since God is holy, we know that He is a holy fire, as well.  And when He baptizes you in fire, it is a holy fire.

Refiner's Fire
The Lord says that before He comes, He will send His messenger to prepare His people.  We know that He did this through John the Baptist before His first coming, and He is doing it again now right before His second coming.  "He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD offerings in righteousness." (Mal 3:3; cf., Zech 13:9)

When a refiner purifies gold or silver, he places it in a vessel and then puts intensely hot fire beneath it.  The precious metal melts, and the worthless material inside of it comes to the surface, where it is scooped off and removed.  Then the metal is cooled, and the process is repeated again later as many times as necessary until the gold or silver is pure.

I, for one, desire the refiner's fire to burn up all the worthless dross within me.  I hope you do also.

A Burning Coal Purified the Prophet Isaiah

Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven." (Isa 6:5-7)

When the prophet Isaiah saw the Lord, he was ruined.  He sensed his own uncleanness.  But when he cried out in repentance, a seraphim took a burning coal in his hand and touched Isaiah's lips with it.  When this flaming coal touched his lips, it purified him.  The holy fire has a purifying effect, because it is from heaven where Jesus serves as our Great High Priest.

Now for a moment, I would like to share some extra-biblical testimonies that further corroborate this Biblical teaching.  These are people who have had divine revelations.  If you believe the Lord gives divine revelations like dreams, visions, prophecies, and visitations, according to Joel 2 and Acts 2, then you must acknowledge that this is one of the works of the Holy Spirit.  Of course, we need to test these experiences.  But if they are genuine, then we need to heed their message.

Holy Fire of God – from Anna Rountree’s books
The first one I will share is that of Anna Rountree.  In the mid-1990's she visited heaven.  During one visit, the Father said to her:

"The fire of My holiness, the fire of My love, the fire of My compassion, the fire of My wisdom, the fire of My understanding, the fire of My knowledge, the fire of My zeal, the fire of My purity, the fire of My mercy."

This fire will burn all that is wood, hay, and stubble in the lives of His children (1 Co 3:15). They must desire the fire and long for His holiness. His heart is turned toward them, and the fire of His love will reveal this. The hearts of the children will long to turn toward Him, to walk through the fire of purification, and to rest in His arms. As the enemy hates the fire, so must God’s children love it, for in and through the fire, they will see God. She went on to say that we must learn to live in the fire by allowing it to burn away all that will not pass through it as purely of the Lord.  Learn to love the fire of God.

In her vision of judgment, she saw a plumb line being let down to earth.  "As the plumb line reached earth, great rejoicing began in heaven. It was as though every created being there was singing, and the sound began to shake the celestial realms: 'His righteousness is from everlasting to everlasting. His judgments are sure and will be withheld no longer.' As the thunderous rejoicing increased, fire came out of heaven and traveled the plumb line, passing before us and sweeping down the line to the earth. Suddenly the whole world was aflame."

Her books are available online (see here and here).

Holy Fire -- from Yong-Doo Kim’s books
As I mentioned earlier, I first heard about the holy fire through brother Yong-Doo Kim in his books called Baptized by Blazing Fire.

In his book, he and other learned the following lessons:

• Shout, “Holy Fire” whenever unnecessary or hindering thoughts come to you during prayer.
• If you are having a bad day, feeling sick, or anxious, then shout out, “Holy Fire!”
• The Fire that you long to receive is the power that the evil forces are most afraid of and fear. Therefore, once you receive it, you have to continuously accumulate it daily. Charge it up everyday!
• One of the most powerful weapons used in Spiritual Warfare is Blazing Fire.  When this gift is granted to a saint, their entire Spiritual Body is fully engulfed in holy fire, with a blazing intensity.   The fire is so intense, that a mere touch of a demonic spirit will incinerate it to ashes.
• The Holy Blazing Fire is enormously, unimaginably powerful and can be used as offensive weapons.
• The Fire that the Lord grants us can completely devastate the forces of evil. In fact, it is more than just fire. The fire is a powerful layer of light that can burn up all kinds of diseases on earth, which can heal.
• Any person who prays diligently and persistently will receive the power of fire.
• The fire ministry is a ministry that has the greatest reward in heaven, as well as on earth, but also the trials and testings are highest.
• Even though we once confessed and accepted the Lord as our Savior -- even though we believed in Him -- if we cannot get out from our sinful habitual lives, then our lives are not completely holy. The only way to save ourselves is to repent. If you repent and shout out, "Holy Fire," the evil spirits will have to leave and healing will come.

