The Flaming Sword

Flaming Sword, by Amanda Labrie

I have written previously about the Lord's holy fire in my article, Holy Fire Baptism, and now I would like to show you something you may not have seen before in Scripture. I want to first prove from the Bible that the Lord Jesus Christ carries a flaming sword, and then share a testimony of a divine revelation that confirms this.

The Word of God is a Sword
The Holy Spirit spoke through the apostle describing the Word of God as being sharper than any double-edged sword: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Heb 4:12).  The Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, penetrates further than any other sword.  It reaches places that no open-heart surgeon can ever reach. It actually pierces between soul and spirit, and judges the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts.

Jesus is Called the Word of God
Jesus is the Word of God, according to the apostle John.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (Joh 1:1) and “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (Joh 1:14)

A Sharp Sword Proceeds from His Mouth
When John saw the risen Lord Jesus Christ on the Isle of Patmos, he said, “In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.” (Rev 1:16)

Jesus said, "And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this: (Rev 2:12)

Jesus said, “Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.” (Rev 2:16)

The Lord fulfills what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah, who said, "He made My mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of His hand He hid Me; He made Me into a polished arrow and concealed Me in his quiver." (Is 49:2).

The Lord Slays the Wicked with the Fiery Breath of His Mouth

The apostle said that Jesus would overthrow the evil, antichrist ruler with the fiery breath of His mouth.  "And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming."  (2 Thessalonians 2:8).

The fact that He is able to overthrow the lawless one with His breath implies that it is fiery breath, which the prophet Isaiah explicitly declared. As I have written about in my article, The Holy Fires of Hell, the prophet Isaiah described the Lord in his wrath with flames coming forth from his mouth.  He said, "His lips are filled with indignation And His tongue is like a consuming fire; His breath is like an overflowing torrent..." (Is 30:27-28).  Jesus slays the wicked with His lips! “He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked” (Isa. Isa. 11:4). 

The apostle John wrote: “He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.’ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, ‘Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.’ And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.” (Rev 19:13-21)

Fire from the Mouths of the Two Witnesses
During the 42 month period of Great Tribulation, the Lord will give His two witnesses power to destroy their enemies who try to harm them, which they will do with fire that comes from their mouths. "If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die." (Rev 11:5).  If He gives such power to His witnesses, don't you realize that He Himself possesses even greater fire power?

Fire From Heaven Consumes the Wicked
The apostle John received a revelation of the future, final battle against satan and his evil hordes.  He wrote:

"When the thousand years are over, satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." (Rev 20:7-10)

The Lord's Fiery Countenance
Although the Bible does not say explicitly that the Lord's sword is a flaming one, here are some more reasons why we might assume it is. 

The apostle John described His fiery countenance like this: "I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance." (Rev 1:12-16).

Since His eyes are like blazing fire, His face is like the sun shining in all its brilliance, and His feet are like bronze glowing in a furnace, we see a definite continuity of the fire theme from His head to His feet.  Every aspect of Him shining brilliantly and He even holds seven stars in His right hand.  So it would be consistent for the sword that proceeds from His mouth to have the same aspect to it.

The Lord's Flashing Sword
In the Song of Moses, he sang about the flashing sword of the Lord: "I lift My hand to heaven and solemnly swear: As surely as I live forever, when I sharpen My flashing sword and My hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on My adversaries and repay those who hate Me. I will make My arrows drunk with blood, while My sword devours flesh: the blood of the slain and the captives, the heads of the enemy leaders.” (Dt 32:40-42, NIV). 

Some other Bible versions refer to it as "My lightning sword," since the Hebrew word baraq means "bright, lightning, or glittering." (Strongs). The Lord grasps His flaming sword that flashes brightly like lightning. He grasps it in judgment. And with it He will take vengeance on His enemies and repay those who hate Him.

The Flaming Sword That Turns in Every Direction
The flaming sword was originally stationed near the garden of Eden to keep fallen man from partaking of the tree of life:  “So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Gen 3:24).

Since Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords, He would never give a sword to any created being that was greater than His own sword.  We know from Scripture that fiery breath and a sharp sword both proceed from His mouth.  Therefore, it is my sincere belief that Jesus has a flaming, two-edged sword that turns every which way.  If you do not believe it is a flaming sword of fire, then you must suppose that our Lord has a metal sword sticking out of His mouth.

Lord Jesus, You are El Gibor
You are a mighty Man of War
Arise now with your flaming sword
Eternal praise shall be yours forever more.

-- Anonymous adult, Verses to the King

Confirmation from Revelation to Samuel

Samuel Oghenetega

I have written in a separate post about the Visitation of Jesus to Samuel Oghenetega, a fourteen year old Nigerian boy, which happened in June and July of 2013.  In that visitation, the Lord referred to His flaming sword of fire a few times as follows:

Prepare for the rapture
The Lord gave Samuel a message for His Bride. "Prepare for the rapture. It will be like a dream."  The Lord gave him Mt 24:29-31, and he saw a picture of the people being caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and the caption said, “Come, My faithful servants.”