Holy Fire – from Howard Pittman’s testimony
Then there is a pastor named Howard Pittman, who was raised from the dead.  You can listen to his complete testimony online (see here).  But one of his conclusions is this.  He says, "He’s going to shake this world one more time.  These things He did, you will do greater than these.  But the church must be without spot or wrinkle or blemish.  He’s getting ready to cleanse the church.  How will He do it?  He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire, according to Matt 3:11.  You’ve been baptized in water.  You’ve been baptized in the Holy Ghost.  But now He’s going to baptize you with fire.  Get ready.  Yonder comes the fire!  The third and final baptism with which He’s going to clean up His church is the baptism of fire.  He’s going to take a blow torch!  He’s going to scorch us up one side and down the other to make us ready to turn loose this world.  But if you think God can do this with carnal-minded Christians, you’re mistaken.  God’s got enough fire to get rid of all the chaff.  If you don’t want the fire, get rid of the chaff."

Holy Fire – from James Agboola
In my article, James Agboola Revelation of Heaven and Hell, I wrote about how this brother was shown the international conference of the kingdom of darkness, presided over by the devil himself. 

James was shown that one force for the devil and his demons to contend with on the earth in these last days is God’s end-time evangelists who are just appearing. They are clothed with clothes of fire, and the demons find it difficult to talk to them.  Therefore, the devil has sent out his own demons into the earth to appear as humans, and clothed them with a garment of fire, so that he will be able to contend.  This is his strategy to enable his demons to be able to stand and fight those end-time evangelists.

Holy Fire – from a woman named CJ
A woman named CJ, who saw Jesus in person and was born again, testifies to her experience in an interview online (see here).  It's a very powerful testimony.

She had searched for the Lord all her life.  And on the night she saw the Lord in her friend's living room, He spoke the following things to her: “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Lk 13:5); “You must keep the commandments” (Mt 19:17; Jn 14:15; 15:10); and “I will not share My temple with idols” (2 Co 6:16).  She then repented and gave her life to Jesus.

In 1981, after she saw Jesus and had become born again, she had another experience where she had about 40 days of tests and trials.  At the end of that time, Christ was really pleased with her obedience.  He came and laid His hands on her and His fire went all through her. This is consistent with the experiences of many others who have received the holy fire.

She also gave warnings the Lord has given her in 2008 or 2009 about coming judgment against the United States (video 33:39).  The Lord also gave her two Scriptures from Ezekiel and Jeremiah to confirm this: And say to the land of Israel, 'Thus says the LORD, "Behold, I am against you; and I will draw My sword out of its sheath and cut off from you the righteous and the wicked. "Because I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore My sword will go forth from its sheath against all flesh from south to north. "Thus all flesh will know that I, the LORD, have drawn My sword out of its sheath. It will not return to its sheath again."'  (Eze 21:3-5) "Perhaps their supplication will come before the LORD, and everyone will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and the wrath that the LORD has pronounced against this people." (Jer 36:7)

Holy Fire in the Arctic

Pond Inlet is a small, predominantly Inuit community in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada and is located at the top of Baffin Island.  On February 28, 1999, in Pond Inlet, believers had gathered for a week of revival meetings at the Anglican church, hungry for God and troubled by new reports of community drug use.  They decided to add a special Sunday afternoon youth service.  An invitation was offered for youth who wanted to come closer to God.  The worship leader was praying over youth who had gathered around the altar.

Something started to happen that was out of their control.  A sound like a jet started softly and gradually became very loud.  It was so strong!  The whole place was shaking and everything in it.  The youth leader says that fire went right through him and he started to shake.  He began to shout, "Fire!! Fire!! Fire!! Hallelujah!"

All of this was recorded on a dual cassette deck used to record the service.  In fact, it continued to record the event, even after the sound board was turned off.  You can watch and listen to a short, three-minute video about this event, which includes the original recording of it (see here).

Holy Fire - from Charles and Frances Hunter
Charles and Frances Hunter "spent nearly forty years leading 'healing explosions,' where they prayed for the sick and taught Christians about the ministry of healing. Known as the Happy Hunters for their ready smiles and quick humor, the couple wrote more than 50 books about divine healing, including the best-seller How to Heal the Sick." -- Charisma Magazine, July 14, 2009. "Charles and Frances Hunter were the most effective couple I ever saw among healing evangelists," said Pentecostal historian Vinson Synan, dean emeritus of the Regent University School of Divinity.

In their video series, "How to Heal the Sick," Frances talked about the time when she saw liquid fire coming forth from the hands of her husband Charles in a meeting.  It appeared like blue flames about four inches long, coming off his finger tips.  Although the flames were not visible to him, she could see it.  He prayed for the sick at that meeting, and they were powerfully healed.  Many of them fell under the power of God.  You can watch the three-minute section of that video (31:30 - 34:15), where she shares this wonderful testimony (see here).

On October 16, 1984, the Happy Hunters ministered at a church in Rotterdam, Holland, called Kom en Zie.  On the final day of the conference, they ministered the baptism with fire. Let me encourage you to read what they said at that meeting on my other post called The Happy Hunters on Fire (see here).

Holy Fire - from Neville Johnson
A minister from Australia by the name of Neville Johnson, who has gone to be with the Lord, has an excellent testimony about being baptized in fire in the audio clip below:

  

If you would like to read more of Neville's preaching on the baptism of fire, you can find it on my post called "The Burning Ones."

Experiential Evidence
When people receive the holy fire, they usually sense some sort of tangible evidence.  I have personally experienced this and witnessed it in others.  It is not the same for everyone.  Some people feel warmth or heat in their hands.  It sometimes feels like heavy fireballs in their hands. Others get a stinging feeling in their hands, as if they have just clapped them together.  Still others feel the fire on their lower back and a tingling sensation over their entire body. Others feel the presence of the Lord or a peace that passes all understanding. Still others find it difficult to stand straight.  Some find it difficult to hold out their arms or even to stand.   Some are completely unable to stand under the glory of God. Others begin to shake beneath the power of God. Some people begin sweating. Others feel the great joy of the Lord inside. The glory of God falls upon many who receive the fire. Most people have wonderful experiences receiving the holy fire.

It should be noted that if the person has any demons in their life, they cannot stand the holy fire and sometimes manifest themselves, so sometimes there can be demonic manifestations when the holy fire is imparted. Once the demons are cast out of their life, they will experience a wonderful freedom they did not know before.

Here is an article I've written containing Testimonies of People Who've Received the Holy Fire after I've prayed for them, as well as a video playlist of some more amazing testimonies like that.

Other Scriptures:
Now let's continue with more Scriptures about the holy fire.

Fire from on High in My Bones
Jeremiah said, "From on high He sent fire into my bones, And it prevailed over them." (Lam 1:13a). This verse makes it very clear that the Lord is able to send fire into His people, which prevails over their enemies.

Fire will devour Your enemies
Isaiah said, "O LORD, Your hand is lifted up yet they do not see it. They see Your zeal for the people and are put to shame; Indeed, fire will devour Your enemies." (Isa 26:11).  So we know that God's holy fire will consume His enemies.  It does not consume His people though.   But in warfare against spiritual forces of wickedness, the holy fire certainly consumes God's enemies.

Fire consumed the 250 rebels
Fire also came forth from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense. (Num 16:35)

The holy fire of God consumed the 250 rebels that came against Moses and Aaron.  They are an example to us not to rebel against the Lord.

Fire consumes Sabbath breakers
"But if you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not be quenched."'" (Jer 17:27)

The Lord hates it when His people don’t listen to Him and make money on Sundays.  In doing so, they fail to keep the Sabbath day (now Sundays) holy.  So He will kindle a fire in the gates of their city that will not be quenched.  It’s the judgment of God against the disobedient.  You can read more about keeping Sundays holy at my blog on the topic (see here).