The Lord said, "There shall be wars and earthquakes before I come. I will heal the sick. Keep on praising me and I will rise with my flaming sword to fight."

Hell shall not prevail
"I shall hear and answer the cry of my very elect. I shall stand with my flaming sword against the darts of the devil, and satan and hell shall not prevail over you. The grace that thou seekest shall I deliver unto thee."

Pray for the salvation of your soul and other souls
"If you want me to save others, keep on praying for them and I shall arise with my flaming sword. And I and Michael the archangel and his hosts shall war and fight and shall deliver them."

Jesus rebukes satan to his face
Samuel said: “Then from 11:00 to 11:54 PM, He gave me the diagram of Lucifer himself.  And this is what he’s saying: ‘No! Humanity cannot be saved from my hand.  I am Lucifer! No, no, no!  Linda (Ngaujah) did her own damage.  Ezekiel Moses did his own.  Michael Sambo did his own.  Abraham Yakubu did his own.  And…No, no, no! This little boy, Tega Samuel Immanuel wants to cause (cost) me more damage.  Beelzebok and Jozebok, prepare the army for battle.  This must not happen.  Prepare for battle. No, no! I was cast out from heaven.  Now I am in my kingdom, which is hell fire. What have I done to deserve this damage.  It was only humanity that chose hell. No, no!  I shall be prepared for battle. I am Lucifer, and no one can take away humanity from my hand!’

“So after that, Jesus Christ now answered. Jesus said with anger (at that time his eyes were red), ‘I, the Lord of hosts, rebuke you, satan! Did you shed your blood for their souls? You wicked and unfaithful servant of My Father’s house! Because you want to overthrow My Father, and you did not succeed, then you are cast away.  Why are you now complaining?  I shall kill you with my flaming sword of fire.  In our last battle I will, at the last day of My Father’s judgment. And My Father shall be seated in heaven, and watch I and you and your armies fighting, and I shall prevail over thee, and the name of My Father shall be glorified.’”

When Samuel heard the Lord say to satan, "I shall kill you with my flaming sword of fire -- in our last battle I will, at the last day of My Father’s judgment," it seems to agree with the passage of Scripture I have already quoted in Revelation 20:7-10.

Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Be not afraid, son, I am with thee, and Lucifer shall not overcome thee, because I have chosen you.”

Samuel says, “After I finished drawing the diagram of Lucifer, I fainted. They could not carry me. I became as heavy as sand.”

Putting it All Together
The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and Jesus' name is called the Word of God. Furthermore, the Scripture teaches that He will destroy the lawless one with the fiery breath of His mouth, and His wicked enemies with the sharp, two-edged sword that proceeds from His mouth.  I believe it is a flaming sword that turns every which way, burning with His holy fire, which the Lord clearly revealed to Samuel Oghenetega.

The Lord instructed us to keep on praising Him, and to keep on praying for the salvation of others' souls.  He reassured us that He would hear and answer the cry of His very elect.  He promised to arise with His flaming sword and fight against the devil and his demons on our behalf.  He shall deliver His chosen ones from the enemy.  satan and hell shall not prevail over us. And He shall deliver unto us the grace that we seek.

The Lord said, there shall be wars and earthquakes before He comes. He is going to shake this world one last time.  He is coming right away.  He has sent His angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Behold, the day of our Lord’s wedding is at hand." Repent! The Lord has spoken. 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.

As the Scripture says, "Every Word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words, or He will rebuke you and prove you a liar." (Pro 30:5-6) For there are "those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth." (Pr 30:12).

The only way we can have purity and holiness in our lives in these last and evil days is through repentance, the blood of Jesus, 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.

If you love the holy fire of God, then you are wise.  Ask the Lord to purify you with His holy fire from everything that will not pass through the fire as purely from Him.  Ask Him today for the Holy Fire Baptism.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. "Flaming sword" graphic by Amanda Rae Labrie.

Author's note:  If you enjoyed this post, please see Opportunities to Serve the Body of Christ.  You may also enjoy Holy Fire Baptism, Michael Thomas Sambo's Revelation of Heaven and Hell, Visitation of Jesus to Samuel Oghenetaga, Linda Ngaujah Revelation of Heaven and Hell, The Refiner's Fire, The Three Elijahs, The Burning Ones, The Holy Fires of Hell, and The Fiery Sufferings of the Believer. You find the Main Directory for this blog at Home, and you can access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."  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.

From Self-confidence to Confidence in the Lord

My five-year old son recently asked me what the word “confidence” means. That led to a great discussion around the dinner table. Confidence is trust or reliance upon someone or something.

There's a big difference between self-confidence and having confidence in the Lord. Self-confidence is believing in yourself. It’s like the little train that thought it could. It’s the attitude that “if I think I can do something, then I can do it.” It’s summed up by the expression, “You can do whatever you put your mind to.”

But you will find no place in the Word of God where we are taught to have such self-confidence. It’s simply not Scriptural. This philosophy comes from the world, and it’s quite a central part of today’s self-help, New Age teachings.

On the other hand, confidence in the Lord is knowing HE can do it. This is not semantics or a minor variation of self-confidence. It’s the opposite of it!