Elijah commanded holy fire to consume the captain and his fifty
Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he said to him, "O man of God, the king says, 'Come down.'" Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty." Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. So he again sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he said to him, "O man of God, thus says the king, 'Come down quickly.'" Elijah replied to them, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty." Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. (2Ki 1:9-12)

In this passage, we learn that the holy prophet of God was able to command holy fire to come down out of heaven and consume the enemies of God, which in this case were soldiers.

Shouting, "holy fire!"
The disciples of Jesus knew that Elijah had called down fire on the Lord's enemies, and they were ready to do the same.  When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them (even as Elijah did)?" (Luk 9:54).  The Lord did not tell them that this is impossible.  He simply told them that they were operating in a wrong spirit to think they should do such a thing to people.

Yet this is something we can do to our invisible, spiritual enemies. When we have genuine faith and desire a weapon against the enemy (demons), we can call for it aloud and it will be given to us.  We simply shout “Holy fire!” or "Fire of the Holy Spirit!"

How is that possible?  The word is near you, even in your mouth.  I believed therefore I spoke.  When you speak what you believe, and you do it in genuine faith, there is spiritual power.

Your fire or God’s holy fire
“Who is among you that fears the LORD, That obeys the Word of His servant, That walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. Behold, all you who kindle a fire, Who encircle yourselves with firebrands, Walk in the light of your fire And among the brands you have set ablaze. This you will have from My hand: You will lie down in torment.”  (Isa 50:10-11)

If you fear the Lord and obey His Word, you must trust in the name of Jesus, rely on Him, and walk in His Light. But if you kindle your own fire and surround yourself with it, then the Lord says to go ahead and walk in the light of your own fire.  He will let you do that, if you choose your own light, your own fire instead of His holy fire.  Here is what you will receive from His hand: in the end, you will lie down in torment.

God’s holy fire or strange fire
And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. (Lev 10:1)

And Nadab and Abihu died, when they offered strange fire before the LORD. (Num 26:61)

The punishment upon these two newly inaugurated priests was very severe.   Their sin was that they offered unauthorized incense with fire that was not holy.  This is why we must be very careful that we receive God's holy fire and do not operate with strange fire.

Fire to consume gates of Nineveh, the bloody city of lies
Behold, your people are women in your midst! The gates of your land are opened wide to your enemies; Fire consumes your gate bars. (Nah 3:13)

This verse speaks of the gates of the city of lies consumed by holy fire.  Lying spirits cannot stand before the holy fire of God.  They are consumed by it just as the gates of the city of lies were.

Fire to burn and devour God’s enemies
Therefore the Lord, the GOD of hosts, will send a wasting disease among his stout warriors; And under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame. And the light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame, And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day. (Isa 10:16-17).

His holy fire terrifies the sinners in Zion.  As the Holy Spirit said through Isaiah: "The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: 'Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?' Those who walk righteously and speak what is right, who reject gain from extortion     and keep their hands from accepting bribes, who stop their ears against plots of murder and shut their eyes against contemplating evil..." (Is 33:14-15). 

One commentator says, “The same God that is a rejoicing Light to those that serve him faithfully will be a consuming fire to those that trifle with him or rebel against him.”  Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?  The righteous who serve Him faithfully.

"Fire goes before Him And burns up His adversaries round about." (Psa 97:3)

God will repay our enemies with flaming fire when Jesus returns
"For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire," (2Th 1:6-7)

We know that when the Lord returns, he will be revealed from heaven with His angels in flaming fire.

Fire from the mouths of the two witnesses
And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. (Rev 11:5)

This is how the two end-time witnesses will function.  They will have a gift to be able to devour their enemies with holy fire that comes forth from their mouths.  Notice there are only two who will do so against human enemies.  But the idea is the same when dealing with evil spirits. This should not seem strange to anyone acquainted with the Word of God and spiritual warfare.

The Lord appeared as a fire
At the burning bush. “The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.” (Exo 3:2)

The angel of Lord appeared to Moses in a blazing fire.  Just as the bush was on fire but was not consumed, when a child of God is baptized with holy fire, they are not consumed.  Only the chaff in their lives and the demons are consumed by it.

The Lord's Fire is in Zion
The Holy Spirit spoke through the prophet Isaiah, saying that the Lord is the One "whose fire is in Zion" (see Is 31:9b).

Putting it All Together
The Lord is going to shake this world one last time.  He is coming right away.  Only the ones who are truly seeking the Lord with all their heart will be spared from the coming judgment.  The Lord is coming only for a holy people, ready, without blemish, without wrinkle and without defilement.  He is not coming for those who have walked away from Him.

The only way we can have purity in our lives in these last and evil days is through repentance and the holy fire.  The third and final baptism with which He’s going to clean up His church is the baptism of fire.  He’s going to make us ready to turn loose this world. 

It is a holy fire, because it is not produced by man. It is produced by the one, true, holy God.  It is a promise for the believer, according to Mt 3:11.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note:  If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the Holy Fire Series, including Songs of the Holy Fire, Holy Fire: Keep Me Burning, The Refiner's Fire, The Three Elijahs, The Burning Ones, The Fiery Sufferings of the Believer, Baptized with the Spirit, and Living Sacrifices in Consuming Fire. You find the Main Directory for this blog at Home, and you can access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." Revival painting © 2012 Danny Hahlbohm, all rights reserved by the artist. Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Is Tithing Required for Christians?

It's quite common today for Christians not to tithe to the Lord. In fact, many believe it is an Old Testament practice that doesn't apply to Christians.  Statistics show that Christians give an average of 3% of their income to charity annually. And if you ask pastors, many of them will tell you that most people in their church don't tithe.  Amazingly, some pastors actually teach people that tithing is not required.

However, I want to show that this is very much still applicable to disciples of Christ.  In addition to the Biblical teaching on tithing for New Testament disciples, the Lord has given many divine revelations to His people to ensure we know that we are still expected to tithe.  First I will share some Scriptures about this and then some of those divine revelations.

Scriptural Teaching

First of all, tithing has been God’s kingdom way since the Old Testament. It means giving a percentage of your income off the top.  The most commonly understood percentage is ten percent, but twenty percent may be used also. And some people have been known to give ninety percent!

The prophet Malachi wrote: "Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. "You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. (Mal 3:8-10)

So the tenth verse of Malachi’s third chapter teaches us to bring the tenth of our increase into the storehouse, so that there may be food in God’s house.  Those who fail to do so are robbing from God.  Believe me, you don’t want to ever be found guilty of stealing from God.  But upon those who do tithe properly, God promises to pour out a blessing until it overflows. And for those who think this command to tithe is just for the Old Covenant people of Israel, God says in the immediate context of this passage, "I the Lord do not change." (Mal 3:6). Also see Remember the Eternal Law of God and Listen to Jesus.

The tenth verse of Proverbs 3 also teaches this principle.  Wise King Solomon wrote this under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: “Honor the LORD from your wealth And from the first of all your produce; So your barns will be filled with plenty And your vats will overflow with new wine.” (Pro 3:9-10).  This goes contrary to logic, but it works this way in God’s kingdom.  If you will honor the Lord with your wealth, even the first part of all your increase, you’ll have plenty for yourself.  In fact, you’ll experience overflowing abundance.

Tithing is not something from the Law that comes from the Mosaic Covenant. Abraham, who lived before Moses, tithed (Gen 14:20; Heb 7:4).  And Jacob tithed, saying, "This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You." (Gen 28:22).

Jesus also taught us to give.  He said, "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." (Luk 6:38).  That sounds a lot like Malachi 3:10 and Proverbs 3:10, doesn’t it?  You give, and it will surely be given to you in return until it overflows with great abundance! You have Jesus’ word on it!

Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others." (Mat 23:23).  Notice they carefully tithed everything.  The Lord did not correct them or rebuke them for tithing, as some may think He did.  Instead, He said, "these are the things you should have done!"  The part He rebuked them for was their gross neglect of weightier matters of the Law, justice and mercy and faithfulness.  He said they should not have neglected these.