From Self-Confidence to Confidence in the Lord
Moses is a great example who illustrates this for us. At age forty, Moses was self-confident and killed the Egyptian. He already had the burden in his heart to deliver the Hebrew people from the cruel bondage of their taskmasters. But he went about it in his own strength. And being the bold, strong man that he was, he managed to free one Hebrew from one situation. But he was not yet ready to accomplish the mighty works God had prepared for him to do. He could not fulfill God’s purpose for his life yet, because there was still too much Moses in him. He was in God’s way.

Once he realized his crime was discovered, he fled for his life to the backside of the desert, to a place called Midian. There he married a woman and tended sheep for forty years in obscurity. But by age eighty, he had been humbled greatly. When God spoke to him from the burning bush, he was quite self-deprecating. The Lord told him to speak to the king and tell him everything the Lord spoke to him. Moses basically responded by saying, "Lord, you know I'm such a poor speaker. Why should the king listen to me?"

But the Lord assured him that he would provide a spokesman for Moses in his brother Aaron. The Lord also promised to back up His word with power. So Moses obeyed God and went before Pharaoh. He did so not in his own strength or in any kind of self-confidence. He had long ago given up on trusting in himself to do anything. In the end, God used him mightily. He successfully led the Hebrew people out of Egypt with great signs and wonders. And he proved to be one of the greatest leaders in the history of Israel. It was all through his confidence in the Lord.

Trusting in man 
Perhaps those who trust in themselves are not aware of the warnings in Scripture about that.  The prophet Jeremiah said, "Thus says the LORD, 'Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from the LORD. For he will be like a bush in the desert And will not see when prosperity comes, But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt without inhabitant.'" (Jer 17:5-6).  No matter how you read this, you don't want to be found trusting in mankind or depending on the flesh, including your own self.  Jeremiah continued to say that "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?" (Jer 17:9).  If your heart is more deceitful than all else, then why trust it?  Why put your confidence in it?

Not that we are adequate in ourselves
The apostle Paul stated that he had no confidence in himself. He wrote to the Corinthians:

"You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (2Co 3:2-6)

So as he wrote, he did not consider himself adequate in himself and did not consider anything he did as coming from himself. Rather, his adequacy was from God. He said, “We have confidence toward God through Christ.”

We can do nothing without Jesus
Even Jesus knew that He could do nothing apart from the Father. He said, "I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” (Joh 5:30). He was completely dependent upon the Father who sent Him.

Jesus also taught that we can do nothing without Him. He said to his disciples, "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (Joh 15:5).

We need to understand our relationship to Him. He is the Vine and we are the branches. A branch on a grapevine cannot bear fruit on its own. It must remain connected to the vine. The same is true of us. Those who abide in Jesus bear much fruit. But apart from Him we can do nothing.

I can do all things through Christ
So how can we do anything at all in life? How can we serve the Lord? If I can do nothing and I am confident that the Lord can do all things, shouldn’t I just sit back and wait for God to do it? Why should I attempt anything?

Well, Paul had the right attitude. He wrote: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Phi 4:13). This is true, biblical confidence. Not a confidence in oneself, but a confidence in the Lord. And look at the fruit from Paul's life! He wrote half of the books in the New Testament Scriptures. He moved in miraculous power, healing the sick, raising the dead, and taking the gospel to every region of the known world.

Paul was confident that he could do all things, but not in his own strength. He said that he could do all things through Christ. He knew that it was Christ who strengthened him and through Christ, he could do everything.

This is how each disciple of Christ should live today. It should be with this same attitude.

Trust in the Lord alone
When you really get this and understand it, you will trust in the Lord alone.  You will heed the words of wise King Solomon, who said, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding."  (Pro 3:5).  As wise as he was, even he did not lean on his own understanding, but trusted in the Lord alone.

When you do this you will be blessed! "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit." (Jer 17:7-8).  When you trust in the Lord, you'll be like a tree planted by water, green and fruitful.

Putting it all together
Don’t listen to people who say, “Just believe in yourself.” That's a worldly, New Age philosophy. If you have that attitude, you may get some results, but you will eventually find that you cannot do all things. There will be something you cannot accomplish, and you will be devastated to discover that believing in yourself does not work. Don't trust in your own self, but trust in the Lord. He can do more in three minutes than you can do in a lifetime.

As long as Moses was self-confident, the Lord couldn't use him. Moses was in the way. But once he became humbled, the Lord used Him mightily and with great power.

A Scriptural attitude is "Lord, I can do nothing without you. But I can do ALL things through Christ, Who strengthens me."

One thing that no person can do for himself is to save himself from perishing. Only Jesus can save you. That's the reason He came to earth, died on a cross for you, and rose from the dead. Whether you have known Him for many years or have never known Him, I encourage you today not to trust in yourself or any man, no matter if that person is with the Lord in heaven or alive on earth. Rather trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note: This "Seeking the Lord" blog has become very popular in France. The reason for this is uncertain, but I am humbled and delighted that it has generated such a great interest there. To God be all the glory! If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar. You may also access my 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.