As with many other aspects of the Law, Jesus showed that the Lord expects more than we thought.  With regards to the commandment not to kill, people always thought that as long as they don't physically murder someone, they have not broken this commandment.  But the Lord showed that we break the commandment when we call someone a fool.  Likewise, regarding giving, Jesus taught that not just 10%, but all we have belongs to God. He said, "So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." (Luk 14:33). 

The apostle Paul taught that we should give generously.  He wrote to the Corinthians, “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2Co 9:6-7).  If you want to reap abundantly, then sow generously.  And be sure you give with a cheerful heart, because that’s the kind of giver God loves.  You need to be sure you are giving with love in your heart and genuine faith in God.

Paul went on to teach that God will multiply the seed you sow, so you will have plenty more later for every good deed.  “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; as it is written, ‘HE SCATTERED ABROAD, HE GAVE TO THE POOR, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ENDURES FOREVER.’ Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.” (2Co 9:8-10)

Paul also taught us to work hard and help the weak through our giving. "In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" (Act 20:35).  It truly is a greater blessing for the one who gives than the one who receives.  Part of the reason is the joy it brings when done in love. But the other part is the return the giver receives from the Lord in this life and in heaven.  When we give, we are storing up treasures in heaven.

Jesus said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mat 6:19-21).

Jesus also said to give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. (Lk 20:25). He paid taxes and taught His followers to do the same.  The government expects a certain amount of our income, and that is rightly due from us.  Likewise, we owe the obedient tithes of our income to God.

Paul made the same point when he wrote to the Romans about the biblical requirement to submit to the governing authorities and pay taxes. He said, "Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor." (Rom 13:5-7, NIV). Paul said that the reason we pay taxes to the authorities is that they are God's servants, who give their full time to governing.  The same reason applies to giving money to any authorities that are over you, including spiritual authorities.  His use of the term "honor" here in connection with payment of taxes infers any financial payment that is due to those in authority.

Where should we give our tithes?  Malachi says to bring it all into the storehouse.  The goal is so that there would be food in God’s house.  So who needs food?  First of all, the elders who are serving God full time as pastors and teachers need to receive an income for their work. How shall the Lord's ministers carry out the work of the gospel unless people give tithes and offerings?

Paul said, “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.  For the Scripture says, ‘Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,’ and ‘The worker deserves his wages.’” (1 Tim 5:18).  By using the expression "double honor" in this passage, Paul is clearly referring to financial support, which he explicitly calls "wages" deserved by the worker.  This agrees completely with his use of the term "honor" in Romans 13:7, which I have already explained.

Paul said to be careful you don’t muzzle the ox, in other words, the one who is ministering to you by serving the Lord full time as a pastor, teacher, apostle, etc. He got this from the Law of Moses, where it says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”  Deut. 25:4.  Paul said this clearly applies to minister’s of the Lord.  And he quoted Jesus, who said, “…for the worker deserves his wages.”  Luke 10:7.  Paul also taught that, “The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.” (Gal 6:6). 

In my opinion, these are God’s priorities in tithing.  But we must not be stingy and stop after giving the tithe.  Beyond our tithes, we should also give offerings for other purposes, such as helping the weak, the poor, the widows and orphans, as well as supporting missionaries.  We should support the Lord’s work of spreading the gospel around the world.

Now let’s look at some of the revelations given by the Spirit to people about tithing.

Brother Park Yong Gyu
During a tragic Near Death Experience, A conservative Presbyterian Pastor named Yong Park was taken to Heaven and Hell. When he stood before the throne of God, the Heavenly Father greeted him. He states: "I then heard the voice of God, 'My beloved Pastor Park, Yong Gyu, I welcome you. You have made a long journey here.' His voice was overflowing with love and tenderness. The Lord then asked me five questions."

He goes on to say what the five questions were.  But two of the questions the Father asked were: "Did you tithe properly?" and "How much did you give of offerings?"

As he was leaving heaven, the angel escorting him told him the seven things a disciple must do so that building materials will be provided in heaven to build their eternal mansion.  Of the seven essential things needed to earn rewards, two of them were "one’s offering to the Lord," and "their obedient tithes to God."  This shows the great importance of these Scriptural commandments of God.

He also visited hell.  He states: "I then saw many pastors, elders, and deacons in Hell. I asked the angel, 'I know them. They had served God faithfully while on the Earth. They had died some time ago. We all had thought they were in Heaven with God. But now, I see them all in Hell and they are crying out that it is so hot! Why are they here?' There were so many pastors, elders, deacons and all other lay believers."  When the angel told him the eight main reasons why these particular believers were in hell, one of those reasons was that they did not tithe properly.  Another one was that they did not keep Sundays holy.   This also shows the great importance of these Scriptural commandments of God.

You may read brother Park's testimony by keying here.

Emmanuel Agyarkos vision

In a vision in November 2011, Emmanuel Agyarko, of Ghana, had a vision of hell.  In the vision, he saw pastors who did not pay the tithe.  He writes: “I saw four pastors in hell, who were there because they did not pay their tithes. One was called Albert and another was Daniel, a pastor of Church of Christ and this church does not believe in tithing. Daniel said he told his congregation not to pay tithes as it was no longer necessary. He was in hell for basically two things: first of all, he was not paying tithes himself and secondly, because he also stopped others from paying it. For Albert, his church believed in paying tithe, but he thought it was meant for only the congregation and pastors were excluded from paying it. He wished he could come back to earth to start over again and pay his tithes. The other two pastors also did not pay, and one of them, thought simply he did not think he had to pay it even though he knew he should be paying it, and the other thought ministering before God is not working, so he thought there was no need to pay any tithes.”

You may read Emmanuel's vision by keying here.

Angelica Zambrano’s second visit to hell

On January 4, 2010, Angelica Zambrano visited hell for the second time with the Lord Jesus.  While she was there, she saw a pastor who had not properly tithed.  She says: I heard millions of people, some were saying, "Oh Lord, have mercy on me, help me please, Lord, give me another opportunity."

Among all those people, I heard someone saying, "I ask for your forgiveness now Lord, because I have stolen from you, forgive me for stealing, I stole from you Lord and I do not want to do it again." I asked, "Lord, who is he and why does he say he stole from You?" "My child I will show you who he is." We entered his cell and I saw a disfigured man. The flames opened up and I could see that he was being tormented.

All those people who are in hell have a plaque on their chest, and 666 on their forehead. This man extended his hand and said, "Lord forgive me." I asked, "Why are you here, why are you asking for forgiveness from the Lord, why? You say you have stolen from God, but nobody can steal from God? This is impossible, why do you say you have stolen from Him?" He replied, "I'll tell you my story...I was a Christian leader, for 20 years I had known Christ, but during the 20 years I said: all that money from my tithing and offerings were just to sustain the pastors, but now I regret it because I understand and I know that it wasn't for them, it was for the Lord, and that is why I say I have stolen from God ... At this very moment there are many people on Earth that are robbing the Lord like I did. When you return to Earth, tell all those people who don't want to give their offerings and tithes, not to steal from the Lord, otherwise, they’ll wind up in Hell, and no thief will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I knew the Holy Word, now I regret it and realize I robbed the Lord." (Malachi 3:8) He said, "Tell the people when they give to God, give the Lord with true love." (2 Cor 9:7) This man kept pleading, "Lord forgive me", and the Lord replied, "It is too late, there is no opportunity for you."

I asked the man, "But why did you rob God, why? You knew very well we cannot steal God’s tithes and offerings." He answered, "Yes, I knew very well, but never did follow it, I never did because I was a very proud man."

Don’t ever steal from the Lord, give your tithes and offerings to God because what you and I give the Lord on Earth it is not for men. When we give to God with all our heart, it is for the King of kings and Lord of lords.

The Bible says that the Lord tests us, it is clearly written in Malachi 3:8-10 You are cursed with the curse, for you are robbing Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.  If you want God to greatly bless your life and your family, then don’t ever steal from God. It’s time to bless God, so He can bless our lives.

You may read Angelica's testimony by keying here. 

Brother Daniel Ekechukwu

On November 30, 2001, a Nigerian pastor, named Daniel Ekechukwu died and visited heaven and hell.  He saw a pastor who had embezzled money from his own church and also lied about it. He said, "I only ate church money.  I am ready to return it." The former pastor pleaded that he would return the money if Daniel could help him escape hell.  Daniel was shocked to see a pastor there, and felt pity for him.  But there was nothing he could do for the man.  He was eternally damned.

When you fail to tithe properly, how are you any different from this pastor? You are robbing from God.

You may read Daniel's testimony by keying here.  

Choo Thomas

On January 19, 1996, the Lord Jesus first began bringing Choo Thomas to visit heaven and hell. She testifies to this in her best-selling book, "Heaven is so Real."  She says:

Very first time He only showed me His throne room. Then after that we came down from heaven, and then we were sitting on the sand on earthly beach. And then He began to talk. He said, "We just went to Kingdom of Heaven. The only one who will come there are obedient and pure hearted", and He said "Preaching gospel is very important" and He waited for awhile, and He said "those who don’t tithe, they are disobedient Christians."

You may read Choo's testimony by keying here.   

Brother Yong-Doo Kim

A Korean pastor, named Yong-Doo Kim, has visited heaven and hell.  In fact, since 2005 he has visited hell nearly every day.  In Book 5 of Baptized by Blazing Fire, a visitor to his church testifies of brother Kim preaching that many believers are ending up in hell, because they don’t tithe or keep the Lord’s day holy.

You may read about brother Kim by keying here.    

Shaini Muas 
A Christian convert from Buddhism, Shaini Muas was given a revelation of hell by the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord took Shaini to hell so that she might be able to better communicate His message to the Hmong people that hell is a real place.  She saw many people who were there because they did not tithe.  She was told that the tithe belongs to God, and that people who do not tithe are stealing from God. She was told that we must give to God what belongs to God.

You may listen to her testimony by keying here.

Putting it All Together

We can see from Scripture and revelation that the Lord expects Christians to tithe under the New Covenant. It was not something that comes from the Law, but was an act of worship practiced by the patriarchs Abraham and Jacob.

Don't let anyone deceive you.  The Lord has not revoked this requirement.  Instead He said to the Pharisees that they should have tithed properly without neglecting the weightier matters of the Law -- justice and mercy and faithfulness. In fact, Jesus taught that not just 10%, but all we have belongs to God. He said, "So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." (Luk 14:33). 

It's true! Of the seven essential things needed to earn rewards, two of them were "one’s offering to the Lord," and "their obedient tithes to God."  And you will give an account to the Father about these.  If you are a pastor, you will also give an account for what you taught your congregation about these.  Many pastors, elders, deacons, and lay believers are in hell for not properly tithing.  It's that serious!

For those who think this is legalism, I challenge you to read my other posts, called the Law of Love in the New Testament and Faith Works!  If you are not tithing, then you don't love God, because Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." (Joh 14:15)

After all, though Jesus was rich, He became poor for our sake, so that through Him we might become rich. We are to follow Him and imitate Him.  Our Lord Jesus did not give 3%, 6%, or even 10%.  He gave 100% for us.  And God the Father gave His only Son.  This is why it is such a great sin to be stingy toward God.  He wants a 100% commitment from His children, and the tithe is merely the first fruits.

Please take this teaching seriously.  If you are already cheerfully tithing with a loving heart, then you already know how wonderful it is, and are experiencing the blessings from it, provided you are tithing properly. Just be sure you are not being stingy and withholding offerings from the Lord above your tithes. If you are not tithing, then let this be a serious warning from the Lord to turn and make this right with Him.  For more study on where you should give your tithes, see here.

Let me close with some examples of Christians who gave generously and reaped a great blessing. The following examples come from the lives of JC Penny, Nancy McFarland, and Arthur Larson.  Click on the image of the text with the white background below to enlarge it, so you can read it more easily:

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Most other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®, unless otherwise noted.

Author's note: If you liked this article, I also recommend Faith Works! and Where Should You Give Your Tithe?, as well as Pleasing the Lord. Please visit the Seeking the Lord Blog Directory for more selections. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.